Hershey Park and Your Tween

Source: Helen Pond

(42 ratings)

School's out and the pre-teens are pumped up! As part of an end-of-school-year celebration, our family headed off to Hershey, PA with another tween family destined for amusement! The last time we were in Hershey, our tween was a pre-schooler. It was different this time: no stroller, no whining, lots of rides! It was much simpler and even more enjoyable.

The Amusement Park

Hershey Park is set up to accommodate nearly every age group. In fact, they use a Candy Brand Key, comprised of six categories, to indicate which rides are appropriate based upon a person's height. For example, a "Hershey's Kiss" indicates rides suitable for up to 36" tall. Our tweens all fit in the "Twizzlers" category (riders 54" - 60" tall). The Candy Brand Key is listed at the entrance to each ride and it's all very clear.

On top of the height requirements, each ride is given an intensity score, ranked from Mild to Wild. This score ranges from one to five, but we felt that there should have been a further differentiation because some fives were much more intense than others. For the most part, the intensity scores were helpful for deciding what to ride and what to watch!

Our pre-teens, ages 9-11, were most excited by the mild roller coasters (the older boys liked a bit more intensity, though not the most extreme Storm Runner or Farenheit, which has a 90 degree vertical climb and fall) and some of the more classic old rides, including: the Wave Swinger (a seated swinging spin), the Frontier Flyer, the Ferris Wheel, and the Pirate ("ship" swings back and forth, higher each time). In addition to rides, there were countless arcade games throughout the park, several entertainment venues and character sightings - it was cute seeing the tweens want to get their pictures taken with the walking Hershey Bar! The real beauty of the park is the variety of amusements for every age and intensity preference.

We were impressed by the cleanliness of the park. There was virtually no trash left unattended and bathrooms were neat and tidy. Employees seemed to enjoy their work and were very pleasant and welcoming. Lockers were available to secure valuables while in the swim park section. Unlike some other parks, perhaps based upon how long Hershey Park has been in existence, there was a good amount of shade for sun relief.

Accommodations

We stayed at the Hershey Lodge, which is officially part of the Hershey Park community. It's a 20 minute shuttle ride to the park (with shuttle service about every 20-30 minutes), which saves in parking expense and the hassle of parking a distance from the entrance. We liked this feature! The other advantage of staying at the Hershey Lodge (or the more expensive Hotel Hershey) is the opportunity to enter the park an hour before it opens to the public. This was a nice benefit, although only certain of the rides were open for the early admission.

The lodge was nice, with rooms comparable to any basic hotel, but had added advantages, including: an outdoor pool, an indoor pool (with glass panels that opened to become quasi-outdoor in good weather), a game room, miniature golf, shuffleboard, and other sports activities. There appeared to be other special features of the lodge that we weren't able to enjoy since we were at the park most of our waking hours! The service and cleanliness were fine but not great.

There are other chain-brand lodging accommodations nearby that might offer better values, especially if you expect to spend the majority of your time at Hershey Park.

Meals

The park food was better than most. In fact, in addition to the expected fast food and myriad of kid treats, there was at least one stand, the Mixed Grille Express, that offered healthy "grown up" food, including salads, quiches, even fresh brewed iced tea with lemon!

At the end of the day, we found satisfaction with an unexpected, though nicely updated, Houlihan's (a five minute ride from the lodge); it turned out to be a perfect location for our group of eight. It was less expensive than the lodge and very tween friendly.

Helpful Tips:

• Visit the main chocolate factory for a quick review (on a sweet conveyor ride) of how chocolate is made. There's a nice 3D show and an extensive candy store where you can purchase absurdly large versions of favorite Hershey candies and other branded items.
• Consider staying at a lower cost chain that isn't a part of the Hershey park, like Days Inn. While you won't be able to get in early to the park or take the shuttle to the park, you may find the savings worth it.
• Since part of the park includes water rides (including a wave pool), bring bathing suits/towels and sunscreen. Bring a waterproof bag to keep your dry items from getting soaked on water rides (or you can rent a locker in the water portion of the park).
• There are a lot of discount coupons for park access. Be sure to check out coupons located at fast food restaurants and the AAA website for theme park discounts and special deals.
• The park is open long hours through the prime summer season; check the Hershey's Park website for exact hours and consider spending non-prime times in the park.
• Wear comfortable shoes; there's a lot of ground to cover. Our group stayed almost 11 hours one day and our legs and feet were exhausted when we left!
• Good roller coasters to start with were the Trailblazer (intensity: 3), followed by the Comet (intensity: 4).
• If you have flexibility in your schedule, weekdays and a cloudy forecast are the best times to visit (although the roller coasters close in the rain).