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Has anyone been to Hershey to give advice? Would a 5 and 8 year old enjoy it? What are some good and reasonably priced hotels in the area (no more than $150 night is possible)? Also what about dining, do they have dining options or do you eat at local restaurants? Any recommendations?
Absolutely LOVE Hershey. Even though I'm older (almost 15 :D haha) there is a TON of stuff to do for younger kids. I don't remember exactly where, but in the park theres a section with more mainstream rides, like carousel, giant swings, those types of rides. If they are roller coaster people, (or if you are) I believe theres about 8 different coasters which are all FANTASTIC. We stayed off the Hershey property in a Sheraton that was probably 15-20 minutes from the park, but an easy drive. It was right near a little shopping center which was great to pick up snacks and such for the day, which leads me into the next question. There is one (maybe two?) sit down restaurants in the park, a dunkin donuts in the front, and a HUGE (probably about 8 stands) food court area in the back of the park. That being said-the food court is usually PACKED. Nowhere near enough tables. There is a good selection, just be prepared to wait, or find a bench somewhere else to sit. Hope this helps! :)
I love about 90 min from Hershey Park so I cannot tell you about hotels. However, the park itself is great. My children are 5 and 2 now and they love it. What is rather nice is they usually cluster the children's rides near the larger rides. That way one person can stay with the kids as they ride their rides while the other adult or older kids can ride the larger ones.
The park is well-kept. Park of the park is rather hilly with trees, etc and looks really nice. The other side is more concrete that I would like but still ok.
Make sure you stop at Chocolate World on either your way in or way out of the park and ride the chocolate tour. It is basically an omni-mover dark ride about how they make the chocolate.
There are other attractions in there but they are ticketed and we have never done them so I cannot speak on them.
We try to go there every year for Hershey Park After Dark around Halloween.
We went 2 years ago and had a terrific time. My kids were 5 and almost 4.
If I remember correctly we stayed in a SpringHill Suites that was close to the park and really nice. It had a small indoor pool which my kids like the morning it was raining a bit. They also had a really nice complimentary breakfast in the morning. We'd stay here again.
We live in MD and usually go for a weekend in the summer once a year. We have a dog so we stay at a Day's Inn that is close to everything. There are some restaurants on the road where the hotel is plus one night we usually treat ourselves and make a reservation for dinner at the Hotel Hershey's Circular Dining Room where they have chocolate bread and butter, some appetizers and entrees with some chocolate as part of the dish, and great desserts. We even go there for breakfast which is a great buffet.
The Hershey Lodge also has a place to eat as well. Close by are also some chain restaurants.
We are not big ride people but we find enough to do. There is even an area you can get wet. You get in free to Zoo America with admission. Besides the park there is a garden as Hotel Hershey, Hershey Museum, a new museum that opened near Days Inn, and a trolley tour. I may be missing something.
I hit a wrong button and got knocked out before I finished typing.
I don't know about other hotels but the Days Inn has discounted tickets to the park. If you decide to see attractions other than the park there may be an attractions pass to buy.
How long would your visit be?
We love Hershey, we have gone almost every summer with my kid siblings (started when my bro was 5 and now he's 12, siter started same age and now 9) it has rides for all ages, some for the daring and some for the quiet types. The water park part of it is absolutely fun and made for every age. If you get there early that the gates aren't open head over to Chocolate World, once you get off the gates will be ready to open. I don't know how long you are staying or what day you are going. We have always gone on a weekday (mostly Wed for us) and it's still packed but not as bad as the weekends. We live about 45mins to and hour from there so I don't know about hotels up there. Hope you guys have a good trip :)
We just got back from Hershey yesterday. We had a great time. I will say it is very clean & well run with something for everyone however in the water park make sure you have water shoes or flip flops wow that ground was brutal (hot) & all the people that didn't wear something on their feet were really sorry. We stayed at the comfort suites about 7 miles away just off rt 81(in Grantsville) but it was really easy to get to Hershey from there. With my AAA discount a room for 6 people was $89 per night. It had a small indoor pool there was a fridge in the room & a free deluxe Continental breakfast daily from 6:30 - 9:30 am(egg, waffles, meat of the day, muffins etc) The only thing is I would ask for an odd room # if possible cuz the windows weren't sound proof & the traffic from 81 could be heard it bothered my husband but no one else seemed to mind. The hotel did have discounted tickets too but buying them @ AAA was a better deal. Also you can do a park preview 3 hrs prior to park closing even if you get your tickets from an outside source for no additional cost. It was nice cuz it let us get our bearings of how the park was set up & even get a few rides in & don't forget to go see Hershey Chocolate world right next door some of the activities cost there(I Highly recommend the trolley tour worth the $) but the chocolate tour is free & they give you a small sample as you leave the tour. (we got Hershey drops).
Hope this helps :)
HersheyPark has plenty for your 5 and 8 year olds! the kiddie rides are intersparsed amongst all the rides ... they are not in one particular area. They also have a water attraction in the center of the park called Boardwalk so wear water shoes and a bathing suit. The park is exceptionally clean and has plenty of shade and sitting areas.
If you plan to stay in the area, Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster is about 30 minutes away and is an amusement park geared more toward your childrens' ages. Hershey offers combo tickets for both parks.
Look for hotels in Harrisburg for a visit to Hershey. Many hotels are suite types and some offer free breakfast. Almost none of the hotels have outdoor pools, most are indoors.
There is plenty to do in and around Hershey to keep you entertained. The trolley tour is great, and Chocolate World is fun. There is also Zoo America and Hershey Gardens (beautiful!). Don't forget the Hershey Store ... a chocolate lover's haven!
We go to Hershey every summer. It's a beautiful park. Check your kids' heights before you go, just to see which things they will let them ride on. There are 5-6 height levels, named after candies, which are used to designate the height requirements for each ride.
Love Hershey. There is a lot for the little kids to do.
There are nice hotels in the area for $100 or less a night.
You won't be disappointed.
Julie:mickey:
We had a great meal, right at the Hershey Lodge. Though we did not stay there.