Visit Pennsylvania: Hersheypark

When planning our trip to Pennsylvania, we knew a must-visit would be Hersheypark. This 121-acre amusement park was founded in 1907 by Milton S. Hershey, and has over 70 rides and attractions.

After a 2-hour drive to Hersheypark, we got to the already busy parking lot about 30 minutes past park opening time (lots open 2 hours before the park opens; trams are available to take guests to the Main Entrance).

After going through a bag check (if you can, forego any bags so you can just bypass the bag check line), we went straight to the rides, where cute signage fronted each ride to indicate height requirements.

Mini Scrambler

Some of the kids' favorite rides included Lightning Racer, the Ferris Wheel, and Sunoco Speedway.

Lightning Racer

Ferris Wheel

View from the Ferris Wheel

Sunoco Speedway

My personal fave was the Hershey Triple Tower, which opened up last year.  You can choose-your-thrill, and of course I chose to go on the 131-foot high Reese's Tower (I love Reese's!), on which I got shot up into the air and experienced a free fall.

There are all sorts of rides - kiddie rides, family rides, thrill rides - truly something for everyone!

Fender Bender

The Howler

Balloon Flite

Cocoa Cruiser

Starship America

We visited on a busy summer day, but we lucked out with some rides having little or no wait time.

If lines are extremely long, consider the Fast Track Pass, which you can purchase to skip lines at certain attractions (quantities limited and are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis).

In addition to the numerous rides, there are lots of games, shows, and other activities to keep the family busy. 

I really looked forward to one of my favorite amusement park activities - eating (and drinking)!

Crabfries at Chickie's & Pete's

Reese's King Size Shake at Simply Chocolate

Melon Baller at BBlz

Herhseypark also offers perks like free Wi-Fi, charging stations, and hand sanitizing stations all throughout the park!

Included with the Hersheypark admission is ZooAmerica, an 11-acre park with more than 200 animals.

There's even a mini-playground at the zoo!

Also included with admission is the Boardwalk at Hersheypark, which has over 16 attractions, including the all-new Breakers Edge Water Coaster and Whitecap Racer.  It's the perfect place to be on a hot summer's day!

There's so much to see and do at Hersheypark.  It's impossible to do everything in a single day, but we really made our most of our one day there. 

And of course we couldn't leave without souvenirs and candy! I bought a bag of my all-time favorite candy (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups), and the kiddos bought all sorts of souvenirs.

We had such a fun time at Hersheypark.  We definitely made some sweet memories, and we hope we can visit again!

Hersheypark
100 Hersheypark Dr
Hershey, PA 17033

Mahalo to Hersheypark for hosting our admission!