We visited Hersheypark as a family, and this was the first visit for my husband and our two young…read moreboys, ages 6 and 4. I had been to the park several times when I was younger, but it had probably been 15-20 years since my last visit. Needless to say, a lot has changed.
When we arrived, parking seemed organized, but there was a huge line to enter the park, so we decided to visit Chocolate World first. The ride was mostly how I remembered it, although the chocolate-smell portion didn't seem to be working, which was a little disappointing.
Once we entered Hersheypark, we were handed a Dark Nights map, which wasn't particularly helpful for navigating the park. We eventually found another posted map near the entrance to The Hollow, but that wasn't much better. We finally downloaded the app, which was much more useful, although I personally prefer having a physical map. Trying to navigate an unfamiliar park on a phone while also managing two young children made the experience unnecessarily stressful.
Our biggest disappointment was discovering that more than half of the children's rides appeared to be closed that day. It was a beautiful day with no rain, so we weren't sure why so many of them were unavailable. With children ages 4 and 6, those rides were a major reason for our visit, so having so many closed significantly impacted our experience.
We also walked through ZooAmerica. Unfortunately, we left feeling uncomfortable with some of the animal enclosures, which seemed quite small. The ocelot in particular was pacing repeatedly, and we noticed extensive scratching on the viewing window near the alligator gar exhibit. Obviously, we're not animal-care experts, but some of what we observed made the zoo portion of our visit feel more sad than enjoyable.
Another frustrating aspect of the day was simply navigating through the crowds. I understand that Hersheypark has limited control over individual guests, but there were numerous occasions where people stood in the middle of pathways or blocked areas while socializing, seemingly unaware that others were trying to get through. This even happened inside Chocolate World while we were clearly trying to select candy and fill our bags. With two young children in tow, constantly trying to maneuver around groups of people made an already stressful day more frustrating.
The food was fairly standard amusement-park fare, although the burger was exceptionally disappointing. Spending around $50 for one cheeseburger, one order of chicken tenders, fries, and two drinks also felt excessive for the quality of the food. One thing we did genuinely appreciate was the availability of free ice and water throughout the park.
Overall, this was unfortunately a very disappointing experience. Between the difficulty navigating the park, the large number of closed children's rides, the crowds, the food prices, and our experience at the zoo, the day simply wasn't what we had hoped for.
I'm not sure if or when we'll return, but if we do, it will probably be when our children are considerably older and able to enjoy the larger rides. Based on this visit, the park seemed much better suited to older children, teenagers, and adults than families visiting primarily for attractions geared toward younger kids.
