This is a sponsored post from Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. We were provided with tickets to make our visit possible. We appreciate their support of Jersey Family Fun that allows us to share with families information about amusement parks & weekend trips we think your family may enjoy.
Prepare to be thrilled!
Entrance to HersheyPark
HersheyPark has 13 roller coasters! A water park! And 67 rides in total!
Were you expecting just chocolate? We were surprised by how expansive the park is, and how much time we could spend there without realizing it. While you won’t want to rush through the park, you’ll definitely want to plan your day to maximize your time.
Here are our HersheyPark tips and park details to help you have the best visit possible!
- If you’re staying in a Hershey Resort, you get early entrance AND can take a shuttle from your location to HersheyPark. See our Hershey Lodge review here. If you haven’t purchased passes yet, consider buying them from your resort at a discount. With your purchased full day ticket, you can enter the park the night before, 2 1/2 hours before closing for a special “preview”!
- The park is long, and has some hilly sections near the entrance. If you have little ones, and especially strollers, you’ll want to climb these hills as little as possible. Planning your day’s path is the best way to do this. There are of course park maps available upon entrance, but HersheyPark has a new Mobile App that can offer you the park map as well as wait times! The park has wifi available throughout so access isn’t a problem, as well as charging stations should you require a boost.
What candy are you?
- Know your candy! HersheyPark offers an easy to remember candy height designation. I had a 5 year old Hershey Kiss and a 9 year old Hershey bar. My children are on the shorter side, and while the 9 year old had a lot to choose from, there were some rides the 5 year old was just a little too short for that were at his interest level.
- We’ll be reviewing food at Hershey in more detail in a separate post in our Hershey series, but some things to know about food in the park.
- There are options for those with dietary restrictions everywhere. There’s kosher, nut free, vegetarian and gluten free options, all designated on the park map.
- We were pleased to see familiar names such as Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Chickie and Pete’s and Famous Famiglia. There’s non branded food as well, and of course snacks and treats everywhere!
- Meal tickets can be purchased for $14 that come with a souvenir, refillable cup.
- Food cannot be brought into the park, other than one sealed water bottle per person. You can exit the park to eat at picnic tables in the parking lot.
- Plenty of vending machines throughout the park offer standard fare and healthy options.
- There are sit down as well as fast food options throughout the park. During peak season, you can even dine with the Hershey characters!
Kettle corn – yum!
- Need a break from the rides? You’ll find Hershey characters strolling around for photo opportunities. They also perform in a dance party and a quiz show (schedule available on the park map). We were impressed by the entertainment we came across as well. While waiting in line to enter the park, the HersheyPark Band performed and got people moving. There are 5 total strolling entertainment groups, and 4 other dance and music shows.
- HersheyPark has its own Aquatheatre, where we watched an entertaining and educational 20 minute show with a seal and a sea lion. If you’re looking for more animal fun, try out ZooAmerica, an 11 acre zoo adjacent to HersheyPark. An additional fee is required for admission.
Aerial view of the Boardwalk
- The Boardwalk water park area was the favorite of my children. Fully located within HersheyPark, with water slides, play areas and a lazy river, water park lovers could spend a full day within The Boardwalk. Since you may also be accustomed to visiting a water park on its own, here are some tips to enjoy both the theme park and water park in one day:
- Consider renting a locker ($15 for small) for your water park gear. You’ll need towels, bathing suits and possibly sandals while playing in the water area. All these could be heavy when wet!
- There are cabanas if you have group members who need a place out of the sun to relax.
- There are still height restrictions on most of the water park features. Children at a certain height require adults to accompany them into “The Shore” (wave pool), but you’ll find plenty of family friendly areas at The Boardwalk.
- Appropriate swimwear is required for The Boardwalk attractions.
- Swimsuits are not allowed past a certain point, back into HersheyPark. Make sure you have dry clothing, or use a “family dryer” for $5.
- If doing both in one day seems overwhelming, consider leaving the park with a hand stamp to return later. The water park does close earlier than the theme park.
Rollin’ Down the River show
Whatever you choose to explore at HersheyPark, your family will have a memorable day (or two!), at a family friendly and fun filled destination not too far from home.
HersheyPark Admission
One day admission for ages 9- 54 is $61.95. Discounts are available, and there’s an option for 2 days at a slightly higher cost. Parking is $15.
We’re sharing a preview of pictures from our Facebook album below. To see more HersheyPark photos visit our Facebook album.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152965507930745.1073742190.71658875744&type=3
For more HersheyPark videos visit our playlist on YouTube (we will be adding more.)
Click over to see the rest our our HersheyPark Family Travel series.
