Hersheypark Review & Rankings

I’ve been to a lot of theme parks, including roller coaster mecca Cedar Point up in Ohio. And let me tell you, I was very impressed with Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I guess I always thought it was a smaller park than it is – but there are several world-class roller coasters, not the least of which is the impressive Candymonium, which warranted a whole new huge entrance to the park in 2020.

Otherwise, aside from the expanded main entrance area, the rest of Hersheypark (one word, not two) fits compactly in an L-shaped area. Especially in the middle sections of The Hollow, Kissing Tower Hill, and Founder’s Way, ride tracks are stacked up like a layer cake. And yet everything is incredibly well-run. There’s no chain-park bureaucracy like a Six Flags or the laziness of a certain Colorado park. Everything seems to be imbued with an excellence that maybe only prosperous private ownership can bring. In short, just like a Hershey’s Kiss, Hersheypark is compact, well-made, and nearly perfect.

Park Entrance

Before – Tudor Court

First, an aside about why I thought Hersheypark might be on the small side. From the early ’70s to 2018, the entrance to Hersheypark was a quaint English-style village called Tudor Court. I saw this during a visit to Hershey in the off-season when the park wasn’t open. I could wander around and up to the old gates and it all looked very, well, quaint. Small. Bitty, even.

While I always had Hersheypark on my wish list to visit, it wasn’t ever terribly high on that list.

As I understand it, the original gates would lead you more or less straight to an antique carousel and the 1940s Comet wooden coaster – what is today the Founder’s Way area.

Now – Chocolatetown

With the new entrance that came along with a new impressive roller coaster, Chocolatetown (again, one word) is a massive, spread-out plaza. The architecture could best be described as factory-like. A huge gift shop and restaurant flank one side of the wide entrance gates, along with massive restrooms and a snack counter. On the other side is guest services and ticketing. Wheelchair rentals are also in this area, though stroller rentals and first aid can be found just inside the gates.

A bell tower with a Hershey Kiss-shaped bell stands over a courtyard where families can measure their kids (and adults) to see what rides they’re allowed on. Bands of paint on one wall place you in one of six candy-related categories: under 36 inches are Hershey Miniatures, 36-42″ are Kisses, 42-48″ are Reece’s, 48-54″ are Hershey bars, 54-60″ are Twizzlers, and 60″ or taller are Jolly Ranchers. Nearby, anthropomorphized candy representing each category mark the same heights, but mostly are used for photo ops.

On the one hand, the factory aesthetic of the plaza blends in well with Chocolate World next door and the overall feeling of this factory town. But on the other, I kind of miss the close homey feeling of the prior entrance. I wish I could have seen it in action. Or maybe not – considering how many people fill up the new area, the old one must have been packed.

Hersheypark Rides

I’ll talk more about entrance procedures below, but let’s talk about what’s behind those gates – the rides!

Roller Coasters

First, let’s rank the roller coasters. Hersheypark has 13-15 roller coasters (depending on how you count) and almost all of them are fantastic!

#15 – Coca Cruiser

Coco Cruiser is the park’s kiddie coaster, located in Founder’s Way nearish a lot of other kid’s rides. It’s themed like a little mine train with boxy cars on a steel track. And it’s more than just a wavy oval like some kid’s coasters, it’s got a decent hill and good helix in the middle. Each ride takes you twice around the track.

#14 – Jolly Rancher Remix

Jolly Rancher Remix is the only roller coaster at Hersheypark that I actively don’t like. To begin with, it’s a basic shuttle coaster, the same as every other one you may have been on. And now, they’ve added a recorded DJ track and some impressive club lighting. There are even giant Jolly Rancher candies above the loading platform that change color to the music. I think the idea is that you see what flavor of candy and what music track you’re going to get on your ride before you take off. It honestly might be pretty cool to see at night.

But during the day, in a long, unshaded line, once you hear that DJ track on loop for the sixth time, it all starts to feel super obnoxious. And the “flavor tunnel” goes by so fast you can hardly see the effects. There’s smoke and lights, and music (I think) and it’s all very close to you. I found it headache-inducing from start to finish. Like having an annoying hype-man in your face for an experience that is still kinda so-so.

The pauses at the top of the track are always fun, but I’d only ride this one again when it’s dark out and when the wait time is under 30 minutes.

#13 – Wild Mouse

It’s pretty telling that I’d rank a basic wild mouse coaster over Jolly Rancher Remix! This one, tucked way back past the water park, is a solid model and I like the double-dip at the end. It’s in the perfect midway setting and always makes me giggle, even if it’s on the rough side.

As with any wild mouse, you’re going to be tossed around a lot and the brakes at the end will try to cut you in half. It’s always a bit brutal, but it’s fun.

#12 – Trailblazer

I love a good mine train and the Trailblazer is a respectable representation of its kind. Hershey understood the assignment: low to the ground, multiple lift hills, a couple of good helixes, and a nice mine-themed entry back into the station. It makes a very nice family coaster that everyone can enjoy.

#11 – Laff Trakk

Laff Trakk is a respectable indoor roller coaster, the kind that’s a bit like a wild mouse but with spinning cars. In fact, I wished mine had spun quite a bit more than it did. Your cars (slowly) spin in the dark past and through several black-lit funhouse flats, somewhat themed to the “Laffing Sal” character you could find in many old amusement parks. You’ll find an example of one at the entrance to the line.

One thing Hersheypark doesn’t do very well is queue lines. Most are what I call “sardine lines,” a simple back and forth where guests are packed in as tight as they will go. Laff Trakk has a sardine line, plus it’s a bit deceptive. There’s a covered outside line (featuring a couple of cut-out photo ops), then when you reach the door, you realize there’s even more line inside! There are funhouse mirrors on the walls and air conditioning, so it could be worse.

It’s a good ride, but I wouldn’t mind having a real funhouse to visit instead. Watch for the line to Laff Trakk to swell whenever it rains since the entire line and ride are covered.

#10 – sooperdooperLooper

This 45-year-old Schwarzkopf gives you a single loop right off the lift hill, then a nice, meandering ride after. I have a soft spot for Schwarzkopfs, though this loop is a tight circle and not the nice elliptical ones I prefer.

As tame as it is now, Hershey says it’s the first looping coaster “in the east.” (I guess they don’t count Coney Island?) And their shirts with “I survived the sooperdooperLooper” were, and continue to be, big sellers, though I guess it’s a bit ironic now. (I kind of like the shirt, tbh.)

#9 – Comet

The Comet is Hersheypark’s oldest still-standing roller coaster and must have been the park’s focal point for nearly all of its 76 years. It’s not the most thrilling ride now, of course, but it’s a nice long ride, has been very well maintained, and offers lots of bunny hops and milder thrills. If you’re looking for a classic white-painted woodie, the Comet is a perfect example.

#8 – Wildcat (closed as of 2022)

I was lucky enough to be able to ride the Wildcat in its last days of operation. I thought it would be terribly janky – almost every park has its spine-cracking coaster – but it wasn’t bad at all. The Wildcat is/was a wooden roller coaster like the Comet, but with bigger hills, thrills, and turns. I found it to be a great ride.

This Wildcat is the second of its kind, having been named for the park’s first roller coaster back in 1923. And the rumor is that they are upgrading the track to one of those steel-topped conversions that are so amazing, like Iron Gwazi in Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Steel Vengeance in Cedar Point. So here’s hoping the wildcat name will live on in a new, superior ride that will move this coaster significantly up the list.

#7 – Storm Runner

With Storm Runner, we are definitely getting into rides that require a little more courage. Storm Runner is a powerful ride, albeit far too short! A fast-launch start heads straight up and over a 180-foot hill and through a barrel roll in the sky and some other inversions before coming to a screeching halt after only one minute of ride time.

My other problem with this ride is how slowly it loads, even with two trains at the station loading at once. It feels like a lot of waiting for such a short amount of ride. It’s tremendous fun; I just wish they were a little quicker about it.

#6 – Fahrenheit

There’s another slow-moving sardine line at Fahrenheit (and a lightly disturbing train filled with water dummies at the station) but the ride itself is amazing. The most thrilling part is probably the lift hill, which goes straight up, then beyond vertical on the way down! The short 12-person trains allow for tight curves on the track, and on the ride, it feels like a ball of curves. You’re almost upside down as much as you are right-side up.

As for that sardine line, at least it is shaded and has plenty of misting fans.

#4 & 5 – Lightning Racer

Lightning Racer counts as two rides because there are two very different sides to this racing wooden coaster – one side Thunder, one side Lightning. And I say racing, but it’s really dueling. The trains don’t travel side-by-side through most of the ride. Lightning and Thunder trace their own journeys, twice coming face-to-face and two or three times meeting up just to see who’s in the lead. The end is side-by-side so you can see who won!

I can’t say that there is one side I prefer over the other – they’re both really fantastic. Definitely ride both, and if you ride it at night, it is lit up beautifully.

#3 – Great Bear

Great Bear is Hersheypark’s suspended coaster and it’s a good one. It dominates the skyline over a mess of other tracks like the Coal Cracker and the sooperdooperLooper. Great Bear is super smooth and tight with several kick-the-sky loops and rolls and really makes it feel like you are flying at times.

It’s so good, I’m apt to compare it to Top Gun/Afterburn in Carowinds, which has more side-to-side quick changes. Great Bear is smoother and more floaty, but it’s almost that good. The only downside is that I never seemed to find it with anything less than a 40-minute wait time.

#2 – Skyrush

With Skyrush, we are really getting into the big leagues of roller coasters. The bright yellow track climbs 200 feet into the sky, taking riders on a sharp and quick trip around the lake and back. The track just keeps falling away and has maniacal airtime!

This ride will assault you, however. Skyrush will try to take off your shirt, will grip you too hard around the lap, and will generally rough you up. I will say that an outside wing seat was a much rougher ride than an inner seat, so keep that in mind. Even so, this is one of the few roller coasters in the park that I sought out multiple rides on.

I’ll also say that once I was allowed in line with my small cross-body bag – it fit well enough into the smaller-than-average cubbies at the loading platform. Another time, I was forced to put it in a locker, so be prepared to lock up your stuff.

PRO TIP: If you want to walk straight back to the Hollow where Skyrush, Comet, and sooperdooperLooper are without walking up the relative hill of Founder’s Way, look for the shortcut path on the right. The app map makes it look like it’s before the big bathrooms, but it’s after. Look for the green sign!

Even if you aren’t rushing to roller coasters, it’s a lovely path underneath Skyrush and a great break from the hubbub of the rest of the park.

#1 – Candymonium

The best roller coaster at Hersheypark is its newest, a B&M called Candymonium. Trains themed to Twizzlers, Reece’s, and Hershey Kisses fly at 76 mph around a chocolate brown track. The lift hill is 210 feet tall and seven more air-popping hills follow, culminating in a circling flyby of a pretty Hershey-kiss fountain. The floaty airtime is just beautiful and I swear they pump chocolate scent into the air at the top of the lift hill.

I would compare Candymonium to Orion at King’s Island or Millenium Force at Cedar Point. It’s not going to flip you over or take your clothes off, but it’s the most enjoyable thrill at Hersheypark. I love these steel out-and-back hypercoasters. It’s honestly the same basic idea as the Comet but all grown up and showing off. It’s pure roller coaster at its sweetest.

Again, Hersheypark delivers sardine lines in the queue, this time tucked underneath the load building. So you’re at least in the shade, but it can get stuffy inside. I managed only ever to ride Candymonium at night, so it was never too bad.

Other Rides

On to the rest of the rides at Hersheypark, of which there are 24 more options for non-coaster riders. Again, I’ll cover these briefly from my least to most favorite.

#24 – Fender Bender

As always, my least favorite ride in any amusement park is the bumper cars. It’s fun for kids to hit their parents, or even on a date. But for a solo traveler like me, there’s no point. Located in the Founder’s Way area with several other flat rides.

#23 – Twin Turnpike – Classic Cars & Speedway

It’s fun that Hersheypark’s version of an antique cars ride includes both the tin-lizzie type model as well as a tiny sports car. I bet they both go the same speed, though. The Twin Turnpike winds side-by-side around the base of the Kissing Tower.

#22 – Tea Cups

I love a teacups ride, especially with friends. This one near the Comet is a small version of its type.

#21 – Starship America

Starship America is a dumbo-like, in-a-circle ride, only the spaceships take on a wicked lean at the top! More like Disneyland’s Rocket Jets. You can find it in Founder’s Way around several of the kiddie rides.

#20 – Scrambler

The classic Scrambler has that near-miss, eggbeater action that squishes you up next to someone you like. (Or your sister.) I think I like more that they have a tiny kid’s version too. The big version is in Founder’s Way.

#19 – Tilt-A-Whirl

The Tilt-A-Whirl is always a good bet and sometimes you can really get some good spin going! In Founder’s Way with a lot of other classic flat rides.

#18 – Pirate

The swinging Pirate ship is a fun ride, though Hersheypark’s version seems on the small side. Maybe that’s just because it’s tucked in a corner. In Founder’s Way almost all the way to Pioneer Frontier.

#17 – Frontier Flyers

If you time it right, you can really get some height on these eagle-themed flyers. It’s basically a bucket with a big metal sail you can use to steer. Most people just wobble around in a circle. In Pioneer Frontier.

#16 – Carrousel

Hersheypark’s historic Carrousel is over 100 years old! As far as I can tell, it used to be in Founder’s Way, since there’s a big canopy and circular area there. Now that canopy shelters picnic tables. With the 2020 entrance renovation around Candymonium, the Carrousel was moved to a new pavilion near the front of the park. I feel like it looks a little less magical there, but I love the silver Hershey’s Kiss on the top.

While the Carrousel was built in 1919, it didn’t come to Hersheypark until 1945. It still features all of its original 66 hand-carved wooden horses, including one painted chocolate brown and gold in honor of the Milton Hershey School. Plus, there’s one horse with a closed mouth, which is apparently the only one of its kind.

#15 – Music Express

The Music Express, all the way at the extreme other end of the park in Midway America, is a more thrilling way to go in a circle. This classic spins you faster and faster amid music and flashing lights.

#14 – The Howler

You know, The Howler isn’t my favorite ride, mainly because it’s a group activity and it’d be weird for me to do it with strangers. But if you have a fun group, you can spin yourself silly in this hanging circular ride.

#13 – Wave Swinger

I love Wave Swingers, just for the simplicity of being off your feet and up in the air with the wind in your hair. It’s a simple ride but it never fails to please!

#12 – Skyview

Skyview is the park’s sky ride, which I love, except that it goes exactly nowhere! You can get some good views of Great Bear and the sooperdooperLooper and the water. But it’s short and just turns around at the other side of the water. I like it for its photographic possibilities, and it’s nice for getting off your feet, but don’t wait too long for what it is.

#11 – Ferris Wheel

Hersheypark’s gondola-style Ferris Wheel is off-limits to me as a solo rider, but it sure is pretty at night! I remember being disappointed by the Ferris wheel lights at Disneyland because I didn’t think they measured up to some I’d seen at smaller parks. And I think this is the show I had in mind.

#10 – Dry Gulch Railroad

Similar to Skyview above, Dry Gulch Railroad is a bit shorter than I thought it would be, and is mostly valuable for the picture-taking possibilities it affords. It only circles the Pioneer Frontier part of the park, and is probably the most pioneer part about that section. Still, I love a good park train.

Note that most of the seating faces each other, so if you or you and a partner don’t want to face strangers, nab a seat at the very front or very back of each car. Unusual for this type of ride, I noted that I waited longer in line than the length of the train ride itself.

#9 – Whip

Ok, it’s silly for the Whip to appear this high on the list, but I’ve been waiting forever to ride one! Most of the ones still in operation are kid’s versions, and even the adult ones I’ve seen have been out of order. The ride ops were sweet enough to give me, and me alone, a ride right before the park closed for the night.

And I’ll tell you – it is not a thrilling ride. It made me laugh, but the only mildly thrilling part is “whipping” around each end. I couldn’t help but picture sweet old ladies holding on to their skirts and hats while riding this sometime circa 1920. And it sounds like a freight train. So I can’t say it’s actually a good ride, but I’m so glad I rode it and appreciative of the ride ops who let one more rider on for the night.

#8 – Kissing Tower

Kissing Tower, aptly positioned at the top of Kissing Tower Hill, offers the highest views in the park. This gentle, circular, and air-conditioned ride spins as it rises while playing a pre-recorded historical spiel. I had kind of hoped it would be narrated by a live person, especially since the ride ops were so super friendly on this ride.

From Kissing Tower, you can see the park, the Hershey Chocolate Factory, the Hershey School, the Italian-style Hotel Hershey, and the Hershey Gardens, as well as the town and the mountains beyond. The whole ride only lasts about 3 minutes.

It’s a little tough to get good pictures since the plastic of the windows is curved, and you’re not even totally assured you’ll be able to sit in a window! But everyone should be able to see reasonably well.

#7 – Mix’d – Flavored by Jolly Rancher

I took this as kind of a kid’s ride for families waiting on others to ride Jolly Rancher Remixed, but in retrospect, it looks like it could have been fun and might have even offered a little bit of airtime. It’s certainly unique. Four riders on each end of four different arms kind of Ferris wheel around each other in a near-miss ballet that could be interesting. See it in action here. It looks like it must take an age to load.

#6 – Reese’s Cupfusion

Reece’s Cupfusion is a great ride, a fun concept, and well-executed – inside. Become a secret agent and help Commander Cup protect the Reece’s factory from the evil Mint the Merciless and his horde of other non-chocolate candies. Cars of up to four players shoot laser guns at targets and try to get a high score. There are even easter eggs to unlock extra points by working together.

Outside, it is the sardine-est line there ever was, with a loud cartoon story set up that plays many, many times while you are in line. You MUST stow your bag, no matter how small, so it’s almost the only ride that absolutely requires a locker. (Though I can’t imagine why you can’t put your bag in the bottom of the ride vehicle. It’s not like it moves that much!) And I never saw the line under 45 minutes.

I thought I would “quick duck into” the ride first thing in the morning before visiting the water park. First, they don’t seem to open the ride for sweet start visitors (more on that later) so by the time regular day visitors enter, there’s already a long line built up. And second, the line moves abysmally slowly for what should be almost an omni-mover situation. Maybe it just doesn’t have the capacity I think it does. But whatever it is, it’s not enough! I ended up spending an hour in line. So while the ride is great, it ended up being a huge time suck and I wouldn’t do it again unless the line was much, much shorter.

#5 – Aquatheatre

I’m going to slide the Aquatheatre show in here at number 5. As far as I know, it was the only show in Hersheypark this summer, at least this close to Covid. (Aside from a fabulous roving brass band and some walk-around characters.) Aquatheatre is a marine show featuring three harbor seals and one sea lion, with a focus on their training. It’s loads of fun, unique, and a short 20ish-minute show, definitely worth your time if it’s not your only day at the park.

I understand that the Aquatheatre started as a dolphin show and I’m glad to see they don’t keep dolphins in such a small space anymore. It’s an open-air theater with plenty of seating. You can find it on the “back side” of Kissing Tower Hill, behind the Triple Tower.

#4 – Monorail

I do love a monorail whenever I can find one and the Hersheypark Monorail even takes you outside of the park and over to the factory area, which is fun to see. It also goes over the zoo, Kissing Tower Hill, and along one side of Pioneer Frontier.

The windows are open to the air and a pre-recorded audio track narrates the short ride. You can find the entrance in Founder’s Way, next to one wall of the Hersheypark Arena (where they host occasional special events and youth hockey games.) Note that the Monorail only has one stop – it’s a ride, not a transportation system.

#3 – The Claw

The Claw might be one of the first truly thrilling rides to appear on this section of the list. Riders face inward as the pendulum arm swings back and forth, to a point a little past perpendicular. (But not upside down.)

It’s got some good airtime, though it seems to take a while to load. You can find it in Pioneer Frontier.

#2 – Coal Cracker

Speaking of airtime, the Coal Cracker has a surprising burst of it, especially for a log flume! It’s a zippy ride overall. Note that there’s nowhere to put your stuff, so you have to take it with you and it might get wet.

Hersheypark’s flume ride utilizes a turn table at the loading platform like you see with bigger rapids rides. The rest of the flume is pretty fast and you’ll likely see several of the roller coasters zipping by while you float on. There’s only one big splashdown but I swear I got a pop of airtime at the bottom of the hill. (Maybe since I was the only one in my log.) I liked it, but I noticed it went down later in the day, so I wonder if that’s common.

#1 – Hershey Triple Tower

The Hershey Triple Tower is a sort of choose-your-own-adventure drop tower experience with three towers to choose from. The Kisses tower is 80 feet tall, the Reece’s tower is 131 feet, and the Hershey’s tower is 189 feet tall.

I only did the tallest tower and it was great fun! It shoots you up and drops you not just once, but several times, including taking you all the way to the top and holding before dropping all the way down. It feels much more like a full ride than your average drop tower! And I think there are a few ride programs, so every drop might not be the same.

The Reece’s & Kisses towers seem to do much more of a constant up & down motion (no holding.) And it’s worth noting that the capacity for each ride increases with its height. Kisses takes 12 at a time, Reece’s up to 16, and the tallest tower takes 20 riders at a time.

Kiddie Rides

Just a word about the kids-only rides at Hersheypark. While kids of all ages can enjoy plenty of the rides listed above, the littlest kiddos have 19 rides just for them. Most of these are of the “rides that go in a circle” type but I love that several are miniature versions of the real thing. The Mini Scrambler is terribly cute.

Most of the kiddie rides are in Founder’s Way, in the oldest part of the park where the carrousel used to be. But there are plenty more scattered around the rest of Hersheypark – helpful for when your kids of different ages want to go on different rides.

In Founder’s Way, you’ll find Balloon Flite, Dizzy Drums, Helicopters, Mini Himalaya, Mini Pirate, Minty Bees, Misfit Bug, Space Age, Swing Thing, and Traffic Jam. Up on Kissing Tower Hill is Convoy and Frog Hopper. Over in Pioneer Frontier, you can ride Livery Stables, Mini Scrambler, and Red Baron, and down in the Hollow is Sweet Swing. Way back in Midway America are the Granny Bugs, Pony Parade, and Tiny Tracks.

The Boardwalk at Hersheypark

Hersheypark has a waterpark, open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, that comes free with admission. It’s not my favorite water park I’ve ever been to, but they do have a water coaster and that counts for a lot. I’ll run this down like the rest of the rides – from my least to most liked.

#7 – Kid’s areas

First I’ll start with the areas for kids. Not that they aren’t fantastic, they’re just not for me. The best-looking spot is East Coast Waterworks, a tower complex with seven slides, two tunnels, tons of water features, and a huge tipping bucket over the whole thing. Bayside Pier seems to be a kid-sized gentle wave pool. Shoreline Sprayground has several dripping, spraying features to run through, and Sandcastle Cove is a giant sandcastle with the smallest slides for the littlest family members.

#6 – The Shore

The Shore is the Boardwalk’s wave pool. I think it’s really weird – it’s all fenced-in with only one entrance and exit on the far side. It’s the first wave pool I’ve ever seen with a line to get in! As my mother would say, I think that’s pretty crummy. I guess this is their solution to limit the number of people in the pool at once, but it makes it hard to hop in and out between rides. I feel like if there were an emergency, it would cause a real problem.

#5 – Intercoastal Waterway

I would usually rank any lazy river a bit higher, but again, there is a line to get in and it’s usually very long! It’s definitely the longest line for a lazy river that I’ve seen to date. At lunch, I got a walking taco from a nearby food truck and had plenty of time to eat it in line.

I like that they not only have the regular tubes but also a seat version so you can sit up more. But other than that, it’s a pretty boring lazy river. Too crowded to be lazy, too few elements to be fun.

#4 – Whitecap Racer

These mat-racer slides are fun if you are with several of your friends and don’t mind a face full of water. The Whitecap Racer even has timers at the bottom of each lane so you know for certain who won.

#3 – Coastline Plunge

Almost all of the Boardwalk’s slides are on this one Coastline Plunge tube slide tower. Four of them, Hydro, Pipeline, Riptide, and Surge, are fully or partially enclosed, are all very similar, and lots of fun. Pipeline seems to be the darkest of the four.

Vortex is one of those toilet-bowl-type slides (see the blue and orange in the photos below) and you end up with water in your face, but it’s fun. Whirlwind is the blue & yellow funnel one where you slide up high on the sides before sliding out. All slides take single or double tubes except Whirlwind, which only takes double riders.

#2 – Tidal Force

Tidal Force is Hersheypark’s shoot-the-chute ride, where a huge raft of riders goes up a lift hill then back down for a huge splashdown soaking both riders and bystanders. Tidal Force is right outside of the Boardwalk proper, so you can ride it in your bathing suit or your regular clothes. Either way, it’s a great way to get soaked and the drop is really fun!

#1 – Breakers Edge Water Coaster

The best ride in the Boardwalk area of Hersheypark is the Breakers Edge Water Coaster. It’s a short ride, but super fun! There are a lot of good drops in there and it’s always fun to go uphill on a slide. Again, be prepared for water sprayed right in your face.

The only thing I don’t like – and it’s common for most water coasters, it seems – is that if you’re a solo rider you have to find someone to ride with yourself. You have to put together your own group before arriving to the platform. I’ve done this in the past but this time, I let the ride operator take care of it and he was at a real loss. I wish there were single-rider options for rides like these.

ZooAmerica

Attached to the back of Hersheypark at Kissing Tower Hill is a zoo! ZooAmerica is included with your admission price to the park, or you can buy admission to just the zoo for $13-15. And it’s worth noting that you can’t enter Hersheypark from the zoo side. I visited on a day where the zoo opened an hour before the park so I tried to figure out if I could visit the zoo in the hour before the rest of the park opened. But it’s only included in your park ticket if you enter from Hersheypark itself. There’s no gate to take your Hersheypark ticket from the zoo side.

ZooAmerica (again, one word) is 11 acres with around 200 animals. You enter from the back of Kissing Tower Hill and across a bridge over the road below. An employee will stamp your hand so they know to let you back in.

Once across and through the entrance building/gift shop, a suggested route through the zoo makes it easy to see everything. I saw birds, lizards, and turtles, an ocelot and mountain lion, a black bear and a gray wolf, a river otter, and a bobcat. It’s a small zoo, to be sure, but as an add-on to a theme park, it’s a nice break in your day, great for kids, and adds even more value to your ticket.

The suggested route will circle you back to the gift shop, which has really cute items plus some restrooms. Then back across the bridge to get back to the rest of the park. I would say the whole place can be toured in under an hour.

Hours & Admission

While Hersheypark has seasonal hours, ZooAmerica is open year-round. Generally speaking, during the winter months until late May, the zoo is open 10 am-4:30 pm. From May 29-September 4 (Memorial Day through Labor Day), it’s open from 10 am-7 pm. Then it goes back to shorter hours.

If you’re just visiting the zoo, admission is $15 for adults and $13 for kids 3-8 and seniors 62+. It’s free for babies 2 and under, and for anyone with a Hersheypark annual pass. You can buy an annual pass for just ZooAmerican for around $50.

Food at Hersheypark

The food at Hersheypark is unusually good. I wouldn’t put it up there with Dollywood or Disney, but it’s much better than your average theme-park fare. Standouts from my trip include cheesesteak-topped fries, fresh mini-donuts, a walking taco in the water park, a (huge) freshly-made whoopie pie with your choice of cookies & fillings, and a beef empanada from a food truck.

The premier place to eat at Hersheypark is The Chocolatier restaurant at the entrance to the park. You don’t need park admission to eat here, but you might have to pay for parking if you visit while the park is open. And inside the massive Hershey Supply Company store is an additional ice cream parlor and a chocolate-heavy confectionery kitchen (“The Sweeterie.”)

PRO TIP: Hersheypark has an add-on where you can get unlimited sodas at several “fast fill” stations around the park. You scan your mug and get whichever drink you want. But I found that you can use these stations to fill up a water bottle – the water option works all of the time without needing to scan first. It doesn’t taste very good, but it’s cold and there aren’t any other water fountains or bottle-fill stations in the rest of the park. (Which I think is a little rotten.) It’d be nice if more parks offered free soft drinks like Holiday World in Indiana.

Loose Articles Policy

I always want to know what the loose articles policy is in any park before I visit. I’m a woman. I don’t have pockets. Therefore, I almost always carry a bag in the parks I visit.

At Hersheypark, almost every single ride has a spot for your stuff on the ride platform. The only exceptions are for Reece’s Cupfusion (which makes no sense) and Skyrush, though I did ride once when the line was short where they let me carry it through. There are smaller cupholder-type cubbies for phones and glasses because Skyview WILL take things out of your pockets.

Wifi & the Hersheypark App

Hersheypark does offer park-wide wifi, and I remember it worked pretty well. What didn’t work well is the app, at least for wait times. It was always wrong! A 10-minute posted wait took almost an hour. Later, an hour wait turned out to be 30 minutes. If I tried restarting the app, it often took several tens of minutes for wait times to repopulate. Often, it would only display that a ride was “open.” Once, it showed all the Kissing Tower Hill rides to be closed when they were, in fact, all open. It didn’t take long for me to just give up.

The app works well enough as a map and to find food and restrooms, and I think you can put a pin in where you’ve parked your car. I don’t think you can keep your tickets in it, but I may be wrong about that. I kept my ticket in an email on my phone. If you get the Fast Track option for skipping lines, that can be utilized with the app.

Shopping

I don’t shop too much at theme parks, but Hersheypark has a wide selection of shirts, plushes, and other souvenirs around the park. The biggest shop in the park is the huge Hershey Supply Company near the entrance gates. In fact, no matter how late it is, only one park gate is open for exiting park guests. I’m pretty sure this is to force more people into the gift shop on their way out. And it’s a nice one, with a large selection and even food, as mentioned above.

If you want to stock up on actual Hershey chocolate products like Kisses, Reece’s, and Twizzlers, you want to head to Chocolate World instead. It’s right next door and stays open as late as the park, I think.

Parking & Entering

I think parking at Hersheypark is really goofy. Hersheypark is part of a larger complex of Hershey entertainment properties and parking lots surround the whole place. There’s Chocolate World, the huge Hershey chocolate store with paid attractions of its own, Hershey arena, and Giant Center, the newer, bigger stadium.

I was at Hersheypark for three days. The first was an evening where I feel like I went to the wrong entrance and ended up parking in the Chocolate World parking for free. I don’t think this was necessarily wrong – I even asked a traffic guard about it, and several other people were doing it too. I think they just close down the parking ticket booths after a certain point at night.

The second day, I went to the right entrance, showed my prepaid code, and ended up parking on the far side of Chocolate World from Hersheypark. It felt like a long walk on the way in but not so bad at the end of the day (ironically.) It feels like the whole lot is so far away from the park. There is a tram that operates for lots farther out.

The third time, I didn’t want to be that far away, so I veered to the left to be on the nearer side, then realized that was for people with preferred parking passes (say that three times fast.) But there ended up being an area behind that where I could park, and I liked that a lot. Looking at the parking lot map now, I was in lot J the first full day and in lot K (L?) the second. (And I don’t think you’re supposed to park at Chocolate World at all.)

Entering the Park

Since now we’re parked, let’s talk a little about what to expect when you walk in – at least my experience. For starters, let’s talk about Hersheypark’s Free Extra Hours. Every admission ticket comes with the ability to enter the park the day before at a certain time, depending on the season and the park hours. During my visit in the middle of summer, I could enter the park at 7 pm the night before. If you purchase a two-day ticket like I did, you must use your Free Extra Hours prior to your first day.

On my first 7 pm-entry day, I arrived 30-ish minutes ahead of time and found quite a line to get in! The Free Extra Hours entry line is on the right-hand side of the gates. And standing in this line was the only time I actually heard the Hershey Kiss-shaped bell ring in the tower. I felt I was pretty far back in line (farther back than the bell tower, at least) but once they started letting folks in, the line moves really fast. I was way back in line but I was inside the park by 7 pm.

On my first full day, I arrived around 45 minutes early for an 11 am opening and found the entire plaza packed. Lines were already back to the tram drop-off. I was lucky, however, in that a security guard came around to those of us in the back to tell us to walk up to a gate that people had just failed to line up at. I was one of the first in that line and was inside the park by 10:45.

On my second full day (which was not consecutive to my first – you can do that), I showed up over an hour early and was the first person there for 11 am entry. One gate to the far left is reserved for Sweet Start people. If you are a season pass holder or are staying at one of the official Hersheypark resorts (the historic Hotel Hershey, the family-friendly Hershey Lodge with its own indoor waterpark, and the Hershey campground), you can enter the park up to one hour early.

Special Events & Hours

Hersheypark claims five seasons during the year, with Halloween and Christmas being major events featuring special entertainment and decorations.

Spring Weekends

Hersheypark usually opens for the season at the beginning of April. The first day of operations in 2023 is Saturday, April 1, which seems typical. This year, it looks like it’s open Saturday-Sunday in April, plus the Friday before Easter. Then Friday-Sunday in May until the 21st. Hours are posted as 11 am-8 pm any open Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 am-7 pm on Sundays. AS ALWAYS, check the official website for the most updated hours for your trip.

Summer

Summer is Hersheypark in full swing, open daily from May 25-Septmber 10. The Boardwalk water park opens slightly later, from May 27-September 4. Which is basically Memorial Day weekend (starting the Friday before) to Labor day.

Hours vary during the summer, anywhere from 11-7 to 10-10. During the bulk of the summer, it’s 10-9 most of the week and 10-10 on Fridays and Saturdays. Here’s a handy PDF of the year’s schedule, but double-check the hours on the website to make sure it hasn’t changed. There have been issues with staffing at all amusement parks since the pandemic, which shortened hours at many parks.

Hersheypark Halloween

Halloween at Hersheypark sounds like a fun time! There are Hershey character dance parties, you can tour ZooAmerica by flashlight, Laff Trakk, the indoor coaster, operates completely in the dark, and Candymonium, Comet, and Lightning Racer go lights-out the final hour of the night. A 3-stop treat trail is outside the park at Chocolate World, and a 10-stop “Treatville” trail can be found in the Boardwalk area. There’s also a “Misery Stage” at the back of the park with three creepy acts every hour, starting at 6:15.

The big draw, however, is the three scare zones and four haunted houses, what they call “Dark Nights.” It sounds very much like how King’s Island does Halloween. But while the scare zones are included in your regular park ticket or season pass, the haunted houses cost extra, anywhere from $25-45 for all four, depending on the day of your visit. (Fridays=cheapest, Saturdays=most expensive, Sundays=in-between.) You get a $5 discount to go once if you are a season pass holder, or pay $99 to have access as many days as you want. One-day ticket bundles are available for between ~$50-130.

Hersheypark Halloween runs from September 15-October 29, every weekend, Friday-Sunday. On Fridays, the park is open from 5-10 pm and Dark Nights from 6-11 pm. Saturdays are open 2-10 pm, with Dark Nights again 6-11 pm. And Sundays, the park is open 2-9 pm, with Dark Nights open 6-10 pm. Though as always, check before you go.

Bonus Weekend

The park is open one more weekend past Halloween, but with none of the Halloween goings-on. Things close an hour earlier, too. Friday is 5-9 pm, and Saturday & Sunday are from 2-9.

It sounds a lot less fun, but it may be a good time to visit without crowds between the park’s two most popular events.

Christmas Candylane

Christmas at Hersheypark sees the park decked out with five million lights! There’s a dancing light display, a “Kissmas tree,” and you can visit Santa & his reindeer until Christmas Eve. Some of the rides are open – mostly kid’s and flat rides, but a few coasters too, including Candymonium. The Boardwalk will feature a “TREEville” Christmas tree trail starting Nov. 24.

Christmas Candylane occurs on select dates from Nov. 10- Jan. 1. “Select dates” means it’s open weekends in November plus the Wednesday and Thursday of Thanksgiving, then every day starting December 2. Weekday hours are 5-9 pm, and weekends (Saturday & Sunday only) are 2-9 pm. Hours on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are shortened to noon-4 pm, and the park is closed on Christmas Day. As always, check the website for the most updated times.

Hershey also hosts a drive-through light display behind Hotel Hershey. The dates are the same as Candylane, Nov. 10 – Jan 1, with an initial weekend, then daily operation starting Nov. 18. Tickets cost $24-36 per car (up to 8 people) depending on the date. Buy your tickets here.

Tickets

Admission to Hersheypark is offered as one- or two-day passes, with several add-ons, like parking, dining, unlimited drinks, and what Hershey calls “fast track” for shorter lines at certain rides. Regular ticket prices for 2023 are $85 for one day and $120 for two. But always buy on the website for any available discounts over gate price.

The preseason is the perfect time to buy discounted tickets – as of winter 2023, one-day tickets are as low as $50, and two-day are $84. A full-size annual pass is discounted $30 to $180.

You can definitely get a good feel for the park with a one-day ticket and have a good time. But if you want to see everything, I recommend two days, and take full advantage of Free Extra Hours the night before. I had a general itinerary of tackling Midway America on my first evening, all the coasters and as much else as I could fit on my first full day, then the water park and zoo, plus anything I missed or wanted to re-ride on my second full day and I feel that worked pretty well.

Season Passes come in “Bite Size,” “Full Size,” or “King Size”, with prices currently at $170, $210, or $245, respectively. Bite Size gets you in the park every day and half off general parking. Full Size gets you free Preferred Parking, discounts on food & retail, 1-hour Sweet Start early access, 20% off additional Hersheypark tickets, and $5 off Dark Nights tickets. King Size adds on an all-year drink plan, including hot drinks at Christmas, two free park tickets, a deeper 35% discount on additional tickets, a swag bag, and a few extra monthly discounts on food & drinks.

Purchase all your tickets on the website to take advantage of any available discounts, or pay full price at the gate.

Conclusion

Even besides everything available at Hersheypark – the rides, the water park, the zoo, the special events – there are also attractions at Chocolate World, including a historic trolly tour of the town, Hershey Gardens, and a Milton Hershey museum called The Hershey Story. There’s a lot to offer here and I’m continuously astounded at how much! It’s all tourist ventures, of course, and I’m sure making the company plenty of money. But it’s awfully fun and well done. I’d love to come back and see even more.