4 Reasons I love Hershey Park
Updated: Mar 3
I recently took my children and their friends to Hershey Park. The park is located in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Hershey Park has been a favorite for me since I was a teenager. As I was driving down the road with four teenagers in the back, I could not help but think of when I drove down as a teenager myself. The similarities were surprising. When I was a teenager, I drove to Hershey with two of my friends from school as well as two of my friends from Northern Ireland. Now here I was over twenty years later driving my teenagers and their friends to Hershey Park! Wow! Where does the time go? Needless to say, my family loves amusement parks and roller coasters! Hershey has been a favorite since I was a teenager.
As soon as we entered the park we went to get in line for Great Bear. Hershey Park has 15 roller coasters! Great Bear is one of my children's favorites!
This roller coaster has your feet dangling in the air. It has a variety of loops, corkscrews, and drops! It is awesome! If you are really daring you will want to sit on the outside of the row for the best view. As you can see the ground right below you and next to you or the sky depending on if you are upright or upside down! You could also wait to sit in the front row if you want to SCREAM for your life!
Fahrenheit is the roller coaster that scares me the most! When you first start you go straight up in the air. It feels like FOREVER! This coaster goes one hundred and twenty-one feet in the air! I'm fine once we start going down but going straight up in the air slowly is frightening! My children love to hear me scream on this roller coaster!
Above, on the right, you can see the Hershey Triple Tower. This is something I will NEVER ride! They have three towers with different heights. The smallest is the Kiss Tower at 80 feet, next is the Reese's Tower at 131 feet and the highest is the Hershey Tower at 189 feet. My children and husband love this ride! I'm happy to wait for them and take pictures.
While we were there, we visited the Overlook for lunch. Here they have gluten-free chicken tenders, hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and a gluten-free southwest wrap. They also have French fries that are made in a separate fryer, as well as a variety of Lucy's gluten free cookies. When you go into the Overlook there is a completely different line with a separate kitchen to order gluten-free food. The food is strictly fast food but it's nice to have gluten-free options.
After lunch, we headed toward Hershey Park's water park, The Boardwalk. This is located within the park.
The Boardwalk was added in 2007, and they have continued to do additional expansions to the waterpark. It's great that your park ticket includes all the water rides at The Boardwalk! There are six tube slides as well as four areas for kids to play. There is also a wave pool and a lazy river. It was a pretty hot day when we visited so the kids were glad to ride several water rides to cool down before heading back to the rest of the park.
After a long day in the park, we finished by riding the Ferris Wheel. It was a great way to relax and enjoy the view of the whole park.
When we left the park, we headed to one of my favorite restaurants, Piazza Sorrento.
I found this restaurant using the Find me Gluten Free App a few years ago. It is a great place to eat if you have Celiac or need to eat gluten-free. They have been endorsed by the Gluten Intolerance Group. As you can see below, they have a lot of gluten-free options on their menu.
We came here after being in the park all day. We were pretty tired and wanted a quick dinner so we could get back on the road and get home. Everyone ordered pizza. Here are some pictures of the gluten-free dinner rolls and pizza.
Here are the 4 reasons I love Hershey Park:
#1-Cleanliness- The park is always clean. I never see trash laying around. The bathrooms are clean and tidy. When you sit down for lunch the tables are wiped down. This is not the case in many amusement parks!
#2-Rides-There are loads of great roller coasters here. As well are rides for little kids. The whole family can go and enjoy themselves. Those that do not enjoy riding rides can go on the train, monorail, and Skyview. There are lots of options for everyone!
#3-Great Value-Your admission ticket includes not only the amusement park but ZooAmerica and The Boardwalk-which is Hershey's water park! This is a lot to offer! If you watch you can also get tickets for reduced costs. Currently, there is a sale, buy two tickets get one free, until the end of June. Hershey also allows you to preview the park. This means you can go into the park two hours before closing the night before you spend the day at the park. This preview gives you a chance to learn the layout of the park and allows extra time to ride the rides!
#4-Gluten Free Options-You can eat SAFELY!! Hershey has gluten-free options in the park that are made in a separate kitchen. I love that my family can go and everyone can eat safely. I don't have to worry about packing a bunch of food or leaving the park so we can eat our packed lunch. We can feel "normal." It's so nice!
I must admit I'm a huge Disney fan. However, Hershey Park is one of my favorite amusement parks! If you have never been here and have the opportunity to take a trip you should check it out. We did this as a day trip, however, there are lots of things to do in the area. Many people stay for a few days and make it a vacation.