Hershey, Pennsylvania

We followed Mike and Marcia in their motorhome up Interstate-81 on Monday on our short drive through four states to Hershey, PA.  It was funny to learn later that we all broke out singing “Country Roads” as we crossed into West Virginia.


We arrived about 1:30PM and got checked into the Hersheypark Camping Resort. We bought our Hershey Park tickets at the gift shop. We hopped the shuttle bus after dinner and headed over to Hershey Park. Our first stop was the new Hershey Chocolatetown at the entrance to the theme park. They had a ride that took your through the history and process of how they make chocolate, with sample Hershey bars when you got off the ride.   

Milton S. Hershey founded Hershey Chocolate Company in 1903 and and a town around it for his workers. He founded Hersheypark in 1907, as a “picnic and pleasure ground” for his workers. Over the years it has grown into the big theme park of today.

We spent all day Tuesday at the theme park. There are 14 coasters, but we chose to take some less stressful rides such as the steam railroad, a Ferris wheel, bumper cars (called the Fender Bender and sponsored by Geico Insurance). We also rode the monorail which went out of the park to downtown Hershey by the company headquarters. Notice the Hershey Kisses street lights in the photos. 

One new attraction that we did was the Reese’s Cupfusion, an interactive gaming ride. We were agents protecting the Reese’s Cup factory to ensure the world is never deprived of Reese’s Cups! On the ride, we used hand-held laser guns to protect the factory.

On Wednesday we spent the day inside the theme park at the Boardwalk water park area. We rented a Cabana for the day and it was right next to the lazy river ride. We went down to the lazy river, but the water felt cold. We decided to have lunch first. Later the water seemed cool but bearable.

Later in the afternoon, Julie, Marcia and I decided to ride the water coaster called Breakers Edge. We waited in the line for about 20-minutes but it was well worth the wait. It was a lot of fun. Okay, so we finished our time at the park riding one of their 14 coasters.      

Today, we went over to Lancaster County to see the Amish settlements. The Pennsylvania Amish of Lancaster County are America's oldest Amish settlement, where thousands still live a centuries-old "Plain" lifestyle and the horse and buggy remains their primary means of transportation.


It was very interesting and we enjoyed seeing the various Amish crafts after having an authentic Pennsylvania Dutch family-style lunch.

We head to Cooperstown, NY tomorrow for a weekend stay. 


Steve & Julie Cornelius