I visited Hershey Park with a friend on Sunday, August 15th and Monday, August 16th. Although HersheyPark isn’t the closest park to me, it is my favorite of all the major theme parks within a few-hour drive of Philadelphia. I’ll try to keep this trip report short and talk about just the park and the rides instead of my personal experience. In short, my trip was excellent as have been the (almost) yearly trips I’ve taken to the park since I learned how to walk in the mid-1980s.

HersheyPark still has a “Preview Day” policy in effect, one of the most unique opportunities provided by any amusement park. Guests who buy a ticket for Hershey can visit for two-and-a-half hours the evening before, FOR FREE! Parking is free as well. (I assume parking is free; there were no parking attendants on duty when I drove in around 8:30, ninety minutes before park closing.) This is a perfect way to divide your visit over two days, or to add additional time to your visit. Economically, it’s a great way for Hershey to make money as well, as I expect more guests tend to spend the night in Hershey, PA.

We rode the Comet, Lightning Racer, and Storm Runner at night, and then wandered out. Hershey is gorgeous at night and I recommend everyone ride their three wooden coasters at night, as all three have white lights running the length of their tracks. The monorail, sky ride, ferris wheel, Storm Runner, and Great Bear are also made better by the darkness and the fact that you can look out over the beautifully-lit park.

I rode Fahrenheit for the first time on Monday morning. The wait was our longest of the day – close to an hour – but it was definitely worth it. I completely disagree with those who complain that the pacing of the new Intamin ride is slow, because it’s quite intense! Fahrenheit throws one element after another at riders. You barely have time to catch your breath! The drop is awesome – it’s FUN to pushed out of your seat the whole way down the drop – and the ride definitely pulls close-to-4 G’s in the Norwegian loop! It’s not quite as intense as the similar loops on B&M flyers, but it’s close!

Hershey’s wanna-be-waterpark called “The Boardwalk” is a very nice part of the park to relax in, especially on a hot day, but it tends to get EXTREMELY crowded, as do all of the water rides in the back corner of the park: Canyon River Rapids, Tidal Force, and Roller Soaker. Thankfully, The Boardwalk and Fahrenheit drew a HUGE portion of the crowd on Monday, leaving most of the other rides as walk-ons, including STORM RUNNER! We rode Storm Runner three times, including once in the front seat (definitely better!) and waited no longer than 25 minutes TOTAL!

A few other remarks about Hershey:

Wildcat is the best wooden roller coaster I’ve ever been on! (Granted, I’ve only ridden 13 – but Wildcat is in my top 3-4 roller coasters I’ve ever ridden!) It feels completely out-of-control and the airtime in the back car is heavenly. Lightning Racer is still a great ride, but it feels less intense and it lacks the ejector air of Wildcat.

Skip the wait for Roller Soaker, the park’s SetPoint water coaster. Guests in the front get soaked to the bone. Guests in the back barely get wet. And the load time is ungodly long. Stay on the ground and play with the water guns and geysers, then ride Tidal Force later in the day when the line subsides. As a matter of fact, once The Boardwalk closes in the early evening, the water rides whose lines were an hour-plus suddenly become walk-ons.

There’s not a bad roller coaster in the park. Be sure to ride Wildcat, Great Bear, Sooperdooperlooper, and the Comet. Each one has its own merits.

Monday was a great day to go. We did all of the major rides twice (except Fahrenheit) and left the park around 5:30. Other than Roller Soaker and Fahrenheit, no wait was longer than 10 minutes.

On Sunday night, we ate at a small restaurant called “What If… of Hershey”. It is located behind the park (look for it on TripAdvisor.Com) and it was fantastic. Not exactly a family place, but an excellent location for a nice-but-not-overly-expensive dinner for two or dinner for a group of adults.

Comments? Questions? Just leave a reply! Have fun at HersheyPark, the sweetest place on Earth!

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