Getting There
If you don't stop for food or bathroom breaks, you can probably get to Hershey in three hours without traffic. It took us about three and a half hours with one stop for food. If you are travelling with little kids, I would highly recommend leaving when it is just around nap time to maximize time on the road and to limit the question "Are we there yet?" and derivatives of it. iPads and good music are a must.
The Town Of Hershey
Once we got to Hershey, we immediately went to Hershey's Chocolate World for Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour. The tour was a delight of the senses. At the end of the tour, we received a sweet but short-lived souvenir: a Hershey chocolate bar! Tip: If you MUST venture in the chocolate shop at the end of the tour, do it on your way home so you don't find melted chocolate in your suitcase. Speaking from experience here.
Besides Hersheypark, other places to check out in the town of Hershey include The Hershey Gardens, Hershey Trolley Works, The Hershey Story Museum and the Antique Auto of America Museum.
Accommodations
After Chocolate World, we headed to The Hershey Lodge. One of three official resorts of Hersheypark, The Hershey Lodge is the ideal place for families looking for fun, comfort and convenience. It took us less than 10 minutes to get there. The hotel had many kid-friendly amenities such as two outdoor pools and one indoor pool; a daily schedule of activities like crafts and picture hunts; and basketball and tennis courts. It even has a private nursing station for newborns.
The Lodge evoked a warm and welcoming environment starting with its beautifully manicured lawns, an attractive lake, and giant gazebo in front of the hotel. The lobby was spacious and inviting, with plenty of comfortable sofas and chairs, a fireplace, bar, concierge desk, and a kids' check-in desk where you find out about scheduled activities for the week. The front desk staff could not have been friendlier, answering all my questions and sharing helpful tips on how to make the most of our short stay.
Our room was a standard room with two queen-sized beds. I appreciated how our room's decor tastefully reflected the Hershey Kiss theme of the floor: the bathroom wallpaper and bed sheets had subtle Hershey Kisses designs on them, and we were treated with Hershey Kisses candy on our nightstand.
At this point, we were pumped up from the excitement of arriving at Hershey and all the candy we've been devouring since we got there, so we decided to burn off energy and calories at one of the hotel's pools. The indoor pool was decent sized and staffed by lifeguards. You can bring your own floatation devices or borrow one of the hotel's vests free of charge. Our little fish had a blast jumping into the water, dunking his head and practicing holding his breath underwater. For the wee ones, there is a little wading pool with no more than 1/2 foot deep of water.
Because of our short stay, we didn't get to check out the other family-friendly activities scheduled that week like S'mores roasting by the lake, pool games and movie night. But at check-out the following morning, we were able to catch the Master Falconer Jack Hubley and the Golden Eagle Bliss talk about Hershey Lodge's Falconry Program.
Tip: a great option available to Hershey Lodge guests is to preview Hersheypark 3 1/2 hours before the park closes. You can purchase tickets for the next day at the hotel's concierge desk and be a Hersheypark guest for FREE for the remainder of that evening. The next time we come, we are definitely taking advantage of this. Hersheypark is HUGE, and having that extra 3 1/2 hours would have allowed us to see even more of the park. (More on this later.)
Dining
At The Hershey Lodge, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of dining options we had from lite fare of soups and paninis to premium steaks and drinks. We chose the casual dining atmosphere of The Bears' Den featuring a hockey rink ambiance complete with 28 TVs and a 9' x 12' video wall tuned to every sport available. The Bears' Den menu had typical American fare with a Hershey twist featuring the Cocoa Jack Burger with cocoa espresso-rubbed beef, a Strawberry Cocoa Cashew Salad with mixed greens and cocoa cashews, Triple Truffle Cake, Chocolate Bread Pudding and a variety of Chocolate Martinis. I ordered the very cherry Chocolate Martini and the fish tacos. The fish tacos and the corn salsa that it came with were delicious. The martini was strong but tasty. The bonus? I got to keep my martini glass as a souvenir and our waiter filled it up with dark chocolate Hershey kisses. Sweet!
A Day At Hersheypark!
One of the key perks of staying at The Hershey Lodge is your access to Hersheypark at 9AM - an hour before the theme park opens to the public. This "Sweet Start" allowed us to enjoy riding most of the kiddie rides several times without waiting on line and to beat the crowds when checking out big attractions like SkyRush (aka the heart-stopping, scream-inducing machine).
Tips for families with little ones: there are over 20 rides for kids. My four-year-old is average in height (40 inches), and he was able to ride on many of them including a roller coaster and the log flume (his favorites). Some kiddie rides allow parents to accompany a younger child. When trying to maximize your time at the park with little kids, I would suggest splitting up for a few hours to take the bigger kids on the rides they want to go on and allowing the wee ones to enjoy rides their size. Or, you can study the park map - conveniently marked to show rides that are appropriate for each height group - and plan in advance which of the 60+ rides and attractions are suited for everyone in the family, avoiding disappointments.
As I mentioned earlier, Hersheypark is HUGE. Despite our early start and spending over six hours there, we probably got 2/3 of the way through the park. Granted, we took our time walking and enjoying rides several times before moving on to the next one. But still, it is a lot of ground to cover in one day. We skipped ZOOAMERICA, and the Boardwalk - Hersheypark's water rides and attractions. If you can swing it, go for two days at the park to really enjoy all the attractions.
Overall, we had a blast. The sheer enjoyment on my son's face each time he rode on the roller coaster and log flume rides was priceless. And the complete exhaustion that took over as soon as we hit the road made for a blissfully quiet ride home.
Hershey, PA - we will be back!
Disclosure: the author was compensated in the form of a discounted room rate and complimentary tickets to Hersheypark in exchange for this review. Opinions expressed in this article are solely the author's.
Besides Hersheypark, other places to check out in the town of Hershey include The Hershey Gardens, Hershey Trolley Works, The Hershey Story Museum and the Antique Auto of America Museum.
Accommodations
After Chocolate World, we headed to The Hershey Lodge. One of three official resorts of Hersheypark, The Hershey Lodge is the ideal place for families looking for fun, comfort and convenience. It took us less than 10 minutes to get there. The hotel had many kid-friendly amenities such as two outdoor pools and one indoor pool; a daily schedule of activities like crafts and picture hunts; and basketball and tennis courts. It even has a private nursing station for newborns.
The Lodge evoked a warm and welcoming environment starting with its beautifully manicured lawns, an attractive lake, and giant gazebo in front of the hotel. The lobby was spacious and inviting, with plenty of comfortable sofas and chairs, a fireplace, bar, concierge desk, and a kids' check-in desk where you find out about scheduled activities for the week. The front desk staff could not have been friendlier, answering all my questions and sharing helpful tips on how to make the most of our short stay.
Our room was a standard room with two queen-sized beds. I appreciated how our room's decor tastefully reflected the Hershey Kiss theme of the floor: the bathroom wallpaper and bed sheets had subtle Hershey Kisses designs on them, and we were treated with Hershey Kisses candy on our nightstand.
At this point, we were pumped up from the excitement of arriving at Hershey and all the candy we've been devouring since we got there, so we decided to burn off energy and calories at one of the hotel's pools. The indoor pool was decent sized and staffed by lifeguards. You can bring your own floatation devices or borrow one of the hotel's vests free of charge. Our little fish had a blast jumping into the water, dunking his head and practicing holding his breath underwater. For the wee ones, there is a little wading pool with no more than 1/2 foot deep of water.
Because of our short stay, we didn't get to check out the other family-friendly activities scheduled that week like S'mores roasting by the lake, pool games and movie night. But at check-out the following morning, we were able to catch the Master Falconer Jack Hubley and the Golden Eagle Bliss talk about Hershey Lodge's Falconry Program.
Tip: a great option available to Hershey Lodge guests is to preview Hersheypark 3 1/2 hours before the park closes. You can purchase tickets for the next day at the hotel's concierge desk and be a Hersheypark guest for FREE for the remainder of that evening. The next time we come, we are definitely taking advantage of this. Hersheypark is HUGE, and having that extra 3 1/2 hours would have allowed us to see even more of the park. (More on this later.)
Dining
At The Hershey Lodge, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of dining options we had from lite fare of soups and paninis to premium steaks and drinks. We chose the casual dining atmosphere of The Bears' Den featuring a hockey rink ambiance complete with 28 TVs and a 9' x 12' video wall tuned to every sport available. The Bears' Den menu had typical American fare with a Hershey twist featuring the Cocoa Jack Burger with cocoa espresso-rubbed beef, a Strawberry Cocoa Cashew Salad with mixed greens and cocoa cashews, Triple Truffle Cake, Chocolate Bread Pudding and a variety of Chocolate Martinis. I ordered the very cherry Chocolate Martini and the fish tacos. The fish tacos and the corn salsa that it came with were delicious. The martini was strong but tasty. The bonus? I got to keep my martini glass as a souvenir and our waiter filled it up with dark chocolate Hershey kisses. Sweet!
A Day At Hersheypark!
One of the key perks of staying at The Hershey Lodge is your access to Hersheypark at 9AM - an hour before the theme park opens to the public. This "Sweet Start" allowed us to enjoy riding most of the kiddie rides several times without waiting on line and to beat the crowds when checking out big attractions like SkyRush (aka the heart-stopping, scream-inducing machine).
Tips for families with little ones: there are over 20 rides for kids. My four-year-old is average in height (40 inches), and he was able to ride on many of them including a roller coaster and the log flume (his favorites). Some kiddie rides allow parents to accompany a younger child. When trying to maximize your time at the park with little kids, I would suggest splitting up for a few hours to take the bigger kids on the rides they want to go on and allowing the wee ones to enjoy rides their size. Or, you can study the park map - conveniently marked to show rides that are appropriate for each height group - and plan in advance which of the 60+ rides and attractions are suited for everyone in the family, avoiding disappointments. As I mentioned earlier, Hersheypark is HUGE. Despite our early start and spending over six hours there, we probably got 2/3 of the way through the park. Granted, we took our time walking and enjoying rides several times before moving on to the next one. But still, it is a lot of ground to cover in one day. We skipped ZOOAMERICA, and the Boardwalk - Hersheypark's water rides and attractions. If you can swing it, go for two days at the park to really enjoy all the attractions.
Overall, we had a blast. The sheer enjoyment on my son's face each time he rode on the roller coaster and log flume rides was priceless. And the complete exhaustion that took over as soon as we hit the road made for a blissfully quiet ride home.
Hershey, PA - we will be back!
Disclosure: the author was compensated in the form of a discounted room rate and complimentary tickets to Hersheypark in exchange for this review. Opinions expressed in this article are solely the author's. 
