If you and your family are thinking of traveling to Pennsylvania soon and plan to visit Hersheypark, here are our best tips for visiting Hersheypark for the first time to make your first visit a complete success.
Hersheypark provided us with complimentary tickets in exchange for an honest review. No monetary compensation was received.
Once every few months, we as a family decide which destinations we would like to visit next. Among the destinations we plan to visit this year are Washington D.C, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, San Francisco, and Canada. This summer started off with a huge bang because we were able to check off three of the destinations on our list.
A few weeks ago, we flew into Washington D.C. where we spent a few days enjoying the sights in our nation’s capital. After that, we decided to take a short road trip up north to Pennsylvania to enjoy some quality family time at Hersheypark. Have you ever been to Hersheypark? Yeah, this was our first time there also.
Before we keep going, you have to know that both sides of our families have lived in South Florida for more than thirty years and we have been visiting Orlando theme parks since our teens. So, you can say that going to theme parks is one of my family favorite hobbies. 🙂
Having said that, today I am going to share with you our best tips for visiting Hersheypark for the first time and therefore making your first visit there a huge success. Let’s get started!
Best Tips for Visiting Hersheypark for the First Time
All About Hersheypark
1. First things first, you have to know that Hersheypark is an amusement park, water park, and zoo all combined into one park. So, if you only have one day at Hersheypark (just like we did), the first thing you have to do is come prepared and have a plan in place.
Therefore, the night before you get to the park, the first thing you have to do is download the Hersheypark app. The Hersheypark app not only includes a map of the park, but it also lists rides, rides’ wait times, shows, first aid, and bathrooms! Plus, since Hersheypark offers free Wi-Fi, you won’t be using up your data to access the app.
2. The second thing you have to do is strategize your visit so that every member in your family gets to ride and do what they want while at Hersheypark, the Hersheypark Webpage can help you devise your individualized family plan. For example, our plan was to first to ride all the roller coasters and then make a quick stop by ZooAmerican, and then head on over to the Boardwalk.
Hersheypark Parking
3. Okay, let’s talk parking at Hersheypark, regular parking at Hersheypark is $15 and preferred parking is $25. I would suggest going with regular parking as Hersheypark has a convenient tram service that makes stops at several spots throughout the parking lot. Just remember which parking station you parked before you board the tram.
Get to Hershepark Early!
4. This next tip goes hand in hand with the one above. I cannot stress this enough, but I highly recommend getting to Hersheypark before or as soon as the park opens, this way you will number one, get a good parking space and number two, avoid the crowds. On our visit, we arrived at Hersheypark at 10:05 AM and we were there until the park closed at 10:00 PM.
Hersheypark Hight Requirements
5. Our next tip has to do with Hersheypark hight requirements. At Hersheypak access to all the rides are based on your height and some are even based on weight, so be sure to check each individual ride for height and weight restrictions. Either way, here is a handy list of the current hight meassurements:
- Hershey’s Miniatures 0 – 36″ (3′ and below)
- Kisses 36″ – 42″ (3′ – 3’6″)
- Reese’s 42″ – 48″ (3’6″ – 4′)
- Hershey’s 48″ – 54″ (4′ – 4’6″)
- Twizzler 54″ – 60″ (4’6″ – 5′)
- Jolly Ranchers 60″ and above (5′ +)
Hersheypark Kiddie Swap Program
6. If you will be visiting Hersheypark with small children and only one parent can ride at a time on height-restricted rides or if one parent wants to ride but has two children who meet the height restriction but must be accompanied by a responsible rider or who wish not to ride alone, don’t worry about missing out because Hersheypark has a Kiddie Swap program. Just let the ride’s attendant know that you would like to take advantage of the Kiddie Swap program and they will get you situated.
7. Here it is worth mentioning that Hersheypark doesn’t allow outside food, however, according to their official Website one sealed bottle of water is permitted per person. Therefore, our next tip is to bring one bottle of water per person. When we visited Hersheypark, we brought with us one bottle of water per person and a few baggies with chips. When our bags were checked on our way in, security didn’t have anything to say about them. So, if you are visiting with kids, I would also suggest bringing a few snacks to keep them tied up until lunch.
Hersheypark’s All-Day Dining & All-Day Drink Deals
8. Speaking of food, Hersheypark offers an All-Day Dining Deal for $29.67 per person. There is a wide variety of food options available, from gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, to kosher foods. So, there is something for everyone in your party. Even you don’t want to eat at the park, Hersheypark also offers an All-Day Drink Deal for $15.89. The souvenir cup comes with free refills on fountain drinks and ICEE® all day and you can keep your cup and get .99-cent refills on future visits. Not bad, right?
ZooAmerica at Hersheypark
9. ZooAmerica at Hersheypark admittance is included with your park admission ticket. The zoo is open year-round and offers 11-acres of land to visit and walk throughout. ZooAmerica houses more than 200 animals from five regions of North America and offers several behind-the-scenes tours, birthday parties, and informational programs at varying costs. If you are visiting with young children or kids that love wildlife, take time for your schedule and head on over to ZooAmerica.
The Boardwalk at Hersheypark
10. As I mentioned at the begin, Hersheypark is also a water park. The boardwalk at Hersheypark is an 11-acre waterpark containing more than 16 attractions which includes the two new attractions, Breakers Edge Water Coaster and Whitecap Racer. Just like ZooAmerica, The Boardwalk is also included with your Hersheypark ticket.
So, if you plan on spending time at the Boardwalk, I highly suggest bringing your swimming suit with you, as well as, towels. It is also worth noting that lockers are available to rent at the Boardwalk both small and large size lockers in case you want to take advantage of this. Something important to be aware of is that Hersheypark doesn’t allow swimming suits outside the Boardwalk. So, if your family is anything like mine, I suggest bring a backpack to store your towels, water bottles, swimming suits, etc. in there. Also, don’t forget the sunblock! One more thing, when we visited Hersheypark the Boardwalk closed at 8:00 PM, so be sure to keep in mind their individual closing time when making your plans.
With just a little bit of planning and strategizing, my family was able to get the most out of our first visit to Hersheypark. If you are planning on visiting Hersheypark in the near future, I sure hope you find the above list helpful and if you have visited the park, share with us in the comment section below your best tip for visiting Hersheypark for the first time.
