HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED CHRISTMAS AT HERSHEY PARK?
Christmas time at Hershey Park is something that should be experienced by everyone at least one time. It is a wonderful way to spend a weekend (or longer if you can swing it)! After Thanksgiving, the entire town of Hershey Pennsylvania is transformed into a chocolate Christmas wonderland, and it is spectacular. It is one of the ways that we have had a family adventure and both of my sons are asking to go back (we will next year)! The sights and smells of the holiday season will surely put you in the spirit.
WHERE IS HERSHEY?
Hershey is in the state of Pennsylvania. It is a town that revolves around all things’ chocolate. Hershey is home to Hershey Park (amusement park), The Milton Hershey School, a hockey team, Hershey Gardens, and the list goes on. You might see the common theme there, Hershey! On our trip, we researched available activities and like any trip, we had to pick and choose what we were able to do during our stay. Our goal was to make Christmas memories so the weekend after Thanksgiving was perfect for us. Preplanning is key here, to manage your time and your costs. Our goal was family fun for a long-range of ages between younger & older children and grandparents. One super fun thing that we noticed upon arrival in the town was the Hershey kisses lamp posts lining the streets! So festive and fun and just gave us a happy feeling. Another fun fact, you can smell chocolate all throughout this town.
If you are interested in Pennsylvania, this video shows you 19 things to do in the state. We have explored other areas such as Strasburg Railroad, Lancaster County, and Ligonier and found some really fun things to do such as the Thomas the Train event and Idlewild Park.
WHERE SHOULD YOU STAY FOR CHRISTMAS AT HERSHEY PARK?
Like any town, you can find your regular hotels to stay. However, I highly recommend staying in one of the Hershey resorts. I am not affiliated in any way with any of these companies, just speaking from my own personal experience in planning a family trip to this town. There are three options for the Hershey resorts:
- The Hotel Hershey
- Hershey Lodge
- Hersheypark Camping resort
Of course, choosing one of these you must consider your own needs. If you have an RV, of course, the camping resort is an excellent choice. The Hotel Hershey is another great option and is a huge older historic property with many great amenities. Our family chose the Hershey Lodge (an also huge but more modernized resort) for our accommodations. The reason for the choice was to have access to the Water Works Park inside of the hotel, in addition to the family-friendly restaurants. It turned out to be a smart choice. I will say beware…this is a trip that you will have to save for. The lodge rates on weekends will run you $300-$400, and the weeknights $200-$300. So, save up and try to go on weekdays if you can, to save money. Also, watch for the package deals on their website. What is helpful at the lodge is that the water park was included in the price, which made it easier to justify the cost.
More information on Hershey Lodge…
Now a little more about Hershey Lodge… this is a place that we enjoyed traveling to and would do it again. There are abundant opportunities here for family fun. Upon arrival, the lodge is warm and welcoming, and nicely decorated. There is a nice giant fireplace in the lobby and lots of seating areas to hang around. Also, at times the candy characters would show up here for photo ops which we all loved. Our room was nice, and we all received full-size candy bars in our room (a big hit with the kids and the grands). It was a standard hotel room but did include chocolate-scented lotion and other items which added to the enjoyment. It was clean and spacious enough for our family. The grandparents were able to get an adjacent room next door by request.
By far, my children’s favorite part of this hotel was the Water Works Park. It was so much fun. We went down for swimming on the first night of arrival and had the place to ourselves. My boys had a ton of fun and did not want to leave when they closed. They spent much time bouncing across the Reeces Water Walk, the Twizzler Twist water slides, and the water dumping bucket.
Finally, the restaurants in the lodge were great. We enjoyed them for several meals, and they were great. Very nice for breakfast and dinner. There are four restaurants and a coffee shop located in the lodge and all are good choices. If you want to venture out, there are also quite a few good choices in town.
HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU NEED IN HERSHEY?
I recommend at least three days to be able to cover a few activities. We stayed for three and were able to do Christmas Candylane at Hershey Park, Chocolate World including a bunch of activities and shopping/lunch, and the water park at the lodge a few times. There are many more things in the town, so if you can afford a fourth day, I highly recommend it.
WHAT IS THERE TO DO IN HERSHEY?
There are so many activities available in Hershey during the Christmas season. Here are a few that we did and loved:
- Looking at the Christmas lights at the resort – Take a walk or a ride through, it is worth your while!
- Christmas Candylane at Hershey Park – There were many attractions open, and the holiday lights here were amazing! My kids enjoyed rides and there were many other things to do within the park.
- Water Works Park in Hershey Lodge – This indoor water park is warm and toasty, and large enough for lots of people to enjoy!
The next activities are all in Chocolate World and you will need a good part of a day here to explore…
- Chocolate World store – Need I say more? You can find any Hershey candy here that your heart desires and so many fun holiday options just add to the fun. I wanted to buy it all.
- Hershey’s Chocolate Tour – This is a continuous ride through tour where you learn about the history and the making of the chocolate. We all really loved this activity.
- Unwrapped Chocolate Experience – A fun tasting experience where we tried all different types of bars! I could not eat it all, but you get a nice souvenir tin that you can take with you for later.
- Trolleyworks Christmas trolley – We were glad to sit down for a bit. This was a long tour through the town of Hershey which was great! As always, they give you chocolate along the way. There were characters hopping on and off the train (including Santa) which the kids loved. You also learned more about Milton Hershey and were able to see his home and school.
- 4D Chocolate movie – This was a fun break, and my younger son really liked this activity.
- Create a Candy Bar – I loved this the most! While there was a bit of a line, we made our way through, and this is an immersive and interactive creating of your own individual candy bar. You choose the chocolate and add-ins, and then watch it go through all the steps of creation and you take it home when it is done. Really so much fun for all.
- Not an activity really, but we loved looking around at Chocolate World – We found a fantastic giant gingerbread house made with candy. It was an amazing sight! I can’t imagine how long it took.
- Take character photos – There are many characters wandering Chocolate World and the boys loved finding their favorites to take a pic!
IS CHRISTMAS AT HERSHEY FOR ALL AGES?
Absolutely! Our trip included ages 8-68 and was enjoyed by all. There are just so many activities and things to do that no one gets bored.
OTHER HELPFUL INFORMATION
One thing to note is that if you stay on the Hershey properties, you can take the shuttle to and from the amusement park which is nice.
In addition, if driving your own car, getting around the town is easy and we did find a couple of restaurants that we liked in town.
If you are looking for a holiday family trip where you can pack in the fun, Christmas at Hershey Park is for you. While it can be expensive, it is a holiday spectacle to behold, and jam-packed with family fun activities. I really believe that no trip will be the same as there are so many things to explore in the area. The entire town of Hershey, PA is filled with a rich history and full of joy by chocolate. There is chocolate given to you so many times we brought home a load of it. The Christmas season adds to the festivity with the amazing holiday lights and decorations. If you can save up for a trip like this, I highly recommend this one. In fact, if you start saving today in a Christmas Club savings account, you can accumulate enough next year for a trip like this!
If you are interested in other holiday travel, Southern Living has a great guide on 25 Charming Christmas Towns! I would love to explore some of these in the future.
https://www.southernliving.com/holidays-occasions/christmas/southern-small-town-christmas
I HOPE THAT THIS FAMILY ADVENTURE GUIDE WAS HELPFUL! START SAVING TODAY AND PUT HERSHEY PENNSYLVANIA ON YOUR CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE LIST!
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Jenn says
Aw man – this is definitely on my bucket list. I still remember visiting Hershey as a teen and the SMELL of CHOCOLATE everywhere!
cbrooks0312@comcast.net says
I can’t wait to go back! Ever since our trip, my boys have asked many times so hope to make it back next year.
KaYla says
I definitely need to add visiting Hershey to our bucket list. This place sounds like a dream.
Sally says
Thanks for this post! This is definitely a trip I want to take with my little one in the future.
cbrooks0312@comcast.net says
You won’t regret it!