During our last full calendar month in Maryland, we've worked in multiple short and drivable trips to re-see places one more time. About a week ago we went up to Hershey, PA, less than two hours away. If you know nothing about this part of the country, Hershey is just east of Harrisburg, capital of Pennsylvania, and also not far from Lancaster County, a place usually associated with its large population of Pennsylvania Dutch (which includes the Amish). Our plan was to drive up and spend one day and night in Hershey before returning in the morning. We'd go into Hersheypark and take our son, the 3-year old, on a few rides. He's become quite the fan of them, loving especially carousels, and we've been trying to do that with him as much as possible. Since my wife and I have been to Hershey but not the park, this seemed like a great idea. We thought we'd only spend a small part of the day inside Hershey's Chocolate World, which is next door on the same grounds and doesn't require moving the car, because, as much as my wife and son love chocolate, rides were the priority.
The day did not go as planned. Arriving around noon on Hershey Park Drive, the big road that takes you to all the big attractions, it was obvious something else was going on. Lots of people were milling about, older and classic cars abounded, workers directed traffic and parking, and exits were closed to certain places, like the amusement park where we wanted to go. So we followed a line of cars and parked in a big, still mostly empty lot that held a bunch of (strangely locked) porta-potties and got out. I talked to one of the men attempting to steer everyone in. He explained, unsurprisingly, that there was a massive car show going on that day, with half a million people in town, and the amusement park was closed as a result. Since we'd bought tickets to the park, which apparently do not have a date attached to them, and did not book any of the activities inside Chocolate World, the day looked to be a complete disaster. I started thinking about driving back home and getting a babysitter so we could go see No Time to Die.
But first we'd go see what could be done inside Chocolate World, which was open and operating as normally as possible with decreased exhibit capacity due to Covid. (Note: you can ignore that the website requests a timed entry, because no one was checking.) If you've never been, there's a number of things to do: there's a free ride (the 'Chocolate Tour') where they explain about the company and the process for making their chocolate, there's a '4D' movie that changes with each viewing, there's a factory-like setup to 'Create Your Own Candy Bar' which is made and given to you, there's 'Hershey's Unwrapped' where you taste several chocolate bars in an entertaining and interactive experience, and there's the 'Trolley Works' which takes you around town. Of course there's also a ridiculously large candy store and a ton of merchandise too. With the exception of the Chocolate Tour, all the other activities require tickets. When we got there that day, a little before noon, everything was either sold out or would require waiting until around 5pm. Killing that much time wasn't going to be an option with our little ones. So for a few moments, we didn't know what to do. Then a woman walked up to us and said her family was done for the day, and handed us their tickets. What was left were time slots for Hershey's Unwrapped and the Trolley ride, the two things we were most excited to check out. I couldn't, and still don't, believe our luck. My wife has been calling her a guardian angel. The day was saved!
Just to re-iterate: If you plan to go to Hershey's Chocolate World, book any desired activities in advance. It barely costs any more to do multiple things so consider the packages. Do not show up in the middle of a weekend day and expect to have openings that are in any way convenient. You probably also shouldn't expect to get handed tickets by a random person like we did.
From that point we had a pretty lovely day. We still went on the Chocolate Tour, obvs. You get into little carts and ride along a track while a woman walks you through everything that goes into making Hershey's chocolate. You even get a fun-size bar at the end and can do on the ride as many times as you'd like. After that was the tasting event, which enthralled our son as he got to try several bars, even if waiting between them was nearly unbearable. We had a little bit of time afterward and got some food. I should have seen it coming that literally everything, even the cheese for a soft pretzel, was overly sweet. It's hard to get out of Chocolate World feeling anything but gut rot. Finally, and best of all, was the trolley ride. This was the best thing we did all day. The guides, a young man and woman, told stories about the town as we were shown around, seeing the original factory and Milton Hershey's mansion, and even serenaded us with songs. It was very small-town folksy, but it was also a lot of fun. This is the singular paid activity I'd recommend if there's only time for one.
Something that really struck me for the first time, especially on the Trolley tour, is how much Hershey epitomizes a 'company town.' But that's exactly what it is, since Milton Hershey bought a large tract of land there in 1900 and quickly perfected a recipe for milk chocolate using the milk from nearby farms. His original factory, the largest for chocolate production in the world (at the time), was completed in 1905. Everything else in town grew around this building and today the town still revolves around the chocolate company. The lights on its main street are shaped like Hershey's Kisses. The park and the mansion and the country club surrounding it are very close. Up on the big hill overlooking town are both the Milton Hershey School, a private K-12 school for orphans and underprivileged kids maintained by a trust and funded by the Hershey fortune, and the Hotel Hershey, a ritzy resort run by the chocolate company. No wonder the town bears the man's name, who I'm partially convinced was secretly Batman.
We had an early dinner, something more or less required with multiple little kids, at Tröegs Independent Brewing, a sizable craft brewery and restaurant only a few minutes down the road from the main Hershey attractions. This place is great, and we knew it from our previous visit years ago (Go Hershey Bears!). There's a ton of space, indoors and out, and they have a remarkably well-thought-out setup, though I should note it involves queuing in lines for food/beer instead of waiting on table service. We've very much enjoyed our experience there both times and consider it one of the best brewpubs we've visited, not least because the food and drinks are exceptional. Check it out.
In the end we had a great time, thanks almost entirely to the extremely kind woman who handed us her family's tickets. We've still never made it inside Hersheypark or Dutch Wonderland (another PA amusement park), places we think would be fun to take kids, but that's really okay. There are plenty of places with rides.
Until next time.
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