The Hershey Let Down
So the big family vacation has come and gone for another summer. Of course comparing anything to last year's DISNEY would have to be tough...but come on. How can you mess up CHOCOLATE?
We arrived in PA on Wednesday the 13th and things were looking up. Nice weather, gas at $3.55 a gallon and a decent motel. In some ways, the motel actually topped Disney in the breakfast department. Each morning, we went down the stairs and across the front a few steps to the lobby for quite a nice spread, all included in our stay. There was cereal, fruit, bagels, toast, donuts, and boiled eggs. But the best of all, was a waffle maker for you to make your own custom made waffle with choice of toppings. Then there was coffee, tea and juices. After breakfast hours, the lobby had a movie theater popcorn machine with all the yummy popcorn you could eat in those cute little bags even! The kids just loved this! They had a decent inground swimming pool even. Our room had a nice fridge, microwave and coffee maker. So when comparing our Disney stay and the 4 mile walk to breakfast, carrying our cups, PA really was ahead.
On Thursday we drove to Hershey Park, about 15 minutes from where we stayed in Harrisburg. First, you had to pay $10 to PARK your car. Luckily we'd bought advance tickets from a friend of Margie's who is a PA resident and gets a discount somehow. We got into the park right when they opened at 10am. There were honestly more people at the gate than when we went to the Magic Kingdom (and not on the magical extra hours either). The kids waited forever in lines, some much longer than anything we waited in Disney. The water park attraction totally bit. Freezing water, CROWDS and CROWDS of people and you couldn't sit in chairs and watch your children, you had to physically be IN the water with them. We are spoiled by the expansive layout and casual family like atmosphere of Enchanted Forest. We all agreed that the water park blew.
Then lunch. 3 sandwhiches (Jillian and I shared) and 4 beverages ran us $35. We ate dinner the night before at Applebees, and for our 4 meals, desserts and a BEER...it was only $43. We were not at all impressed. Around 5pm the sky opened up and it began to POUR. Of course Jillian had been waiting in line for a hair wrap for about 40 minutes and JUST sat in the chair when the thunder/lighting began...and then the downpour. There we were, standing under a big table umbrella. If anything it forced her to choose the hair UNDER neath which only cost us $13, rather than on TOP which would have cost a lot more ($2 an inch!).
We left the park at 6pm and never looked back. We were glad to be outta there.
After a quick meal at WENDY'S we hit the convenience store across the road to bring dessert and beer back to the room. We grabbed ice cream, but there was NO BEER! We went back to the motel, and Billy left in search of beer. After several stops he was told he could go to a BAR to buy beer. WHAT!??! Yes, they can sell you a 6 pack or a 12 pack as long as it does not exceed x number of ounces. Are you KIDDING me? Or he could go to a DISTRIBUTOR. Someone gave him directions and he was off to purchase a case of BUD LIGHT. He returned with a 24 pack of 10 ounce cans. They were just the strangest looking cans! When he questioned the employee about the chase for the beer, she said to him, Welcome to Pennsyltucky! Alrighty then! You can smoke in restaurants here, buy fireworks and use your cell phone while driving but can't purchase beer at a gas station or grocery store!??!?! HELLO!
Chocolate World Tour was the next day. Another $10 to park. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was not it. I went to Hershey as a child, with my Aunt and did the tour. I would have bet money that we toured the ACTUAL FACTORY. I have one vivid memory of it. But now I am questioning whether it is that I am remembering, or if it is the UTICA CLUB BEER BREWERY tour I am remembering! Yes, as a child I toured a brewery with my aunt! Anyway, I looked online when I got home and it said that they closed the factory to the public in 1973. I am trying to get my mother to remember what year that would have been that I went. I doubt she'll figure it out, I will have to call my aunt.
The tour of today is a DISNEY-IZED ride through a pretend factory with singing cows. WAY disappointing. We paid a ton of money to watch a 20 minute 3D show that was kind of okay. The kids paid $15 to wait in a long line to pretend to be a factory worker and package Hershey kisses and get an ID badge. We spent over $100 at the gift shop and I refused to buy any chocolate there. All of the same chocolate is much cheaper every day at Walmart, and was actually on sale this week at Price Chopper. I was a little shocked. And they didn't even have my coconut kisses there! I was really kind of hoping they'd feature some of their retired flavors, but no such luck.
I was really all too excited to get in the car on Saturday morning, after our last yummy motel breakfast, and HIT THE HIGHWAY back to NYS!
We arrived in PA on Wednesday the 13th and things were looking up. Nice weather, gas at $3.55 a gallon and a decent motel. In some ways, the motel actually topped Disney in the breakfast department. Each morning, we went down the stairs and across the front a few steps to the lobby for quite a nice spread, all included in our stay. There was cereal, fruit, bagels, toast, donuts, and boiled eggs. But the best of all, was a waffle maker for you to make your own custom made waffle with choice of toppings. Then there was coffee, tea and juices. After breakfast hours, the lobby had a movie theater popcorn machine with all the yummy popcorn you could eat in those cute little bags even! The kids just loved this! They had a decent inground swimming pool even. Our room had a nice fridge, microwave and coffee maker. So when comparing our Disney stay and the 4 mile walk to breakfast, carrying our cups, PA really was ahead.
On Thursday we drove to Hershey Park, about 15 minutes from where we stayed in Harrisburg. First, you had to pay $10 to PARK your car. Luckily we'd bought advance tickets from a friend of Margie's who is a PA resident and gets a discount somehow. We got into the park right when they opened at 10am. There were honestly more people at the gate than when we went to the Magic Kingdom (and not on the magical extra hours either). The kids waited forever in lines, some much longer than anything we waited in Disney. The water park attraction totally bit. Freezing water, CROWDS and CROWDS of people and you couldn't sit in chairs and watch your children, you had to physically be IN the water with them. We are spoiled by the expansive layout and casual family like atmosphere of Enchanted Forest. We all agreed that the water park blew.
Then lunch. 3 sandwhiches (Jillian and I shared) and 4 beverages ran us $35. We ate dinner the night before at Applebees, and for our 4 meals, desserts and a BEER...it was only $43. We were not at all impressed. Around 5pm the sky opened up and it began to POUR. Of course Jillian had been waiting in line for a hair wrap for about 40 minutes and JUST sat in the chair when the thunder/lighting began...and then the downpour. There we were, standing under a big table umbrella. If anything it forced her to choose the hair UNDER neath which only cost us $13, rather than on TOP which would have cost a lot more ($2 an inch!).
We left the park at 6pm and never looked back. We were glad to be outta there.
After a quick meal at WENDY'S we hit the convenience store across the road to bring dessert and beer back to the room. We grabbed ice cream, but there was NO BEER! We went back to the motel, and Billy left in search of beer. After several stops he was told he could go to a BAR to buy beer. WHAT!??! Yes, they can sell you a 6 pack or a 12 pack as long as it does not exceed x number of ounces. Are you KIDDING me? Or he could go to a DISTRIBUTOR. Someone gave him directions and he was off to purchase a case of BUD LIGHT. He returned with a 24 pack of 10 ounce cans. They were just the strangest looking cans! When he questioned the employee about the chase for the beer, she said to him, Welcome to Pennsyltucky! Alrighty then! You can smoke in restaurants here, buy fireworks and use your cell phone while driving but can't purchase beer at a gas station or grocery store!??!?! HELLO!
Chocolate World Tour was the next day. Another $10 to park. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was not it. I went to Hershey as a child, with my Aunt and did the tour. I would have bet money that we toured the ACTUAL FACTORY. I have one vivid memory of it. But now I am questioning whether it is that I am remembering, or if it is the UTICA CLUB BEER BREWERY tour I am remembering! Yes, as a child I toured a brewery with my aunt! Anyway, I looked online when I got home and it said that they closed the factory to the public in 1973. I am trying to get my mother to remember what year that would have been that I went. I doubt she'll figure it out, I will have to call my aunt.
The tour of today is a DISNEY-IZED ride through a pretend factory with singing cows. WAY disappointing. We paid a ton of money to watch a 20 minute 3D show that was kind of okay. The kids paid $15 to wait in a long line to pretend to be a factory worker and package Hershey kisses and get an ID badge. We spent over $100 at the gift shop and I refused to buy any chocolate there. All of the same chocolate is much cheaper every day at Walmart, and was actually on sale this week at Price Chopper. I was a little shocked. And they didn't even have my coconut kisses there! I was really kind of hoping they'd feature some of their retired flavors, but no such luck.
I was really all too excited to get in the car on Saturday morning, after our last yummy motel breakfast, and HIT THE HIGHWAY back to NYS!
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