Hershey, PA is the Sweetest Family Place on Earth!
*Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post. We received complimentary passes to visit the attractions for review purposes. All opinions are my own. 
We visit Hershey, PA for a week in the summer to attend the Pennsylvania Suzuki Institute for “T” to be truly immersed in his Suzuki violin experience. Last year, was our first year and we has a blast exploring the hidden historical gems that Hershey has to offer. This year, we decided that we would finally check out the infamous Hershey Park as well as Hershey Gardens,Hershey Story & Chocolate Lab.
The Hershey Story is an interactive museum that honors and preserves the life and legacy of Milton Hershey in a fun way. “A” had a great time exploring the exhibits. Even though we visited last year, we were amazed that we learned a few new things on this visit. about Hershey– the man, company & the town.
The Chocolate Lab is a must when visiting Hershey…you get to make your own chocolate in a 45 minute hands-on lab. “T” and u attended the “Make Your own Bar” class where we were educated about the rich history of chocolate and had the opportunity to create our own chocolate bars using the ingredients provided: mini marshmallows, raisins, puffed rice, sprinkles & white chocolate chips.
After making our own chocolate at the Chocolate Lab, we headed to Cafe Zooka for a Chocolate Tasting of chocolates from around the world: Mexico, Venezuela, Ghana, Sao Thone, Tanzania & Java. Our server brought over a tray of 
6 warm drinking chocolate samples ranging in cacao percentages and suggested that we taste them from light to dark. The tasting was delicious and we each had a favorite: mine was the 32% cacao from Java, “T” was the 40% cacao from Ghana, “A”s was the 75% cacao from Tanzania & hubby’s was the 66% cacao from Mexico. The boys loved the tasting and comparing the difference in taste between the chocolates.
HersheyPark was certainly an adventure and the boys were super excited to check it out after driving past it everyday for a week. We packed our swimsuits, swim bags, sunscreen and set out to explore HersheyPark for the first time since none of us had been there before. Upon arriving to the park, we were pleasantly 
surprised by its cozy feeling and were “tricked” into thinking the park was not as big as it really is. Our first stop was Hospitality Service where we purchased a few “meal tickets” for $13.75 each which allowed us to eat at over 20 places to eat throughout the park plus a souvenir cup that could be refilled throughout the season for only 99 cents. Then, with our map in hand we began our HersheyPark adventure. We followed the main path and I was quite pleased to find “kiddie” rides scattered throughout the park that worked well for a much needed break from walking. The Candy Brand Key showed which rides the boys were tall enough to ride:
Hershey’s Miniatures: M Up to 36″
Hershey’s Kisses: K 36″-42″
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: R 42″-48″
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate: H 48″-54″
Twizzlers: T 54″-60″
Jolly Rancher: J More than 60″
I was also impressed that there were over 30 rides that both boys would be able to get on even though they are little guys. They rode the Dinosaur Go Round, Granny Bugs, Mini-Himalaya, Miniature Train, Pony Parade and Swing Thing. Our next destination was The Boardwalk to check out the wave pool and some water rides. We had a great time alternating cooling of in the wave pool and lounging on the surrounding beach chairs and the boys enjoyed East Coast WaterWorks: 7 slides, 2 crawl tunnels & nearly 600 interactive water toys. After our water fun, we wanted to dry off and enjoy some family rides, we decided to get on the Ferris Wheel & Carousel before calling it a day. We had a great time at HersheyPark and can’t wait to return to check out more rides!
Our last attraction in Hershey was Hershey Gardens: a 23-acre botanical display garden. There are a number of themed gardens and the boys wanted to check out The Children’s 
Gardens first where there were a number of interactive hands-on activities for them to enjoy. We entered the caterpillar shaped tunnel and the boys were immediately drawn to the 3 Hershey Kiss shaped misters to cool themselves off. We decided to visit the Butterfly House which houses hundreds of North American butterflies. We were given a butterfly identification sheet to help us identify some of the butterflies in the house. The boys enjoyed searching for particular species and observing the butterflies up close and personal. After the Butterfly House, we explored the rest of the Children’s Garden and they touched, smelled and played their way through the chocolate scented, named and colored flora. We enjoyed strolling through the rest of the grounds, admiring the trees, flowers & plants, stopping to take pictures and pointing out the koi in the Japanese pond.
We had a great family trip to Hershey and will be returning next year for another sweet adventure!
-SD