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Hersheypark

Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA

“Terrible chocolate, breathtaking amusement park”

The Happiest Place on Earth, that’s the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim. But did you know that there’s also a Sweetest Place on Earth? That’s the nickname of Hershey, a small town in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania. Hershey owes its sweet nickname to Hershey’s, one of the world’s largest chocolate producers. Americans consider Hershey as some kind of chocolate heaven. As a Belgian, however, I find Hershey’s chocolate bars mediocre and the drop-shaped Hershey’s Kisses taste downright gross. Nevertheless, there is still a good reason to visit this city. Next to the Hershey’s headquarters you’ll find a zoo, a stadium, an interactive chocolate museum and an enormous amusement park. That park is called Hersheypark and there are over 70 rides, including a whopping 14 roller coasters.

ROLLER COASTERS

As mentioned in the introduction, Hersheypark isn’t exactly short on coasters. The lineup includes some quite impressive machines and one of them can be found right at the park entrance. Candymonium winds through Hershey’s Chocolate Town and it is the most prominent attraction for visitors entering the park. This is a classic B&M Hyper Coaster with good airtime moments and smoothly-running trains. Still, I should mention that this is a family thrill rather than a crazy adrenaline machine. With that, Candymonium fits perfectly in the line of peers like Apollo’s Chariot, Nitro and Silver Star. Fortunately, Hersheypark has plenty of other options if you’re looking for a more thrilling experience.

One of these thrills is Storm Runner, a ride that has become world-famous thanks to its unusual layout. Ever heard of a cobra loop or a flying snake dive? These elements were largely responsible for the ride’s fame. And despite the fact that the ride lasts just half a minute, I enjoyed every second of it. Storm Runner’s launch is unbelievably powerful, the ride is smooth and the surprising layout is a big plus.

Fahrenheit is another Intamin beauty. This coaster was presented in 2008 and it gets mixed reviews from coaster enthusiasts. Some people say that it’s similar to Gerstlauer Euro-Fighters, that the ride is uncomfortable and that its capacity is rather low. That last criticism is true: Fahrenheit’s capacity is considerably lower than most other top attractions at Hersheypark. That’s why the regular queue took up to 60 minutes during our visit, but we were able to avoid it by riding just before park closing time. And honestly, I kind of liked the experience. Apart from that horrible vertical lift hill, Fahrenheit is a decent thrill ride. The first drop is amazing, the overall speed is high and it features some intense inversions.

One of the most prominent coasters at Hersheypark is Skyrush. This Intamin machine boasts spectacular figures: the ride is 3,600 ft (1.100 metres) long and it reaches a maximum speed of 75 mph (120 km/h). These figures create high expectations, but Skyrush turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the day. Don’t get me wrong: Skyrush could have been a fantastic roller coaster. It treats riders to great g-forces and we got to experience some freaking sublime airtime. Unfortunately, the ride has gotten quite painful over the course of time. My head was violently slapped against the headrest during the first descent and the trains have an uncomfortable rattle during the entire course of the ride.

The Hollow is the park’s busiest area when it comes to attractions. There are lots of different coasters, a log flume, all intertwined with each other. It looks a little chaotic, but in the best possible way. One of the area’s most striking elements is Great Bear. This B&M inverted coaster features several weirdly shaped supports and an unconventional layout, so I guess it wasn’t that easy to design. The result, however, is marvelous. Great Bear is a prominent ride and a true beauty. The actual experience doesn’t disappoint either: it’s a quite intense coaster and the original layout makes it fun to ride. I even liked that unusual helix before the first descent.

Great Bear is intertwined with several attractions, including Schwarzkopf’s classic Sooperdooperlooper. Despite its strange name and its age (it has been here for nearly 50 years), this coaster is remarkable. The layout takes advantage of the hilly scenery and it’s smoother than many modern-day roller coasters. That’s why I’m actually quite proud about the fact that Sooperdooperlooper became my 500th coaster credit back in 2017.

Attention to all wooden coaster enthusiasts! Hersheypark is home to two different woodies, including Lightning Racer. Lightning Racer is similar to Joris en de Draak at Efteling, but this coaster is even taller, faster and more thrilling than its Dutch sibling. It’s a very powerful woodie, but unfortunately it’s become considerably rougher than it was during my first visit. Then I actually prefer riding Comet, a classic white wooden coaster that opened back in 1946. Despite being old, Comet is anything but a boring family roller coaster. It includes some good drops and thanks to the relatively loose-fitting lap bars, we also get to experience some nice pops of airtime.

Rocky Mountain Construction has dominated the American coaster wars during the past decade, and Hersheypark couldn’t stay behind. In 2023, they presented Wildcat’s Revenge, a hybrid coaster that rose on the foundations of the old Wildcat. And you know what? Hersheypark’s weakest roller coaster was transformed into a coaster that counts as one of the world’s very best. RMC created a ride with four inversions and a top speed of 62 mph (100 kmh). The compact layout contains tons of airtime and some excellent laterals. In addition, the trains run incredibly smooth, so Wildcat’s Revenge is very re-rideable. As the ride crew were working extremely hard to keep the wait time at a minimum, we rode it over and over.

Not every Hershey roller coaster is legendary. The park also offers a standard Wild Mouse, an indoor spinning coaster called Laff Trakk, an old-fashioned Arrow mine train, a Vekoma Boomerang and a kiddie coaster. These coasters aren’t necessarily bad, but I’d only recommend riding them if the queues are short.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

As an amateur photographer, a ride on the so-called Kissing Tower seems inevitable. This panoramic tower offers unbeatable views of Hersheypark and it’s the best way to make some aerial photos. Those photos are mainly filled with coaster tracks and it seems as if Hersheypark doesn’t offer any dark rides. But that’s not true…

Hersheypark has an interactive dark ride called Reese’s Cupfusion. Please just skip it if there’s a queue, as it feels like a low-budget version of Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Fortunately, Hershey also offers a high-quality dark ride, but it’s somewhat hidden. You actually have to leave Hersheypark to ride it. Next to the amusement park, you’ll find Hershey’s Chocolate World, a huge gift shop with a few interactive attractions. One of these attractions is Hershey’s Chocolate Tour. This is an Omnimover ride that shows the production process of chocolate in a cheerful way. The first scene is full of singing cows and I guess that’s a valid reason to adore the Chocolate Tour. But do you know what I like most about this dark ride? The fact that you can visit it for free. You even get a free piece of chocolate at the exit. Terrible Hershey chocolate of course, but hey… it’s free.

The ride count at Hersheypark is remarkable: the park has a ton of attractions for every age group. I’m not only talking about roller coasters, but Hersheypark is also full of kiddie attractions and flat rides. You’ll even find a zoo and a water park, all included in your regular admission ticket. In other words… Hersheypark is big and there’s a lot to see. Take your time to visit this park and maybe even add a second day during the busier times of the year.

WORTH A VISIT?

Hersheypark is the roller coaster capital of Pennsylvania. You’ll find 21 inversions and the roller coasters have a combined length of over 7 miles. That’s impressive, but these numbers don’t tell the whole story. After all, Hersheypark is a charming place where visitors get bang for their buck. Few parks can boast such an extensive range of attractions and F&B options seem to be endless as well. Besides, we encountered friendly staff members that worked hard to achieve the highest possible capacity. This means that you don’t necessarily need a front-of-the-line pass to enjoy your day and that’s something I really appreciate.

Hersheypark feels very different if you compare it to other American coaster parks. The atmosphere is relaxed, operations are awesome and most staff members seem to enjoy working here. Hersheypark exceeded all expectations and I discovered a few phenomenal roller coasters. Do you think that every chocolate brand should open their own theme park? Have you also suffered while riding Skyrush? And do you acknowledge the singing cows’ awesomeness? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Hersheypark during a visit in April 2025.