Hersheypark In the Dark

This weekend is the last chance you have to visit Hersheypark In The Dark, Hersheypark's annual Halloween event. We were lucky enough to make it out to the park this past Saturday with an extended touring group and we all had a good time. The park was extremely crowded with long lines at just about every ride, but we still managed to ride just about everything we wanted and got some trick or treating in as well.

The whole park is decorated for Halloween in a family friendly way. You won't find any zombies or scary clowns or insane midgets at Hersheypark. All the Halloween fun is played strictly for laughs and there is nothing to make even the most timid child squeamish.

The centerpiece of Hershey's Halloween spectacular is Treatville, a fairly elaborate little town set up just for the holiday. Kids under 12 are given a trick-or-treat bag and make their way through the many merchants of Treatville collecting various bite sized samples of Hershey products along the way. For a regional theme park, Hershey has done a very impressive job bringing the town of Treatville to life. Theatrical lighting, top notch sets and the fun Halloween soundtrack make the attraction thrilling for kids and adults.

Hersheypark in the Dark also features a few Halloween-themed entertainment offerings as well as a chance to visit ZooAmerica in the dark. Unfortunately, due to the crowds this past weekend we had to skip on shows and the zoo. We did hit up most of the major coasters in the park. It was my first time on Lighting Racer and the Wildcat. Both of these wooden coasters are outstanding rides as well as the classic Comet, which I'm pretty sure I haven't rode in at least 20 years. I only wish the lines weren't so long so I could have gone for a second spin on all three of these great rides. All of us in our party rode the Trailblazer, which is a smaller runaway mine cart-style coaster. It was nice that we could all ride together, even though we couldn't quite coordinate getting us all on the same train.

I only wish we had more time to enjoy the park. Hersheypark in the Dark is open Friday 4-10, Saturday 2-10 and Sunday 2-9. The tickets are $26.95, $17.95 for kids. You can buy discounted tickets at area Giant Foods stores.