Sweet Times in Hershey, Pennsylvania

While traveling through Pennsylvania last week, a stop in Hershey was a must for us chocoholics. My husband and I opted to surprise our daughter with the visit--she had no idea that we were going. She lit up when she saw some cheerful Hershey characters welcoming her at the entrance of Hershey's Chocolate World.

As soon as you enter Hershey's Chocolate World, you are well on your way to a sugar high.  Immediately, you can feel the energy of all of the excited children (and adults).  Of course, you also immediately feel the deflation of your pocket book as well (ouch!).

Even though some of the activities were quite pricey (at least in my opinion), we managed to find some free activities that we enjoyed.  Chocolate World has a ride where you get to watch the process of making chocolate and creating Hershey's famous confections.  I was pretty impressed with the ride.  Not only was it entertaining, but it gave a true picture of what goes into making candy. It actually showed the mechanisms involved using working machinery.  I have been on tours before that relied heavily on videos instead of the actual machines themselves.  (Awesome job, Hershey!)

In addition to the ride, my daughter was able to package Hershey Kisses.  While the activity was simple, it was fun!  The attendant also spiced things up by singing and dancing.

Hershey Kiss packaging

Of course, Chocolate World is chock full with every Hershey candy and souvenir item that you could ever think of.  We salivated over various baked concoctions using Hershey products but eventually settled on having some frozen delights.  My husband and I had a chocolate peanut butter shake which was definitely worth the calories.  My daughter had some Hershey's chocolate ice cream.  She received a large scoop that I felt was really worth the money.

Chocolate World also had some special activities while we were there including a visit with the Easter Bunny and an Easter scavenger hunt.  Unfortunately, we did not have time for these activities but I am sure they were fun!

There were a few free samples--which was nice.  One of my only complaints aside from prices is that the sample handed out after the ride was of chocolate covered almonds.  It just struck me as odd because it is not a candy kids typically would choose.  Also, there did not seem to be an option for those with allergies.

Overall, we had a great time and will be going back.  I really would like to take my daughter to make her own candy bar.  We did not have enough time during our visit.  Also, since Hershey was just a side trip for us, we did not want to spend too much on the visit.  Next, time I will plan better and we will check it out.

If you are in the area, Hershey's Chocolate World is a great place to visit especially with the little ones.  I just recommend checking out the prices first so that you can do some planning.