Goin' Down the Bayou, a PTR ~ November 1-10 - Page 10 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Ok, I know, I know … I’ve been neglecting this PTR. I really wish I had a good excuse. We’ve been busy, but doing what I couldn’t tell you . I thought I was supposed to have more time now that it was summer, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. All of the things I had envisioned being done by this point, well, they aren’t . We are having trouble finding our way into a good summer routine, is anyone else having this problem? Anyway ….
Before I get on with another update about our plans, I thought I would share with you a mini trip we took a couple of weeks ago out to Hershey, PA. The girls have been asking to go to Hersheypark for some time now, but we never did it mainly because of the cost. Just planning a 2 or 3 night stay was astronomical, and when I compared what I would get for that price at Disney it was hard to bite the bullet and get it booked . Well, a family member decided to gift us some Marriott points and I found a good deal on park tickets through AAA, so the trip was a go and the girls couldn’t have been more excited!
We booked 2 nights at the Fairfield Inn Harrisburg/Hershey, which was “just minutes” away from the park though it was not as close as it sounded it was a 20 minute drive without traffic and planned to leave on Monday morning, 6/25.
We made the 2 ½ hour drive out to Hershey without incident and made it to our hotel around 12:30 pm. Check in was not until 3 pm, but I was hoping a room would be available for us. Sadly, there wasn’t, so we decided to grab some lunch across the street and then head over to the “free” Chocolate World. I put free in quotes, because it is free to enter (and there are a couple of free activites), but the majority of things inside did cost money. Inside, there is a large foodcourt and store selling various park merchandise as well as all kinds of Hershey chocolate/candy products. The girls were in heaven here. The two free activities included a ride through the “chocolate factory” to see how they make those famous Hershey Bars, and a spot where you can pretend to be a product packer in the Kisses factory. It is free to do, but at the end you can purchase the box of Kisses that you just packed if you choose. It was expensive ($7 for a tiny little box), but there was never any pressure to buy.
Other activities that were available for a fee were a 3D movie, a Trolley Tour of the town of Hershey, a chocolate tasting led by a chocolatier, a “design your own candy bar” and some kind of “make your own dessert” thing. Tickets could be purchased al a carte, or there were various combo tickets you could buy that would give you a slight discount, depending on how many activities you wanted to. We ended up just browsing the store and riding through the chocolate factory before heading back to the hotel to check in, but before we left we did purchase tickets for a Trolley Tour later that evening.
We checked in and freshened up at the hotel before heading back to Chocolate World to board our trolley for the tour. All in all, the tour took about an hour. It was a little corny at times, funny at times, but very informative. It takes you throughout the town of Hershey, and there was a lot of information given about Mr. Hershey and his famous chocolate bars. I’m not sure that I would do it again, but I don’t regret doing it once. There was free chocolate!
After the tour we grabbed a bite to eat at a Red Robin that was just outside of the park, and then we headed over to the park to enjoy our preview (a nice perk of buying day tickets, you are allowed to enter the park 2 ½ hours before closing the night before you plan on using your full day ticket). We managed to get a lot of rides in during those couple of hours, and the girls discovered a new found love of roller coasters! I, however, realized that I do NOT like coasters anymore . At one point, I had Abby (my tiny little 6 year old) holding my hand during a ride, trying to comfort me after I screamed that I didn’t like it . Fun times!
Our plan for the next day was to arrive at park opening and go straight to the waterpark area for a few hours, but the weather did not cooperate with us. The temperature had dropped by quite a bit overnight and it was rather chilly in the morning. We spent the whole day in the park, from opening to close. Man were we tired, but we had a ball and found out that we had two little, budding thrill seekers on our hands. Kaeli now wants to try and conquer ToT and RnRC this trip, after the rides she tried at Hershey I have no doubts that she will.
We got a good nights sleep and slept in a bit on Wednesday morning before heading back home. While I got dressed and packed up the room, Chris took the girls down to the pool for a little while after breakfast. After a quick change, we got our things ready and checked out around noon before heading home.
It was a great little getaway and we had lots of fun, but I did find myself comparing things to Disney (like I usually do at other theme parks), and things aren’t always up to the caliber that we are used to at WDW. I will say, though, that they handle food allergies excellently. There is a wealth of information on ingredients and safe options on their website, they even go as far as to list all menu items, ingredients and cross contamination alerts for all of the restaurants in the parks. Any of the staff members that we spoke to regarding Kaeli’s allergy were well trained and able to answer any questions that we had, which really put us at ease. The girls had a blast, and they have already put in a request to return for another trip next summer!
I didn’t bring my camera with me, but here are a few shots we got with our camera phones:
I was happy to have been able to test out some purchases I made for our upcoming WDW trip, a new bag
Wednesday morning you will find us at Blizzard Beach! The package we booked included a one day pass for all of us to either a water park or Disney Quest. After showing girls videos of both, they decided that they wanted to try a water park. Here's hoping to warm weather!! I was up in the air as to which park to try, I posted a bunch of questions on here and watched tons of You Tube videos to make my decision. Finally, we decided on Typhoon Lagoon. Then, the park calendars were released and we saw that TL would be closed for refurbishment the whole month of November Oh well, I guess our decision is made, Blizzard Beach it is
The plan is to get to BB for opening and then spend a few hours there until lunch time. Sometime in the afternoon we'll head back to POR for a little relaxation time before our dinner at the Cape May Cafe . This one was actually Chris' choice. I don't know why I never showed him the menu for it, but when he saw it on Allears he was all over it! Epcot is having EMH tonight, so after dinner we'll take a stroll through the IG to take advantage of them.
116 Days to Go! Lawrence: Prince, I have been looking for you everywhere! Prince Naveen: What a coincidence, because I have been avoiding you everywhere!
Water Park day sounds like fun! I hope you get good, warm weather. Thanks for the bonus TR for Hershey. Sounds like fun, but I also cringe when I spend big bucks for a non-Disney experience that just doesn't measure up. Your girls are looking cuter than ever!
We love Hershey, we always plan a short trip there every year but you are right the cost is very expensive, especially if you stay at one of their hotels. I am like you always comparing every detail to a Disney vacation, its hard not too. Glad you had a great time there and that you have two little thrill riders, Hershey does have some awesome coasters, I hope Kaeli makes it on TOT and RNRC.
We have also never done a Disney waterpark, even when on our May trips and my boys are also begging to check one out on our next trip, which I guess will be BB.
Water Park day sounds like fun! I hope you get good, warm weather. Thanks for the bonus TR for Hershey. Sounds like fun, but I also cringe when I spend big bucks for a non-Disney experience that just doesn't measure up. Your girls are looking cuter than ever!
Thanks, Laurie! We've been really lucky weather wise for our last 3 November trips, I really hope that trend continues. We had a lot of fun at Hershey, it was a great trip just different from what we are accustomed to in Disney.
Quote:
Originally Posted by valegirl5292
We love Hershey, we always plan a short trip there every year but you are right the cost is very expensive, especially if you stay at one of their hotels. I am like you always comparing every detail to a Disney vacation, its hard not too. Glad you had a great time there and that you have two little thrill riders, Hershey does have some awesome coasters, I hope Kalei makes it on TOT and RNRC.
We have also never done a Disney waterpark, even when on our May trips and my boys are also begging to check one out on our next trip, which I guess will be BB.
I should also add that of all the crazy roller coasters that Kaeli went on, the two rides that she absolutely refused to do were the ferris wheel and the Kissing Tower She went up and down crazy hills and even on upside down coasters, but we could not get her on those rides. She told me later it was because she has a fear of heights. I had no idea
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We got free dining!! I called today and took advantage of the offer for Disney Visa holders, saving us about $650 We had to upgrade to a Garden View room, since it was not available on standard rooms, and I ended up adding the water park and more option to our tickets. Since we had to cancel the original special offer we booked in order to get free dining now, we would lose our water park day passes because of it. When talking to the CM somehow waterparks came up and I mentioned that we would be going for 1 day. He suggested adding the option to our tickets, but I said no since I thought it would not be worth it at $50 per person since day tickets for the girls would be under that price. Well, I had no idea, but when they changed the ticket pricing in June, they also changed the pricing for adding parkhoppers/waterparks and more. If you add only one option to your ticket it is $50, but adding both is only $75. So, for about $25 per person we can visit BB, DQ and play some mini golf throughout our trip if we'd like!
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About This Page: 
. I thought I was supposed to have more time now that it was summer, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. All of the things I had envisioned being done by this point, well, they aren’t 
. We are having trouble finding our way into a good summer routine, is anyone else having this problem? Anyway ….
. Well, a family member decided to gift us some Marriott points and I found a good deal on park tickets through AAA, so the trip was a go and the girls couldn’t have been more excited! 
. At one point, I had Abby (my tiny little 6 year old) holding my hand during a ride, trying to comfort me after I screamed that I didn’t like it 
. Fun times!
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Oh well, I guess our decision is made, Blizzard Beach it is 
And your plans for Day 6 look very relaxing! 
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