Philadelphia/Hershey Nesties??

kcbarbe

We are headed to the Hershey area next week for vacation.  I am curious to see if my 10 month old would enjoy Dutch Wonderland, is there anything he could do there?  Don't know if it is worth the money or not?

Any other suggestions for that area?  We have plans for Chocolate World.

(I did post this on the local board as well)

 

Thanks!

Mommy2James

I am not sure if Dutch Wonderland will have much for him as i have never been there.

Where will you be staying?

labooshki

I'm not sure, I know I'm not planning on taking B there until he's over a year.

kcbarbe

We will be Pittsburgh for one day, then Hershey for 3-4 days.  We have been there twice (my husband is from there) but never with DS. 

CMDR513

The Storybook Forest may be an option.

phishphood

kcbarbe:

We will be Pittsburgh for one day, then Hershey for 3-4 days.  We have been there twice (my husband is from there) but never with DS. 

You should check out Idlewild while you're in Pittsburgh.

YouAreMyILoveYou

Does you LO watch Sesame Street? Hershey is about 3 hrs from Sesame Place (in Langhorne, PA). We took DD1 there for the first time when she was about his age and she LOVED it. Almost every ride is suitable for toddlers as long as a parent rides with them. And Children under 2 are free (however, it is about $50/person for adults). We have had season passes for 2 years and go about every other weekend, the girls love it. The baby even gets on some rides with me.

If you want to go into Philly there is the Please Touch Museum, which is awesome. There is also the Franklin Institute (may be more interesting for you and DH though) and the Philadelphia Art Museum. There is also a great aquarium in Camden, NJ, the Adventure Aquarium (right over the river, you can even take a Ferry from Penns Landing over to NJ that way you don't have to pay to park there).

Let me know if you have any more questions! I know more about the Philly area than Hershey though.

Monkeybuttwhat

Too bad you have LO with you I would say the Chocolate Spa at the Hershey Hotel maybe DH could let you sneak away there. It is awesome.

Mandy06

If you do Hershey you can do Chocolate World like you said, there is also Zoo America. It's a walk through zoo. We plan on taking DD there sometime in August.  www.ZooAmerica.com

ElizC

CMDR513:

The Storybook Forest may be an option.

We just got back from a vaca there and Storybook Forest looked really creepy IMO and scared the crap out of DS.  We ended up leaving because he wouldn't stop crying.  DS favorite part of the whole trip was playing in the grass and visiting the sites in Gettysburg.  I thought he was going to hate it.

SBear12

The title of this post made me do a double-take... I currently live in Philly but lived in Hershey for the first 22 years of my life (probably moving back there soon!).

As far as things to do in Hershey, Chocolate World is fun... they've added a bunch of stuff in the past few years, mostly for bigger kids, but you can still do the ride and hang out there for a bit. We take Lyla sometimes just because I love it there! HersheyPark also has a fair amount of kiddie rides (although I'm not sure what age they start) and ZooAmerica is a very basic zoo, but kids seem to like it... I used to take the kids I babysat there all the time. Also there is a nice wooden playground called Cocoa Castle if you're there for a couple days and want to do something low-key for an afternoon. .

There is also a new museum on Chocolate Ave, but I don't think there's anything very baby-friendly there. I agree with the PP, if you're staying at the Hotel Hershey (we had our wedding there!) you might want to consider a spa day for yourself! There is great golf too, if you or DH are golfers. Also go to the outlets if you have time... there is a Gymboree, Carters, Children's Place, and OshKosh for baby clothes... and J Crew, Gap, Polo, etc for grown-ups.

I've never been to Dutch Wonderland because it was always kind of run-down (and about 40 mins away, in Lancaster), but I think after Hershey bought it they've tried to spruce it up... I think they had a Jon + Kate episode there to generate publicity, too.

As for the Philly area, I agree Sesame Place is a good option (and it usually takes under 2 hrs from Hershey). In downtown Philly, the Please Touch museum, or the Philadelphia Zoo (we're going there today!) are both a lot of fun.

HTH!

SBear12

kcbarbe:

We will be Pittsburgh for one day, then Hershey for 3-4 days.  We have been there twice (my husband is from there) but never with DS. 

Also, your DH is from Hershey?? If he went to HHS and graduated anywhere within 5 or so years of me, I'm sure I know him... it's a very small town!!

kcbarbe

He was just a kid when he lived there, before school age:)  Part of his family is still there and other parts of Penn