101 Chocolate World Wy,Hershey,Illinois
4 (32172)
Reviews
So much fun!!! It's great to have a wonderful place to take a child or your inside child to; it's free to park, free to enter, free ride on how Hershey makes their chocolate and free to explore all options of Hershey candy!! We absolutely loved going here. Spent almost 3 hours, bought a few exclusive flavor Hershey bars and specialty items. Enjoyed a delicious baked cookie and also an adult beverage. There's something for everyone!
Visited on 9/29 and expected this place to be jam packed because we came to Hershey for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and expected everyone else to be at Hershey world but it wasn’t full at all and there wasn’t a wait to do anything. We loved the shop and all the different variety of things you could buy and candies you can’t find elsewhere, very fairly priced if you compare the same thing to grocery store/gas station prices! The food stations had great options as well, we did the stuff your cup and it was amazing. I loved the hot cocoa and they give you a Hershey chocolate after you get off the tour ride. No cost to enter the building, the tour is free but everything else you have to pay for.
The best word to describe this destination is !WOW! Yes you can spend a lot of money to stay at the hotel, tour the gardens, take bus and tram tours, build a peanut butter cup or a one of a kind chocolate bar, even buy tickets for a main act in the large theater. But mainly, walk around. Take the free factory tour about the history of Hershey and the future legacy. Take time to see, hear and smell the steps they take to mass produce a consistent product on a real cool ride (and get a FREE chocolate bar at the end) and talk to the workers (often very well trained challenged young people with VERY POSITIVE attitudes) THAT is the real reason for the Success of this brand. Yea, buy some souvenirs (food and non food) have sweet and savory lunch (even a beer or wine is available) and just soak up the atmosphere. During the week (especially in fall) the crowd is manageable.
The tickets for the attractions are spendy, but great for young kids. Luckily, my grown children enjoy the adventures of childhood. Other than parking, you can attend for free. No admission and one of the tours is free. We made our own chocolate bar. It was computerized, not hands on like I thought. But it was fun. Buying tickets in advance helps and saves money. Go early, was busy by noon. I was surprised by the candy store. I was expecting something else, but I'm not sure what. I think I was expecting an actual tour of the factory.
It's such a fun place, and of course, it smells like chocolate as you walk up. It is free to enter with options to purchase different experiences. There's a ride you can do for free and lots to look at. The make your own chocolate bar was really fun. I would suggest taking your time and enjoying each step. The chocolate unwrapped helps you sit back and experience different types of chocolate with all 5 senses. The chocolate train movie takes you to different lands of chocolate and leaves you with a souvenir. There is also a trolley but if you want to do that as well I suggest getting there earlier. We went around 3 pm, and the trolley says it takes about 1½ hours and overlapped over experiences, so we did not do it.