Tips and tricks - Hershey Park, Six Flags Great Adventure and Niagara Falls

[jgenie]

We LOVED Dutch Wonderland but my guys have outgrown it. We’re going to try a few new spots this summer. I’m looking for any help you have to share on these locations. Favorite places to stay - budget friendly and splurges welcome as we’ll be going with different people to each. Favorite places to eat? Tips on schedules? Any other must see items if we’re in the area? TIA

[mom2binsd]

Most suggest you see the Falls from the Canadian side. You dollar goes more over the border, but adults need a passport, kids under 16 can drive across on a birth certificate!

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[123LuckyMom]

Most suggest you see the Falls from the Canadian side. You dollar goes more over the border, but adults need a passport, kids under 16 can drive across on a birth certificate!

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Is this definitely the case? The last time I crossed the border (which was, admittedly, years ago but in the Obama presidency) you only needed a driver’s license.

We love Niagara Falls. We always stay on the Canadian side and go to the rapids below the falls as well as the falls. There’s a huge strip of touristy attractions if you like that sort of thing (arcades, wax museum, Rainforest Cafe type restaurants). And there’s an iMax movie we see every time that’s located a little inland. It has a small museum on the history of people trying to survive going over the falls. You can also travel a bit farther afield to Niagara on the Lake area where there are lots of vineyards and cute small towns. We like to stay in the Marriott right above the falls. You get up and down via a sort of seated people mover. The kids love that! We get rooms overlooking the falls, but it’s not a budget hotel. There are many, many inexpensive options if you don’t feel the need to be within walking distance or view of the falls. The last time we went we were still using a stroller, so we wanted to be CLOSE!


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[Mikey0709]

Not alot of time right now - but just posting a quick pointer about Hershey Park.

BUY your tickets NOW! Everyone pays kids price through June 30 I believe. With a regular ticket, you can get in the night before for free (i think) 2-3 hours before closing. This is the preview plan on their website. Save your parking pass too which is good for the next day so you only pay parking once. Food is EXPENSIVE. I believe you are allowed to bring in 1 bottle of water per person, and we always buy the meal deal online also which saves a few dollars. Something else i learned is that you can ask any vendor for a cup of ice/water for free - we do that ALOT.

Weekend can be crazy long waits for rides - so if you can go during the week.

[wendibird22]

To cross into Canada you need a passport or an enhanced drivers license (NY, Michigan, etc). I bring birth certificates (copies) for my kids. Definitely go to the Canadian side for view of the falls and fund things to do. The NY side just isn't all that great. Maid of the Mist is worth the wait time. If you are staying on the Canadian side it's only another 1.5hr to Toronto if you want to squeeze in another day trip. I adore Toronto. There's a nice theater district, great shopping, hockey museum, zoo, take in a Blue Jays game, etc. You could also day trip to Buffalo which also has a nice zoo, Albright Knox art gallery, harbor front area, to name a few.

Hotels in Niagara Fall...both NY and Canada are often on Groupon.

[lizzywednesday]

If you're planning to go to Great Adventure, it's cheapest to bring a picnic lunch in a cooler & have your hand stamped to have a tailgate picnic.

We have season passes; DD is 53" tall and loves the small roller coasters.

If your kids are Scouts (Boy/Cub Scouts or Girl Scouts) they held a Scout day a couple weeks ago; kids can ask at the info station & follow a scavenger hunt to earn a patch until sometime in late June. There may also be a discount code - there was last year and it was the best price for adult admission we could find.

[american_mama]

My family went to Hershery Park in 2016 and liked it. DS, aged 8, had never been to an amusement park before but discovered he liked roller coasters and was tall enough to go on maybe 85% of them. We did not talk advantage of the preview night before, but I wish we had.

We did each bring a water bottle and it was easy to get refills. We found food that didn't break the bank... a whole pizza for lunch for 5 people, and Subway's sprinkled around the park that weren't much different in price than outside the park.

Download the park app for walking directions and wait times for rides. Both are very helpful. I think it may be laid out oddly - we certianly had kind of a hard time getting around. The Laff Track/Mouse and water area area dead end, so you can't pass through and continue on, you have to turn around. Roller coasters are sprinkled around but concentrated in the area by the tower, I think.... don't quite remember. The Laff Track line was the longest line at night (45 minutes) when other rides shortened at night, so go to Laff Track early. We saw a sea lion show at the Aquatheater and liked it, as both animals and trainers seemed very happy.

We did not go to Chocolate World, but I wish we had, even if only for the gift shop. We went to the Hershey Story Museum and liked it. It takes about an hour and there are frequent groupons for admission and a hot chocolate tasting, which was fun (easy to share if you dont want to buy one for everyone). The Chocolate Lab looked fun, but too expensive. The cafe there has good sandwiches. There is an interactive kid exhibit and gift shop on the ground floor, plus cafe and Chocolate Lab, then the floor above has all the displays. Not too interactive, but very attractive and well-done.

We stayed at Howard Johnson's on East Chocolate Avenue. It had a nice outdoor pool and a better-than-average motel design. The doors did not overlook the parking lot and were somewhat recessed, so it was all more quiet and private than motels normally feel. I thought the room was big, as we had two fulls or queen and a child in an air mattress on the floor and it was fine. We rarely stay in motels with exterior doors, but we liked this one. The breakfast was pretty bad - basic cereal and terrible processed bagles and pastries like from a vending machine. I wish we'd bought some favorite groceries of our own to imrpvoe the breakfast up. THere is an expensive but nice bakery across the street called The Hershey Pantry. We bought a root beer pie there to give as a gift and it wasn't great, but maybe we just selected badly.

[mmsmom]

One thing about Six Flags is that you can not have even a small crossbody bag on any rides. They make you put it in a locker... i think they are free but they may be $1. But you can only use for an hour so you have to move it with every ride and sometimes there is a line for the lockers. So try to be bag free when you go.

[Percycat]

One thing about Six Flags is that you can not have even a small crossbody bag on any rides. They make you put it in a locker... i think they are free but they may be $1. But you can only use for an hour so you have to move it with every ride and sometimes there is a line for the lockers. So try to be bag free when you go.

Six Flags sends an email newsletter -- the last issue advised visitors to use fannie packs --- these are apparently allowed on rides and no locker is needed.

[lizzywednesday]

One thing about Six Flags is that you can not have even a small crossbody bag on any rides. They make you put it in a locker... i think they are free but they may be $1. But you can only use for an hour so you have to move it with every ride and sometimes there is a line for the lockers. So try to be bag free when you go.

They're a couple dollars.

The no crossbody bags on rides actually made me feel old - I remember when they were FINE!!!