My middle daughter and I had the absolute pleasure of going on an incredible trip with the help of Macaroni Kid and Visit Harrisburg and Hershey! It was a weekend filled with great experiences that allow me to share what would be great ideas for you and your family this summer to make it one of the sweetest summer’s you’ve had yet.
Our first stop was at Adventure Sports in Hershey! As we entered and saw the go-karts racing around the track, the fountain, and the castle at the mini-golf course, the bumper boats, we knew it was going to be a great time for everyone! We got to play on the wooden train for a bit and imagine we were on an adventure while dining in the food cart and then we headed to mini-golf. Here, I thought I was pretty good at mini-golf, but my 5-year old who had never played mini golf made sure to do much better than me! She was a natural! After almost getting taken out by her incredible swing, we had fun laughing together, trying to get a hole-in-one and make it through the increasingly difficult obstacles. It was a fun course that ended with everyone getting a hole-in-one at the end, which somehow I managed to mess up and sent my ball flying way past the entrance of the golf course! There were many other things to do that my daughter was too young for (or I couldn’t do at this time being I am pregnant!), these awesome activities included: bumper boats, go-karts, outdoor laser tag, batting cages, and an escape room. These are great activities for older children, teens, and adults that would make for many great memories, I would love to bring the rest of my family back to enjoy! We ended our time here with some games in the arcade and then dinner complete with a sundae bar! Our hosts at Adventure Sports were hospitable and helpful and made our experience a great one!
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On Saturday morning we headed over to City Island in Harrisburg to get on board the Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat for one of their incredible River School Voyages! The great thing about these is that they are FREE for children! This was such a cool, engaging experience that turned the boat ride not only into something to see all the sites of Harrisburg but also taught the kids about the Science and Geology of the Susquehanna (our specific tour was this, other classes are available as well). The kids loved to see the water table and use Oreos to see how mountains are formed. It ended with a fun scavenger hunt that allowed us to explore the boat and the sights around. After our boat tour, we were able to spend some time exploring City Island. This is a fun place with eateries, little shops, a railroad that takes you around the city, a ballpark, and so much more! It’s a great place to walk, bike, take your dog and your kids!
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Next up was a tour to the Pennsylvania State Capitol building! Did you know you can get a tour for free?! Our state Capitol is absolutely beautiful and is filled with the history of our country and how the state was founded. Our tour guide was incredible with the kids and their questions and was so knowledgeable about the building and our state's history. My daughter stood in awe of the beautiful paintings and all of the gold in the building as we entered, it’s truly a site to be seen.
From the Capitol, you are able to walk to a great museum called the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts. This center has a digital cinema, theatre, and a science center. The Harsco Science Center is where we spent our time and it was a blast! We explored the Tinker Toy exhibit (there through September 8th), had fun learning and experiencing weather, making stop motion movies, playing grocery store, climbing rock walls and more! There was so much there to see and do, we could have spent the whole day exploring all of the things.
Our last stop of the day was Hershey’s Chocolate World which is an experience unlike any other. Filled with great souvenirs, food shops, desserts galore, and fun rides and attractions, it’s a must stop when you are in the Hershey area. We tasted our way through the brand new Hershey’s Unwrapped attraction, helped solve a mystery in the 4D Chocolate Movie, and rode through a tour of how Hershey’s delicious chocolate is made. We had so much fun in all the experiences and just had to end our night with the biggest and best-tasting s’ more we have ever had! The s’ mores and milkshakes are not something you want to pass up on!
Sunday we were off to the much anticipated Hersheypark! One of the many great things about going to Hersheypark is that you basically get a three for one deal. You get access to the park, the Boardwalk, and ZooAmerica. Next year they will be adding Hershey’s Chocolate Town which will include a new front gate, dining, shopping and you can step right on to their newest 15th coaster which will also open Summer 2020! We had so much fun riding rides, seeing the sights and of course, playing in the water! The greatest thing about Hersheypark is that there really is something for everyone of all ages. The assortment of rides was awesome in that even the younger kids still had plenty to do to say busy. We laughed and had so much fun in the Boardwalk as we would get splashed by unsuspecting water dumps, sprayed by all kinds of fountains, and slid down water slides. It was great to see that everyone around us had the same smiles as us.
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On our last day, we had the opportunity to visit the beautiful Hershey Gardens! The first thing we went to was the Butterfly Atrium. We spent so much time here just watching the butterflies flutter around us, eating, resting, and exploring all their own. My daughter sat on the ground to wait patiently, hoping one of these beauties would land on her. She looked around in amazement, as did I, it was just captivating! After a good 30-40 minutes in there, we traveled outside to see the rose gardens and then the Children’s garden area. The Children’s Garden was so cool! It had so many places to explore, learn, and interact. Things such as the Hoop House, the fragrance garden and the River-Bankers picnic area were very cool to explore. Everything here was just so beautiful, from the time you walk in and see the Welcome Pavilion, to the majestic fountain in the rose garden, to the different themed gardens around the property, it was so peaceful.
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All of these places were filled with something that people of every age would enjoy. They are all places I absolutely encourage you to go and visit, they are just about an hour away! Add them to your bucket list for the summer (and maybe next as well!) and you will be sure to make a ton of memories, just as sweet as we did! If you are looking for a great place to stay that is close to both the Hershey and Harrisburg areas to make a long weekend out of it, be sure to check out Best Western Premier The Central Hotel and Conference Center in Harrisburg. This was a gorgeous hotel, with a coffee and tea bar available in the lobby at all times, a great restaurant, and comfortable and accommodating rooms and staff.
*These experiences were brought to me by Macaroni Kid and Visit Hershey & Harrisburg, but all opinions are my own!
