Here is your Hersheypark Update for December 13, 2017. The surveying going on at the front of the park has quieted down, while construction continues in The Boardwalk continues. A lot of progress has been made on Breaker’s Edge Water Coaster. Christmas Candylane has gotten underway, and Hershey got some snow!
The featured photo (which can be seen in social media posts) is courtesy of Lisa Bottomly.
Christmas Candylane
Hersheypark’s 35th Annual Christmas Candylane is well underway, having started just before the Thanksgiving holiday. On December 9, the area got a nice blanket of snow, with some locales getting as much as 6 inches of snow. Hershey didn’t see that much, but it made for nice photography nevertheless. Candylane traffic always picks up when there is drivable snow on the ground.
The ZooAmerica team also fielded questions on Facebook Live about the reindeer at Santa’s Stables.
And we got to see a peek inside Laff Trakk to see the Christmas decorations in the ride.
The Boardwalk: Racer Corner
The construction in The Boardwalk has continued. Since November, parts of Whitecap Racer have started to go vertical, but the real progress can be seen in Breaker’s Edge Water Coaster. Some of the tubing has been installed, along with the noteworthy “Flying Saucers” which are key elements of the slide.
Inside Hershey posted a couple of awesome pictures as well. The second photo is from a similar perspective to the illustration of the new rides that you can see in the section below. A good portion of Breaker’s Edge has been installed. In the other picture, you can see all of the ride parts laid out across The Boardwalk. The photos were taken by The Wyse Choice.
History
There have been three previous phases of construction for The Boardwalk at Hersheypark:
- 2007: The original Boardwalk opened, including four slides on Coastline Plunge.
- 2009: The Boardwalk SeaQuel opened, which replaced Canyon River Rapids.
- 2013: The third phase opened, which included finishing Coastline Plunge and adding Shoreline Sprayground.
2018 will mark the fourth phase of Boardwalk construction. If you want to see videos of what Whitecap Racer and Breakers Edge Water Coaster will look like, click here.
Out Front
With Park Boulevard being rerouted in 2016, a segment of old Park Boulevard was abandoned that is adjacent the main entrance of Hersheypark. Since then, a large area of this land has been fenced off, and survey markers have appeared all over the vicinity – from the old pool area along old Park Boulevard all the way into Founders Way by Carrousel Circle.
Maps of markers in Hersheypark
Things have been pretty quiet at the front of the park since October, so there isn’t much to update this month. It appears a few trees have been removed along Spring Creek in the old pool area, but other than that, it’s been pretty quiet.
What this means for this area of what now is directly part of Hersheypark’s property remains unknown for the time being.
Take a look at the map below to see pictures provided by Matthew Meckley in the Disney Lovers at Hersheypark group on Facebook. One photo was also provided by W Geoffrey Miller who was at Hersheypark on July 10. It is a photo of surveyors doing sampling work.
This article is part of a series of Hersheypark Update articles which will be added when necessary. The updates to this area are pretty historically significant given that Hershey Park Pool, Starlight Ballroom, and Hershey Creamery used to be in this area. However, with the construction going on in The Boardwalk, in the area where Roller Soaker used to stand, I will also have updates on that area as necessary. Keep checking back for more!
