The Restaurants at Hersheypark’s Entrance

Since 1973, when Tudor Square was constructed, Hersheypark has had a restaurant at the entrance of the park. The restaurant was constructed on the south side of the Tudor Square midway, with the back of the restaurant up against Park Boulevard.  There have been five different restaurants to operate in this location. Hersheypark’s current restaurant

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Pennsylvania’s Amusement Ride Inspection Act

On June 14, 1984, an act – providing for the inspection of amusement rides and attractions; granting powers and imposing duties on the Department of Agriculture; creating the Amusement Ride Safety Advisory Board; and imposing civil and criminal penalties – was entered into Pennsylvania law as P.L. 384, No. 81, the Pennsylvania Amusement Ride Inspection

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What Could Have Been | Hersheypark in 2005

In 2005, Starship America and Balloon Flite were installed in Founder’s Circle (what was previously called Carrousel Circle from 1972-2004 and later Founder’s Way). These two rides took the place of the iconic Giant Wheel, which was closed in 2004. However, a different ride was supposed to be installed in that location: Turbulence. This is

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Hersheypark’s Carrousel | 1945 – present

The featured photo above is courtesy of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company. Ride The New Carrousel On Sunday, May 20, 1945, a mere twelve days after Germany surrendered to the Allies in World War II, the venerable carousel known as PTC #47, began to operate in Hersheypark. This carousel was much more impressive than its

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2018 in Review

Happy New Year’s Eve! As done in 2017, here is a look back at the top 10 articles published on The Amusement Parkives during the year. These are ranked by number of views. There is also a list of other notable articles worth reading. The Top 10 Hersheypark plans to expand 23 acres Hersheypark to introduce Reese’s

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Hersheypark in 1968

The featured photo above is courtesy the Hershey-Derry Township Historical Society. If you are interested in looking at more photos in their collection, check out the Historical Society’s Online Collections Database after reading this article! On April 21, it was the 50th anniversary of the opening of Hersheypark for its 1968 season. This was Hersheypark’s

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Tear Gas from Police Training Drifts into Hersheypark

Just down the road from Hersheypark, on Hersheypark Drive, is the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. It is located on the same hill as The Hotel Hershey and Catherine Hall, part of Milton Hershey School. On Wednesday, December 19, tear gas from a training drill at the Academy blew into the Midway America section of Hersheypark.

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When the Last Home on West Derry Road Was Sold

West Derry Road was a public road that existed until 1980 that cut through what is today Hersheypark. One of the former homes on West Derry Road exists in Hersheypark today – The Lingle House in Pioneer Frontier Food Court. This house was sold to Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company (the owner of Hersheypark, then

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Hersheypark teases major October 3 announcement

On September 12, Hersheypark posted on social media a teaser for the park’s “biggest announcement ever” in their history. This is more than likely related to the proposed 23 acre expansion of Hersheypark which was submitted to Derry Township for necessary approvals in the late spring. This proposed expansion includes a relocation of the main

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Hersheypark Update | February 15, 2018

Today’s Hersheypark update features news of an upcoming improvements and updates to Hersheypark over the next two seasons, as well as updates on the construction of the new Racer Corner rides being installed in The Boardwalk at Hersheypark for the 2018 season. Hersheypark Entrance Improvements and 2020 Attraction According to recent Dauphin County records, Hersheypark

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Hersheypark’s Carrousel | 1912 – 1944

After the 1911 season, the popularity of the park’s first carousel required the park to purchase a larger carousel for the park. The original carousel, often called the Merry-Go-Round, was a smaller Hershchell-Spillman carousel. It simply didn’t meet the needs of Hersheypark’s operation in 1911, and so the ride was slated to be replaced. For

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CinemaVision 1982

What Could Have Been | Hersheypark in the mid-1980s

In 1983, Hersheypark began drafting operations capital requirements for the years 1984 to 1988. What was created wasn’t a plan for the park to follow, just an idea of what future operating budgets may need to be. To understand the motivation for this projection, we need to look back at the previous five years 1978

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Rudy Vallee at Hershey Park Ball Room, 1930

In 1913, Hershey Park Ball Room opened. Seventeen years later, the ballroom gained national notoriety when Rudy Vallee, one of music’s first teen idols, performed to a sold out crowd. According to the Hershey Community Archives in a Spring 2011 Derry Township newsletter, John Sollenberger was responsible for booking Vallee: Hershey Ballroom typically paid $250-$300

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Pittsburgh’s first roller coaster

The City of Pittsburgh got its first roller coaster in 1885, at the Penn Incline Resort. This was not only Pittsburgh’s first roller coaster, it was one of the first three roller coasters constructed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The first roller coaster constructed in Pennsylvania, The Roller Coaster, appears to have operated in Philadelphia

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Schenley Park Pleasure Railway in Pittsburgh | 1894 – 1897

On April 24, 1894, the Schenley Park Pleasure Railway Company announced that a roller coaster was being built near the entrance of Schenley Park, on Forbes Street, opposite the Carnegie library. The roller coaster was constructed inside a two story building that included a restaurant and a dessert bar, as well as a barber and a

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Universal Mobility, Incorporated

Universal Mobility, Incorporated (UMI), was a company based out of Salt Lake City, Utah that existed from approximately 1967 to 1989. UMI was best known for constructing a handful of monorail systems in places such as Hershey, Pennsylvania, Magic Mountain in California, and the Louisiana World’s Fair in 1984. Other products UMI manufactured included tram

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Little Red Caboose (Lost Children’s Caboose)

In 1969, Hersheypark received a donation from Reading Railroad Company – a rare red caboose. It was briefly used as a children’s ride in 1970, and by the mid-1970s became the Lost Children’s Caboose. It served that function until 2006, and then remained in Hersheypark until March 2014, when it was donated to the Reading

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Hersheypark…A Happy Experience | May 7, 1972

Phase I Opens. Printed on May 7, 1972, in The Patriot-News, was a special features section all about the grand opening of the new Hersheypark (although it was renamed a year earlier in 1971). Below was the front page of that section which displays one of the first prominent appearances of the Hersheypark pinwheel logo.

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