Hersheypark in the Dark

Our family had the opportunity to attend the opening night of Hersheypark in the Dark, and it did not disappoint! In fact, we may or may not be going back this afternoon, weather depending.

Hersheypark in the Dark is a great Halloween option for a “toned down” Halloween experience. We love that adults can dress up, too! The great part is that there isn’t any “scary” or fear-invoking activities that would ruin the experience for those with sensory overload or other cognitive issues. It’s a lot of fun for all!

Character Encounters

If you are all about the character photos, Hersheypark in the Dark is full of those opportunities! There are characters and photo backdrops in Chocolate World, and there are plenty of characters mingling with guests in Hersheypark. Note that it seemed that most or all of the characters wore a non-scary Halloween costume or mask. We always make time to stop and take pictures of the characters and with the characters. It’s a great inexpensive “souvenir” of each trip!

Carnival Games

Hersheypark has quite a few carnival games with fun prizes. If you want a fun Halloween souvenir, playing the games at Hersheypark in the Dark is a fun way to get one! Joel likes Ghostbusters, so I was happy to win this prize while he was riding the sooperdooperLooper with his sister.

Rides

Talking about sooperdooperLooper, what fun to experience the rides in the dark! While not all the rides are open during Hersheypark in the Dark, there are quite a few of them going. According to the Hersheypark website, there are over 50 rides going, but please remember, that it is always subject to weather.

One of the newer rides at Hersheypark is the Triple Towers! I love how their colors appear to be paired with the season! Have you been on the Triple Towers? Which is your favorite tower?

Creatures of the Night

My favorite part of Hersheypark in the Dark is Creatures of the Night in ZooAmerica. Make sure to pack your flashlight for Creatures of the Night as you will search for the animals with the beam of your flashlight. Plus, the flashlight helps to see where you are going!

Did you know that porcupines climb trees? ZooAmerica has two porcupines. I’ve seen one of them in the tree before, but I’ve never seen both of them in the tree at the same time.

Animal Encounters

During Creatures of the Night, there are plenty of opportunities to interact with animals. The nocturnal animals are more active, and there are locations where ZooAmerica employees have animals out for closer inspection. Want to touch a snake? There’s an opportunity for that. Last night, the bears were given pumpkins. You can see that Murphy was pretty excited with his pumpkin!

Hersheypark in the Dark is only around for 3 weekends Oct. 18 – Nov. 3, 2019. For more information about this fun season, check out the Hersheypark website.

New Things Are Coming

Next year, Hersheypark will open the new Chocolatetown and a new roller coaster, Candymonium! It looks like fun changes/additions are coming to Hersheypark!