Hershey park

Hersheypark is one of many top rated theme parks that features a unique history. Here you will be able to see what happened since the opening of the original park in 1907, what rides were removed and are still existing today and so much more.

 1907: Hershey Park opens to the public as a place where workers from the nearby Hershey Chocolate Factory could relax during breaks from work. It was also a recreational facility for the residents of the town of Hershey. There were playgrounds for the kids and benches for the adults to sit and talk. A pavilion also opened which was later enclosed and used for dancing and roller skating.

 1909: a dance pavilion was built which would be enlarged and remodeled many times until the 1970's. An amphitheatre was also constructed along with bowling alleys and a carousel.

 1910: a narrow-gauge miniature railway was added to the park. I transported guests from the railroad bridge at Park Avenue, over Spring Creek, and ending up over at the baseball field.

 1913: the famous deer statue is erected at the entrance to Hershey Park. It would later become the centerpiece of the entrance to ZooAmerica in the early 1990's.

 

 1941: a new souvenir and administration building opens replacing the main pavilion (which housed roller skating and dancing when the park first opened). This building now houses the Wok and Roll, Boardwalk Fries and the Kissing Place in the Minetown section of the park.

 1942: The Hershey Park Zoo closes and would reopen after the war. The whip is covered and becomes the Whiperoo.

 1944: to celebrate the park's fortieth anniversary, the park purchased a Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel. It would be the last ride that Milton Hershey would add to his park. This beautiful masterpiece still serves the park today.

 

1969: The Hershey Park Zoo closed in 1969 due to the fear of vandalism and high costs of properly protecting the animals. The monorail was built in 1969 as a ride, and a shuttle, which transported guests from the station by the arena over to the factory tour. A Rotor is purchased and placed next to the Comet. By the late 1960's old theme parks, like Cedar Point, were fencing in the park and adding new themed areas. New parks, like Kings Island and Walt Disney World, were in the planning and construction stages. Plans were unveiled to fence in the park and start adding themed areas and new rides to compete with other parks. It was here that the name was changed from "Hershey Park" to "Hersheypark".

 1970: the last dance is held in the Starlight Ballroom.  This would also be the last season the  park would be an open park. The famous pinwheel design was introduced.

 

  1973: the park relocated it's main entrance to it's present location and the entry area was named "Tudor Square". It resembled an old English Style Village. After passing through the "English Style Castle" admission gate, you walk up the hill to Carrousel Circle through "Rhineland", an area themed after the region's German heritage. The GIANT Wheel was also added next to the Carrousel Circle area and the Coal Cracker flume ride debuted as the first log flume of it's kind in the world. The Amphitheatre also debuted on the hill where it is located today. HERSHEY'S CHOCOLATE WORLD opened, replacing the original factory tour.

 

 

  1977: Hersheypark unveils the sooperdooperLooper. This coaster was the first looping coaster on the east coast with the other being the Revolution, at Magic Mountain in California. The ride opened with a tan color and orange trains, then was repainted to the current blue and green paint scheme prior to the 1988 season.

 

  1978: Hersheypark's wildlife themed area, ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park opened, using existing buildings from the old Hershey Park Zoo and had five areas: Grassy Waters, North Woods, Gentle Woodlands, Cactus Community, and Big Sky Country. The old Auto Skooter was replaced with the Fender Bender in 1979. The Golden Nugget dark ride was demolished to accommodate the Fender Bender. Also, the Music Box Theatre opened after being a totally open stage in years before. The Twin Toboggans are removed and replaced with the Flying Bobs.

 

  1979: Hersheypark's Pennsylvania Dutch Days promotion came to an end. The Starlight Arcade featured it's first footprints. The Osmond family were the first to feature hand/footprints in the Starlight Arcade.

 

  1980: Hersheypark expands it's boundaries for the first time since 1971 (except ZooAmerica which was almost a separate attraction) by adding the Pirate and Cyclops rides. The Cyclops was your typical HUSS Enterprise that started spinning horizontally and eventually rose while continuing to spin its riders. The Aero Jets are reconstructed as Starship America. The Pennsylvania Fest Haus opens near Tower Plaza in the former souvenir and administration building. Some of the older rides like the Paratrooper were removed. The company name was changed again to Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company and the company's offices were moved to the former Hershey Parkview Clubhouse near Chocolate World.

 

  1981: the Bug is removed at the end of the season. "Creatures of the Night" debuted at ZooAmerica in 1981 as a one night flashlight tour of the zoo.

 

  1982: the Wave Swinger opens on the old site of the Bug. The area by the sooperdooperLooper and the Comet was turned into Comet Hollow. The Paddleboats were added to Spring Creek. The Balloon Flite was placed at the top of the hill near Rhineland replacing the Flying Bobs. The Cinema Vision geodesic dome premiered near the Pirat and Cyclops.

 

  1983: the park installs the Tilt-A-Whirl which replaced the Monster in Carrousel Circle. Hersheypark's holiday "free admission" extravaganza,  Hersheypark Christmas Candylane debuts with Tudor Square, Rhineland and Carrousel Circle only being open.

 

  1984:  "Pioneer Frontier" was Hersheypark's newest themed area. It was accessed by a midway extending beyond the Pirat and Cyclops and another walkway using the hill near the Trailblazer. The Dry Gulch Railroad was rerouted to it's present oval configuration and a tunnel and ghost town were added to the train's route. The Conestoga and Timbler Rattler were added as well as the kiddie Mangels Whip which was renamed Wells Cargo and the kiddie carousel which was renamed Livery Stables, both relocated from other areas of the park. The Conestoga was a HUSS Rainbow ride that was re-themed by Hersheypark to fit the Pioneer Frontier area. The ride basically spun horizontally and gave it's riders a magnificent view of that area of the park.

 

 

  1990: the southeast corner of the park near the entrance to ZooAmerica and the Kissing Tower was upgraded at a cost of $7.5 million and become Minetown. The Flying Falcon was the centerpiece of this renovation and expansion. Three new kiddie rides, the Convoy, the Red Baron and the Dinosaur Go Round were also added. These rides replaced two older and outdated rides: the Coal Shaker and Himalaya. The Pennsylvania Fest Haus became the San Georgio Pasta House and the new 49,300 square-foot Minetown Restaurant and Arcade replace the old Penny Arcade which was demolished. A new entrance planter and walkway were constructed for ZooAmerica and the old deer statue from the early days of the park was relocated there as the centerpiece.

  

 

  1997: Midway America expanded to include the Ferris Wheel, Whip and three other kiddie rides relocated from other areas of the park: Granny Bugs, Pony Parade and Miniature Train. A pizzeria, gift shop, games stand and restrooms were also constructed. The Fender Bender received new bumper cars that are in operation today. Creatures of the Night changed it's entrance procedure so that guests would enter through Hersheypark's main entrance in Tudor Square instead of through the zoo. The Carrousel was also open for the event and was renamed Night Mares. Christmas Candylane introduced Santa's Stables where the park brought in nine live reindeer for guest's enjoyment.

 

  1998: Hersheypark unveiled GREAT BEAR, a state-of-the-art inverted roller coaster. The ride swept along it's course next to Spring Creek, through Comet Hollow and over the sooperdooperLooper and Coal Cracker. A new Halloween event, Hersheypark In The Dark debuted with the popular Creatures of the Night event at ZooAmerica. Comet Hollow was open for the event for the first time with more rides including Great Scare (GREAT BEAR), sooperBOOperLooper (sooperdooperLooper), Icabod's Train (The Comet) and Swings of Salem (the Wave Swinger). A new "free admission" entrance procedure was introduced for the event. Christmas Candylane introduced Santa Claus Lane in the Minetown Area of the park. Here, Santa's Castle found a new home, special displays, entrance into ZooAmerica (during operating hours) and the Convoy, Red Baron and Dinosaur Go Round all were part of the new holiday themed area. Hershey's Chocolate World celebrated it's 25th anniversary with completely renovating it's free chocolate-making tour to the way it is today. ZooAmerica also celebrated it's 20th anniversary with minor additions and renovations.

 

  1999: the park renovates Midway America to reflect the theme of a county/state fair. The Wild Mouse rollercoaster, Frog Hopper, Music Express, Chaos, and several food and merchandise vendors all made their debut. The Hersheypark Midway Tent opened as a place for the park to hold various summer events all season long. The Frontier Shootout is renovated and becomes the Western Shootout. Pistol Pete's Plunge becomes Winding Rivers and the Slidewinder becomes Straight Shooters. ZooAmerica opened the Black Bear Encounter where you can view several of the zoo's black bears from different vantage pints.

 

  2000: again, Hersheypark continued to develop Midway America with the addition of Lightning Racer. This major coaster was named "America's first wooden racing/dueling roller coaster". Guests could race against their opponents in trains named Lightning or Thunder. The Comet's trains which were named "Lightning" and "Thunder" received new color logos on the front of them. Hersheypark's "free admission" springtime extravaganza "Springtime In The Park"  made it's debut. Hersheypark In The Dark expanded to include Music Box Way and Pioneer Frontier. Ground was broken for a new hockey arena, the GIANT Center.

 

  2001: another style of entertainment was added to the park,  Nightlights, A Musical Laser Spectacular. The laser show featured spectacular laser images  choreographed to music and was projected on a huge screen.  Laser shows were also designed for Halloween and Christmas. The San Giorgio Pasta House was made over into Wok and Roll and sold Chinese fare. Phase I of the parking lot configuration debuted, allowing guests to park their vehicles in diagonal parking spaces. A new tram road, picnic area and restrooms were also constructed. New exits were built to allow park guests to leave the park easier. HERSHEY'S CHOCOLATE WORLD expanded to include a new entrance and exterior facade resembling the Hershey Chocolate Factory, and an expanded new lobby.

 

  2002: Hersheypark declared 2002 another "wet" year of thrills with the addition of their ninth rollercoaster- Roller Soaker! Another new restaurant, Decades, opens. Hershey Entertainment and Resorts purchases Dutch Wonderland in nearby Lancaster and forms Wonderland Amusement Management, a wholly owned division of Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Phase II of the current parking lot configuration debuted, which included the current entrance into the parking lot, and new entrance road. HERSHEY'S CHOCOLATE WORLD opened HERSHEY'S Really BIG 3-D Show in which the Hershey's Product Characters were featured on the big screen for the first time. The Hershey Bears AHL hockey team debuted their 65th season at the GIANT Center.

 

 2004: the park debuts its tenth roller coaster, Storm Runner, the first Intamin Rocket Coaster to feature inversions in the Pioneer Frontier area of the park.  The ride featured a top hat and flying snake dive. The Balloon Flite is temporarily removed and put into storage. Hershey's Chocolate World debuts Hershey's Factory Works, a new interactive area for families and featuring a food court.