I just got back from a long weekend in Pennsylvania which included visits to two amusement parks, a train ride and all-you-can-eat ice cream. We started our family fun getaway at Hersheypark. We stayed at Hershey Lodge for two nights. We arrived on Thursday and took advantage of the free preview hours at the park that night. This gave us a chance to go on all of Donato's favorite rides without long waits. We also got to visit Chocolate World and buy way too much chocolate. The next morning we went back to the park and rode his favorite rides until late afternoon. The Hershey Lodge has a mini golf course, an indoor and outdoor pool...so there was plenty to do. If you love chocolate...Hershey is a place you must visit. You'll get free chocolate at check-in...and after every meal on property.
After we checked out of Hershey Lodge on Saturday morning, we drove to our next adventure at Strasburg Railroad. Since Donato loves trains, this was a no-brainer. We bought tickets to ride the steam train and it was a blast. We chose to sit in the open air cars since the weather was so nice. After our train adventure, we drove a short distance to our next amusement park adventure. It was our first visit to Dutch Wonderland. It's an amusement park that's designed just for kids. Donato was in heaven. Since it's not as big as Hershey Park, we were able to go on all the rides in just one day. We stayed at the Cartoon Network Hotel next door and walked over. Donato was able to go on most of the rides more than once. We weren't planning on visiting anymore places...but we added one more adventure on the way home Sunday. If you love ice cream (especially Turkey Hill brand), then you need to plan for a quick stop-over at the Turkey Hill Experience. Their basic self-guided tour includes all-you-can-eat ice cream and all-you-can-drink iced tea. We also bought tickets to their tasting lab where we were able to create our own ice cream flavor and eat it. Needless to say, we were STUFFED at the end of our visit.
We plan on making a trip to Hershey Park each year...but maybe next time, we'll go with friends so Donato can ride with other kids his age.