Another day at Hershey Park. We bought a bundle of activities that included an historical tour, a chocolate tasting, making your own candy bar, and a 4-D movie.
We had some outdoor time with Izzy before we headed out...
She was not freaked out this morning.
We boarded the shuttle bus for the park. I have to say again what a great feature this is: no parking your car, and they drop you right in front of Chocolate World on one side and the Hershey Amusement Park on the other side.
We got tokens to give the conductor for the historical tour on a trolley...
Off we go...
That is Conductor John - he made the tour interesting and humorous in a corny way. Truly, we learned a lot about Milton Hershey and all he built (schools, hospitals, churches, a golf course, homes for employees, a zoo, etc, etc... all before "Hershey Park" became a thing. We learned about his initial failures (including 4 bankruptcies before he succeeded first with caramels, then chocolate) and the HUGE enterprise this has become.
The photo ops were not great from the trolley, even though we could see what the conductor was talking about. The main factory...
The schools he started for orphans (he had no children)...
This is some of the housing for the kids in the schools (very nice)...
Milton Hershey's home...
Street lights in town that are in the shape of Hershey Kisses...
A view from up on the hill towards the amusement park, offices, and the smoke stacks from the original factory...
It was an hour and 15 minute tour, driving around to see what Milton Hershey had done for the town and his employees (no one lost their jobs here during the Great Depression). And, of course, we ate chocolate along the way.
Back to Chocolate World, and we went in for our chocolate tasting instruction...
I thought I had it down: there's chocolate - eat it! No, we learned how to savor the experience, allowing your pallet to experience all the different flavors. Electronic tablets at each station, so you could give immediate feedback. A very nice a/v experience...
The wheel above was to help determine the flavors. Fun, and... chocolate.
We finished that in time for lunch, then off to design our own chocolate bar. Yes, really...
You decide what kind of chocolate you want, what kind of filling, and what on top, all done on computer screens. Then, you get to see your design being made...
You watch in go down a conveyor belt...
Then, design a wrapper for it, and wait for the finished result...
Nice presentation in a metal container. Fun project, and a nice memento... well, until you eat it! ;-)
From there, we went to see a 4-D movie - pretty much designed for kids, but this, too, was entertaining. The characters in the movie talked to people in the crowd, including calling a couple kids by name, and saying happy birthday to another. Impressive. Plus, you look good in the process...
The "4"-D is more than stuff looking like it is jumping off the screen: the seats rumble at significant times and you get sprayed with water droplets. Oh, and the chocolate smells at the right times. Oh, and more chocolate.
We picked up some candy at the store, including some of the original formula caramels that gave Milton Hershey his start.
Back to the shuttle bus, and back to our coach. Joan gave Izzy some patio time while I worked up photos, then we went out for supper... first we've driven the car since we've been here, and we didn't have to go far.
Back to the coach again, where we sat outside - Joan and Izzy got a concert...
And little Iz sitting so sweet...
A fun day... even had some chocolate covered bacon. I may take a day off from sweets tomorrow. ;-)
2 comments:
Little known fact. The campground you are in was once called Hershey High Meadow campground. There is a barn like building there with a second floor loft. The floor of that loft was once the basketball floor from the nearby Giant Center arena. That floor is the one on which Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game.
John, you are ready to be a conductor on the historic trolley tour! We were told about Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game at the Giant Center, but not about the wood from the floor being used for that campground building.
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