A Family Visit to Hershey's Chocolate World

Hershey's Chocolate World is located in downtown Hershey, Pennsylvania. It's within walking distance of Hersheypark, ZooAmerica and other Hershey area attractions. Chocolate World is open year-round (hours depend on the season) and offers FREE admission to visitors. You'll find free parking on-site if you plan on staying less than 3 hours during your visit. If you're planning to stay longer, you'll have to pay a parking fee.

You'll find various attractions at Hershey's Chocolate World for you and the family to enjoy. There's the Chocolate Tasting Experience, the Tour Ride, Create Your Own Candy Bar, 4D Chocolate Mystery, Hershey's Photo Studio, gift shopping, the food court, etc. If you want to take a guided tour around Hershey, you'll find Hershey Trolley Works located here too!

Several times a year we take our grandchildren down to Hershey to enjoy the local attractions and make a day of it. When we're down for a visit we always stop into Hershey's Chocolate World. It's one of the best FREE activities to enjoy while visiting the Hershey area. When I say "FREE" you get free admission into the building and the tour itself is free. With that said, there are many PAID activities that you can participate in too.

During the months of May through the end of September they can get extremely crowded with tourists. If you want to avoid the crowds and long lines, I recommend that you visit during the off-season or go early in the morning on a weekday. Summertime evenings and weekends are busy, so try to avoid those particular times.

Once inside you can walk around and visit all of the various gift shops and souvenir stores. There are a few eateries if you want to get something to eat and if you're looking to buy FRESH Hershey's chocolates and candies, you'll find them here! When it comes to souvenirs & gifts, you'll find t-shirts, hats, clothing, home goods, jewelry, toys for the kids and more.

You'll want to head upstairs if you plan on taking the free ride and tour. My grandchildren LOVE getting on the ride and taking the animated tour. Typically we'll stand in line about 15-20 minutes and the ride (tour) lasts approximately 8-10 minutes in length. After you exit the tour area one of the employees will hand you a little miniature Hershey's candy bar for free.

When we visit we like to go into the food court area and treat ourselves to one of their delicious Hershey's Milkshakes. Oh my gosh, if you've never tried one...you're really missing out! If you're not a milkshake person, you can try one of their decadent ice cream sundaes which are delicious too! Just want to let you know ahead of time, things can get expensive when eating in the food court, especially if you have a large family. You may want to plan ahead.

We love Hershey's chocolate candies so I always stock up when we're down. I will buy several bags of their Hershey's Kisses, Miniatures, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, baking chocolate, etc. Here's a little tip for you...their chocolates freeze well once you get home!

If you're looking for an extensive review on visiting Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania you can check out our previous review post for that. When it comes to parking, you may have to park several rows away from the building if you're visiting during the prime time hours and days. If you're handicap, they do have designated parking areas where you can park closer to the entrance of the building. Most importantly...just go and have a good time!

The North Wildwood Boardwalk Arch

Wildwood, it's the summer memories that keep me coming back year, after year. The bright sunshine, the smell of the salty ocean, the sounds of the waves and the warm sand between my toes. Yup, I love that place and if I could, I would live there year-round. I love those Wildwood Days!

If you're heading to the Wildwoods and go up onto the boardwalk...head to the north end where the boardwalk begins in North Wildwood. You'll find the famous dolphin & seashell welcome arch that proudly says "Through this arch walk the happiest people in the world". I know when I'm there, I'm truly happy and right where I want to be.

Millions of visitors photograph or pose in photographs of this welcome arch every year. Right beside the arch...you'll find one of the main hubs for the famous Wildwood Sightseer Tram Car. You can buy tickets right there at their little office and hop on for a ride down the boardwalk in style. At the time of this posting, it costs $3.00 each way.

After you've had your fun for the day (or evening) you'll walk under the arch again and on the other side you'll read the words "You are now leaving the boardwalk of fame & happiness". The seashell & dolphin design is the same on both sides, just the wordage is different.

The North Wildwood Welcome Arch has become one of those classic symbols on the boardwalk. If you're looking for some of the prettiest beach & Atlantic Ocean views on the island, you'll want to keep walking on the pathway and head on up to the very north end of the island and towards the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse.

Once you've reached the back of the lighthouse, you'll be walking on the North Wildwood Seawall and that is where you can get some of the best views of the beach and water. It's also our favorite place to sit and watch for the bottlenose dolphins to swim by. Out of all of the Jersey Shore beaches & boardwalks, Wildwood is definitely our personal favorite.

Note: You can click on each photo in this post which will automatically open it up in a new window and in an enlarged size, so that you can view the details.

Aztec Wall Mural Street Art in Wildwood

We've been going down to the Jersey Shore several times a year for the past 30+ years. When it comes to my family's vacation time, we love spending it down at the shore. Our favorite coastal towns in New Jersey are Ocean City, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Wildwood and Cape May. Yes, visiting south Jersey is the best in our book!

Every time we go down there we're on the lookout for new street art and outdoor wall murals that we haven't seen before. We are HUGE fans of street art and coastal wall murals and have photographed & visited about 30 different ones located around New Jersey. You can find those posts right HERE on our blog and make sure you check out our Street Art & Wall Murals Pinterest board.

While on a recent trip down to Wildwood in New Jersey, we stumbled upon the Aztec Wall Motel Wall Mural painted on a wall of the Aztec Resort Motel building. If you're unfamiliar with the area you'll find the resort located on Lavender Road in Wildwood Crest. It sits about 1 1/2 blocks from the beach and 2 blocks from the world famous Wildwoods Boardwalk.

Like a lot of the outdoor wall murals that you find down in this area this one is done by MG Signs, you'll find the signature in the bottom right corner. Matter of fact, I've counted at least a dozen of MG Signs wall murals on the island over the past few years and documented many of them right here on our travel blog. This one really stands out because most of the wall murals that I've seen in the area are beach, ocean or tropical theme. This one...completely stands out and reminds me of something I would see out west.