History of Hersheypark

Since then, it has added ten roller coasters, expanded to over 110 acres, and features many other attractions including shows with sea lions, well-known acts including Weird Al Yankovic and Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes in the Hersheypark Amphitheater, and a short-lived laser light show.

On January 26, 1903, it became publicly known that Milton S. Hershey made the decision to build a chocolate factory on the farms to the south west of Derry Church and Spring Creek, Pennsylvania.

Hershey acquired over 400 acres of land in his initial purchase, which also included water rights to Spring Creek.

The pavilion, constructed by James Putt, was built on the northern edge of the hill, which provided an overlook view of the hollow and surrounding area.

He also added a structure for entertainment like dancing and roller skating, and helped institute a community band to perform there.

The family-oriented park included children’s playgrounds, picnic pavilions, and baseball and athletic fields added in 1905.

The very first roller coaster, Wild Cat, was introduced for the 20th anniversary, and the amusement park fad in the 1920s added a bumper cars ride and the Mill Chute water flume.

After this period, although the Great Depression cast its shadow on the park, more new attractions and the Hershey Arena and Stadium were added.

[12] Because that space was opened up, the old bath house was converted into a funhouse (later called Whoops) and The Mill Chute was installed.

Renovations were made to the Wild Cat roller coaster in 1935 to build up the dips and to more steeply bank the curves.

[13] In 1943, Hershey Park remained closed for almost the entire season due to the gas shortages related to the war.

Despite the growth of the park in the immediate years following World War II, it began to slow down after the addition of Kiddieland in 1949.

The former featured a live steam powered 4-4-0 locomotive, named "Nellie",[15] built for the park by Crown Metal Products.

In 1965, the park added a number of kiddie rides to Kiddieland, including Dizzy Drums, Traffic Jam, Helicopters and Space Age.

The general admission plan charged "adults" $1.00 to get through the gate, "juniors", $.50, while children ages 4 and under were free.

Three new areas were constructed: Carrousel Circle, Der Deitsch Platz (The Pennsylvania Dutch Place) and the Animal Gardens.

The Carrousel which had been sitting along Spring Creek in Comet Hollow was moved to the center of the circle, and rides were built around it.

At the start of the season, Hersheypark announced the five-phase plan to the public, which was published in a special section of the Patriot News on Sunday, May 7, 1972.

[12] Phase 3 of construction included building themed areas Tudor Square and Rhineland, divided by the permanent main gate of the park.

The ride that was built where Himalaya was, it was the first steel looping roller coaster on the East Coast: sooperdooperLooper, opened on July 4, 1977.

A new themed area was opened, marking the first significant expansion of the park's foot print: Pioneer Frontier.

The Dry Gulch Railroad received a second steam engine, named "Janelle", to complement "Skooter", the former had a similar appearance, but was slightly larger and more powerful than the latter.

These include the Merry Derry Dip fun slide, Music Express, Chaos (since removed), and the Frog Hopper.

Another roller coaster was added in 2004: Storm Runner, Hersheypark's 10th and tallest (at 180-foot (55 m) feet maximum height), until Skyrush was built in 2012.

In 2006, Hersheypark introduced the Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge, the first interactive dark ride to have two cars compete against each other.

Roller Soaker and Tidal Force were included in the new themed area, as well as Canyon River Rapids, which would be removed following the 2008 season.

With the opening of the Boardwalk, the Canyon River Rapids and Tidal Force queues had their entrances and exits rerouted.

It was nicknamed "the SeaQuel" and featured two major water rides - a wave pool, the shore, and a lazy river, called the Intercoastal Waterway.

In this plan the park would absorb land that was previously the site of the Parkview Golf Course, another Hershey Entertainment property, which closed in 2005.

In 1990, the Himalaya was removed and the Flying Falcon was installed on the opposite side of the entrance to the Hershey Park Zoo (now called ZooAmerica).