Roller Coasters, Chocolate, and Christmas Lights- Oh My!

What a long, fun-filled day we had at Hershey Park on Saturday! After meeting at the Westminster Community Center, the 20 Barrier-Free social clubbers piled into staff cars and rode to Hershey Park! 

The first stop everyone made? The Chocolate World Tour, of course! The groups divided and followed the journey of how Hershey's chocolate is made--from cocoa beans to shipping. The ride included singing cows, talking chocolate, and a small treat at the end! It was a great way to start the day, and gave everyone a chance to see, smell, and learn about the chocolate-making process!

After Chocolate World, we made our way into Hershey Park. There was so much to do and see. Some of our more adventurous friends--led by our adventurous staff member, Britt, went immediately for the big rides! They chose to do the sooperdooperLooper, the first ever looping roller coaster on the East Coast. It’s a 57-foot tall coaster with one big vertical loop, followed by all sorts of dips, drops, and bunny hills. Other social clubbers, who love thrills, but not loops, rode the Wave Swinger, a classic ride that allows riders to fly through the air and see the park. The third group, those of us who aren’t big fans of rides all together, had some lunch while we waited.

​Our second stop was Reese’s Cupfusion-- a video game-based ride where gamers are secret agents tasked with protecting the chocolate factory to ensure that the world never goes without the Reese’s Cup. Our agents did exceptionally well, and everyone came out with a smile on their face. 

The entire group went together to ride the Monorail. With open windows, we were able to see everything as we rode above Hershey Park, ZooAmerica, and historic downtown Hershey. We even saw the actual Hershey factory! It was a pleasant ride, and a nice midday break before going back to coasters. 

The sun started to set when we exited the Monorail, and the holiday lights came on! There were lights everywhere! Santa’s Sleigh could be seen on top of the Comet, being pulled by all his reindeer, and all the trees lit our way as we walked to our next adventure.

Britt led her thrill-seekers to the Sidewinder-- a coaster that goes forwards and backwards, for a total of 6 loops! The rest of us enjoyed Founder’s Way, a section of the park that holds amusement classics such as the Carrousel, the Tilt-a-Whirl, and the Scrambler. Skyview, a ski lift that brings riders over the park, was a fan-favorite. Social clubbers bought keychains, clothing, and candy for souvenirs! 

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Below is a short video of some of our friends getting ready to ride!

We finished our day back at Hershey’s Chocolate World. Exhausted from such an action-packed day, we found some tables and got some dinner. We exchanged stories and heard all about roller coasters and shopping! A few people asked if we were going to come back. We certainly hope so!

After dinner, we packed up and walked back to our cars. We continued sharing stories from the day, of friendships that were created, and the fun times that were had. We met everyone’s parents/counselors back at the Westminster Community Center and bid them farewell.

We are so happy with how the day went! We were thrilled to see the fun that everyone had. We are approaching the end of the year, and can’t wait for our next social outing in January at Meltdown DiY Art Studio in Eldersburg, Maryland! 

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Written by Laura Stall

​Laura serves as Barrier Free's Content Creator.  She contributes original content, event recaps, and more to the blog.