Hello:
I am thinking of doing couple of nights in PA (during week) and was wondering if anyone could advise on crowd size at these two attractions during middle couple weeks in August. Have to admit, we do not want to wait an hour to get on rides at any amusement parks. Have not been to either place, but think my daughters would enjoy a short visit. Thanks for your help.
Crayola Factory/Dorney or Hershey Park in August
Recent Activity
View all United States activity »
- 1 Boston Area College Tour
- 2 Red Leather Sofa
- 3 2 Brits Travelling USA July-Aug 2013
- 4 Door County
- 5 10 days after cruise - Fort Lauderdale Fly out from LA?????
- 6 Help with NYC transit
- 7
Boston three day trip report, with photos
- 8 Yosemite Falls Lodge in the park or Cedar Lodge w/ budget constraints
- 9 How far ahead to book Alcatraz?
- 10 What to do with extra day in Virginia?
- 11 Oregon & Washington: What are we missing, as we're big fans already?
- 12
First-time to NYC Trip Report as promised!
- 13 build a nice website
- 14 San Francisco - one semi-splurge restaurant?
- 15 Albuquerque to Denver
- 16 Seattle restaurant near Pikes Market
- 17 San Fran, Napa, Palo Alto, Carmel advice
- 18 WHERE TO STAY FOR PROPOSAL WEEKEND IN FREDRICKSBURG
- 19 Omni Hotel, San Francisco - Did I make a good choice
- 20 Zion vs Bryce - How many days each?
- 21 Using public transit in San Diego
- 22 Williamsburg VA
- 23 Finally, seeing the Outer Banks
- 24
A Visit to Charleston
- 25
Restos in Boca Raton
You are wise to go during the week - weekends at Dorney are a total zoo.
I can't specifically answer about mid-Aug., but I can tell you what always works for us - get there as soon as the park opens! You will be practically guaranteed an hour or two of no lines. Even if gets crowded later on, you will have gotten on many rides by then.
Get a map of the park before you go & plot a strategy of the rides that you most want to go on, then go directly there once you get in the park. Another trick with any amusement park with water rides is to go there when it's cloudy (but warm) and the weather forecast isn't predicting heavy rain -- people postpone their visits for 100% sunny days, so on cloudier days the park is less crowded. I also read somewhere that if you head to the left, because most people automatically go to the right, you'll find the rides less crowded.
Thanks for the info everyone. Any thoughts on Hershey, specifically?
We went to Hershey two years ago - we combined it with a trip to Amish Country and we stopped at the Crayola Factory along the way. I thought my kids would hate the Crayola Factory (12 and 6 year old boys and a 9 year old girl) but the truth is, we couldn't get them to leave. Herhey was very crowded in August but everyone had fun anyway. Just get the kids an ice cream (with napkins!) before waiting on a long line so they can eat it while waiting. For obvious reasons, don't do this before any scary roller coaster rides.