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Hersheypark lights up over the holidays

BY PETER GIANOTTI | Newsday Staff Writer

October 30, 2005

Hershey greets you with a kiss. America's chocolate capital is a company town where the foil-wrapped sweet is the model for street lights and the seed for almost everything else. And from Thanksgiving to Christmas, it twinkles.

Milton S. Hershey (1857- 1945), who had worked for a confectioner in Lancaster, Pa., eventually established his own candy business. He set up the Hershey Chocolate Co. in 1894. In 1903, Hershey bought 1,200 acres of land near where he was born in Dauphin County, Pa., and built the world's largest chocolate manufacturing plant. He made a fortune and erected a community around the factory, and started a school for orphans.

Hersheypark, the amusement park that attracts 2 million visitors annually, becomes a holiday destination with Hersheypark Christmas Candylane. The park is illuminated with 500,000 lights, and the Hershey product characters are decked out for the season. Free admission. Rides suitable for children are open; $18 for a wristband for unlimited rides, or 80 cents a ride. Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Hershey Sweet Lights is a drive-through show of hundreds of animated, twinkling-light displays along wooded trails, Nov. 11 to Dec. 31. Admission, $20 a car; $35 for a van of nine or more; $50 for a minibus. At Hershey's Chocolate World, take a 15-minute ride, learn about chocolate-making and sample some. Chocolate World also hosts an interactive 3-D show, a "factory works" packaging line and a trolley tour. Open daily, but closed Christmas Day.

The Hotel Hershey presents a "Holiday with Dickens" program, with either tea or a four-course dinner, Dec. 4 and 5. Admission: $43 for adults, $23 for children 3-8 years old. Dinner: $99 adults, $50 for children. And for young children, breakfasts with Santa Claus are a treat, on Saturdays and Sundays in December. Prices vary. Book soon.

Hershey Lodge has a "Christmas in Chocolate Town" holiday dinner musical from late November through late December. $41.95 for adults; $12.95 for children 12 and younger.

The Hershey Museum (717-534-3439) includes exhibits about American Indian and Pennsylvania German history, and the life of Milton S. Hershey. Admission: $7, adults; $3 children 3-15. Admission to ZooAmerica (717-534-3900), a North American wildlife park, is $6.50- $7.50.

At Indian Echo Caverns in nearby Hummelstown, admission is $10 for adults, $6 for children 3-11, $8 for seniors. The Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad (717-944-4435), which dates to 1888, offers "Santa's Surprise" train rides Nov. 25, 26 and Dec. 10, 11, 17, 18 and 24.

WHERE TO STAY

The 800-437-7439 number connects with Hershey resort properties. The most luxurious spot is The Hotel Hershey (717-533-2171), a Spanish-style landmark with a spa, where treatments include a "whipped cocoa bath" and "chocolate fondue wrap." Rooms start at $300-$400. At Hershey Lodge (717-533-3311), rooms begin around $220. Packages available at both. At Hershey Highmeadow Campground, cabins, $54.50 to $58.50. At Best Western (717-533-5665), rates range from $99.95 to $219.

WHERE TO EAT

The Circular Dining Room of The Hotel Hershey is the area's most impressive restaurant, with fine service and unpretentious style. Very good for dinner (main courses, $21-$34) and for the exceptional Sunday brunch buffet ($32). Also in the Hotel is The Fountain Cafe (main courses, $15-$30), much more casual, with American and continental dishes. Lebbie Lebkichers at the Hershey Lodge has a $21.95 dinner buffet; $6.95-$10.95 for children; entrees at the Hershey Grill, at the Lodge, begin at $8.95. Have a first-class milkshake at Chocolate World, where there's a food court and deli-style eatery.

Hershey, Pa., is a three-to-four hour drive from Long Island. Go via the George Washington Bridge onto Interstate 80. Take I-80 to I-287 South to I-78. Proceed on I-78 West to I-81. Interstate 81 South to exit 80. Then, Route 743 South to Hershey. Or take I-78 West to I-81 South, then to exit 77 into Route 39 East to Hershey.