Pennsylvania may be a land-locked state, but one amusement park in the state still opened a ‘boardwalk’ this Memorial Day weekend.
A podcast on the Boardwalk at Hershey Park’s website claims that the park’s newest attraction is a tribute to the great piers of Boardwalks in Coney Island, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Rehoboth Beach and other New Jersey, New York and Maryland beaches.
Now in addition to enjoying great attraction like roller coasters and other land-based rides, Hershey Park guests can also cool off at the new water park. One more great reason to visit Hershey, Pa. (There are plenty more, as AC writer Theresa Stanisha writes about here.
The Boardwalk at Hershey Park is included in the regular park admission, making the ticket a kind of two-for-one deal. Aside from the water attractions which a listed below, the newest section of the park also offers nine food stands, six games, seven retails stores and two changing areas and lockers rooms.
The Boardwalk at Hershey Park is a $21-million water park nestled between two of the park’s popular roller coasters, the Lightning Racer and the Wildcat. The Boardwalk at Hershey Park offers five separate attractions, featuring rides and features for all different thrill levels. Let’s take a look:
East Coast Water Works
According HersheyPa.com, East Coast Water Works is the largest water play structure in the world, weighing in at 62-tons. The attraction is seven stories high and holds 54,000 gallons of water, and features seven water slides, two crawl through tunnels, 600 interactive water toys, pull ropes, 225 feet of cross bridges and more. From looking at pictures on the website, East Coast Water Works is also a very colorful and vibrant place.
Coastline Plunge
Coastline Plunge is perhaps the most exhilarating portion of the Boardwalk at Hershey Park, offers four snaking water slides plunging down from 54-feet, totaling 1000-feet of slides: the Riptide, the Surge, the Vortex and the Whirlwind.
Each slide is unique, as the Whirlwind is a huge, funnel looking structure where the rider(s) accelerate into a dark tunnel where the floor drops out. Then, they are brought back up into the flume, held on only by the centrifugal force of the whirlwind. The other slides are not as aggressive, offering a thrill level comfortable for everyone. Each of the slides at the Coastline Plunge are different shapes and colors, making it a pleasing structure to look at as well.
The Wave Rider
Surf’s up Hershey Park visitors! The Wave Rider is a surfing-simulator attraction that allows two riders to go head-to-head in a friendly surfing competition. The pool has two sides, where each user can sit or lay down and try to ride the waves.
Sandcastle Cove
Sandcastle Cove was built with the little ones in mind. The attraction features a giant sandcastle filled with toys for the kids to enjoy, including water curtains, water slides, cannons, jets and of course a large pool. The water here is shallow, so even the smallest Hershey Park guests will be able to enjoy Sandcastle Cove.
Bayside Pier
The Bayside Pier offers a more relaxing environment than the twists and turns and speed of the waterslides. The Pier offers a gentle, lapping wave pool where swimmers can cool off from the hot summer sun. There are also lounge chairs by the pool.
The Boardwalk at Hershey Park has an informative website which shows the height limits and thrill levels of each of the waterslides and water attractions.
Still can’t get enough Hershey?
–Hershey Park is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. You can read more about it here.
–One AC writer, Amy S. visited Hershey Park and shares her experience here.
Hershey, Pa. offers many accommodations from resorts, to motels, hotels, beds & breakfasts and campgrounds. With so much to do and see in Hershey, a multi-day trip is worth it.
