I Have Returned!
Jun. 15th, 2016 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickI'm still in "catch-up/wind-down" mode from the drive back, and my parents are the ones with all the pictures on their phones, but I can give you a few highlights:
-->Driving up took 7 hours (thanks to Siri sending us into construction for an important exit and us having to finagle things to get back on track); return took 6 (Mom joked it was partially thanks to it being downhill a lot of the way)
-->Similarly, our first night there, we got a bit lost looking for both the park and somewhere to eat. We found both eventually, but be aware that getting into Hershey Park can be a bit roundabout (there's a Giant Stadium (literally the name) you have to go around).
-->Hershey Park itself was really fun, though. We took in a sunset preview on Monday (the tickets we bought allowed us to do that for free), then did a full 10-6 day on Tuesday. We hit a good chunk of the rides, including:
=Skyview (basically little gondolas that take you on a brief loop around a bit of the park -- including going THROUGH one of the roller coasters)
=the Monorail (awesome view of the park -- we actually did it twice since the first time we did it was during the preview and it was too dark to see some stuff)
=Kissing Tower (HUGE tower with a rotating platform that offers awesome views of -- well -- everything)
=Wave Swinger (giant spinny tilty thing where you fly around in what is basically an adult version of the standard child swing seat)
=the Comet (oldest roller coaster in the park, and my first ever)
=the Wild Mouse (small single-car coaster that takes you up high, then rapidly around a set of REALLY extreme switchbacks)
=the Wildcat (another wooden coaster with a lot of twists and turns)
=and -- my favorite -- the Lightning Racer (this is an ENORMOUS double wooden coaster -- there's two sets of cars, Thunder and Lighting, and you kinda race each other around a track filled with all sorts of hills and twists and turns). It was AWESOME. :D I think I'm cure of my coaster fear.
=We also hit the included ZooAmerica park (animals from all over America; very cool) and Hershey's Chocolate World area (mostly a huge gift shop of chocolate and chocolate-related toys, but there was a free virtual factory tour we took in). Fun times, though quick warning -- if you want to do anything beyond the tour in Hershey's Chocolate World, it'll cost ya. Hence why we only did the tour. Weird added bonus from visiting that place, though -- discovery of the Independence Day sequel! Yes, they're doing one, if you're like me and was completely out of the loop. We're already making plans to watch the original on Friday after mini-golf, then use the free movie tickets I've still got (there were a Christmas gift from work) to see it in the IMAX if it pops up there and the tickets are good for IMAX. (Otherwise we might see it at our regular CT theater, since nicest screens.)
-->Meals ran the gamut from "meh" to "wow!"
=Restaurants to avoid: The Subway inside the entrance (we all had Chicken Teriyaki sandwiches, and the chicken was really tough -- either overcooked, old, or both); The Grill on Chocolate Ave (Mom had a good salmon salad, but Dad's order of "fish and chips" ended up being fish fingers like you get at the store, and my chicken Parmesan was bland as fuck).
=Restaurants that are okay: The Turkey Hill Ice Cream parlor in the Boardwalk area (aka the water park) makes a good shake (I enjoyed my Wild Mouse -- chocolate peanut butter ice cream with chocolate peanut butter cups), but the wait was a little long because for some reason they didn't have both windows open. Also, ice cream flavors on hand aren't clearly labeled, so if you want a cone of something, be prepared to ask what they offer.
=Restaurants to visit: The Hershey Pantry -- offers mainly breakfast and lunch food, but we had breakfast there both Tuesday and today, and the food is DELICIOUS. Mom was able to get a salad with her omelet the first day, which really made her happy, and Dad enjoyed his pancakes and eggs. I had the Fruit Yogurt Parfait the first day (a big sundae cup of mixed fruit, vanilla yogurt, and granola) and the Stuffed Italian French Toast the second (two HUGE French toast "sandwiches" filled with cream cheese in the "flavor of the day" -- today's flavor was black raspberry!). Both freaking delicious. Just be warned -- the portions are HUGE. I was the only one who finished my meal the first day because I just had the parfait, and even I couldn't take on both bits of toast today. But if you want a good breakfast with leftovers, go for it. We also had a good take-out meal from one of the local pizza places, but unfortunately Mom ordered that and while I saw the menu, I don't recall the name.
-->White Rose Motel was where we stayed, and it was nice! Clean rooms with nice bath and two beds per room -- though my parents had their own room this time, which was cool. Pool on premises, which we took advantage of after our trip to Hershey Park -- small, but nice. And free wifi too -- a little spotty, but I'm not sure if that was the signal or my iPad, which can be fussy. I was able to keep up a bit with tumblr, and that's all that matters to me.
-->Despite best efforts, did get a little sunburned. Not too bad, but I have some spots on my shoulders where you can see where my straps were, and a kind of "bib" on my chest. Fortunately I'm wearing a covering shirt on Friday, but I'm putting on a little extra sunscreen and wearing a hat, I think.
-->Additional good things that happened in DragonVale once we got home and I could check properly:
=New event that has all the gemstone and crystalline dragons available, and even able to breed for the first time! Working on the new one and the ones I missed before.
=Finally got the Nether dragon, the latest hybrid limited!
=SCORED GAIA! Yeah, got the last bit of her nest from a race I ran when I got home. She's very pretty. I've changed my skybox to the Summer festival and the weather to confetti to celebrate XD
And that's about it! I'll see if I can get up pictures tomorrow -- until then, good night!
-->Driving up took 7 hours (thanks to Siri sending us into construction for an important exit and us having to finagle things to get back on track); return took 6 (Mom joked it was partially thanks to it being downhill a lot of the way)
-->Similarly, our first night there, we got a bit lost looking for both the park and somewhere to eat. We found both eventually, but be aware that getting into Hershey Park can be a bit roundabout (there's a Giant Stadium (literally the name) you have to go around).
-->Hershey Park itself was really fun, though. We took in a sunset preview on Monday (the tickets we bought allowed us to do that for free), then did a full 10-6 day on Tuesday. We hit a good chunk of the rides, including:
=Skyview (basically little gondolas that take you on a brief loop around a bit of the park -- including going THROUGH one of the roller coasters)
=the Monorail (awesome view of the park -- we actually did it twice since the first time we did it was during the preview and it was too dark to see some stuff)
=Kissing Tower (HUGE tower with a rotating platform that offers awesome views of -- well -- everything)
=Wave Swinger (giant spinny tilty thing where you fly around in what is basically an adult version of the standard child swing seat)
=the Comet (oldest roller coaster in the park, and my first ever)
=the Wild Mouse (small single-car coaster that takes you up high, then rapidly around a set of REALLY extreme switchbacks)
=the Wildcat (another wooden coaster with a lot of twists and turns)
=and -- my favorite -- the Lightning Racer (this is an ENORMOUS double wooden coaster -- there's two sets of cars, Thunder and Lighting, and you kinda race each other around a track filled with all sorts of hills and twists and turns). It was AWESOME. :D I think I'm cure of my coaster fear.
=We also hit the included ZooAmerica park (animals from all over America; very cool) and Hershey's Chocolate World area (mostly a huge gift shop of chocolate and chocolate-related toys, but there was a free virtual factory tour we took in). Fun times, though quick warning -- if you want to do anything beyond the tour in Hershey's Chocolate World, it'll cost ya. Hence why we only did the tour. Weird added bonus from visiting that place, though -- discovery of the Independence Day sequel! Yes, they're doing one, if you're like me and was completely out of the loop. We're already making plans to watch the original on Friday after mini-golf, then use the free movie tickets I've still got (there were a Christmas gift from work) to see it in the IMAX if it pops up there and the tickets are good for IMAX. (Otherwise we might see it at our regular CT theater, since nicest screens.)
-->Meals ran the gamut from "meh" to "wow!"
=Restaurants to avoid: The Subway inside the entrance (we all had Chicken Teriyaki sandwiches, and the chicken was really tough -- either overcooked, old, or both); The Grill on Chocolate Ave (Mom had a good salmon salad, but Dad's order of "fish and chips" ended up being fish fingers like you get at the store, and my chicken Parmesan was bland as fuck).
=Restaurants that are okay: The Turkey Hill Ice Cream parlor in the Boardwalk area (aka the water park) makes a good shake (I enjoyed my Wild Mouse -- chocolate peanut butter ice cream with chocolate peanut butter cups), but the wait was a little long because for some reason they didn't have both windows open. Also, ice cream flavors on hand aren't clearly labeled, so if you want a cone of something, be prepared to ask what they offer.
=Restaurants to visit: The Hershey Pantry -- offers mainly breakfast and lunch food, but we had breakfast there both Tuesday and today, and the food is DELICIOUS. Mom was able to get a salad with her omelet the first day, which really made her happy, and Dad enjoyed his pancakes and eggs. I had the Fruit Yogurt Parfait the first day (a big sundae cup of mixed fruit, vanilla yogurt, and granola) and the Stuffed Italian French Toast the second (two HUGE French toast "sandwiches" filled with cream cheese in the "flavor of the day" -- today's flavor was black raspberry!). Both freaking delicious. Just be warned -- the portions are HUGE. I was the only one who finished my meal the first day because I just had the parfait, and even I couldn't take on both bits of toast today. But if you want a good breakfast with leftovers, go for it. We also had a good take-out meal from one of the local pizza places, but unfortunately Mom ordered that and while I saw the menu, I don't recall the name.
-->White Rose Motel was where we stayed, and it was nice! Clean rooms with nice bath and two beds per room -- though my parents had their own room this time, which was cool. Pool on premises, which we took advantage of after our trip to Hershey Park -- small, but nice. And free wifi too -- a little spotty, but I'm not sure if that was the signal or my iPad, which can be fussy. I was able to keep up a bit with tumblr, and that's all that matters to me.
-->Despite best efforts, did get a little sunburned. Not too bad, but I have some spots on my shoulders where you can see where my straps were, and a kind of "bib" on my chest. Fortunately I'm wearing a covering shirt on Friday, but I'm putting on a little extra sunscreen and wearing a hat, I think.
-->Additional good things that happened in DragonVale once we got home and I could check properly:
=New event that has all the gemstone and crystalline dragons available, and even able to breed for the first time! Working on the new one and the ones I missed before.
=Finally got the Nether dragon, the latest hybrid limited!
=SCORED GAIA! Yeah, got the last bit of her nest from a race I ran when I got home. She's very pretty. I've changed my skybox to the Summer festival and the weather to confetti to celebrate XD
And that's about it! I'll see if I can get up pictures tomorrow -- until then, good night!
