Hershey Park - Part 3

We found out that with a purchase of a next-day ticket, you are allowed to enter the park at 7 p.m. the evening before for a "preview".  So we took our nifty coupons, bought our tickets and headed into the park.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  It was mid-70s with low humidity - a perfect evening to be outside.  As soon as we walked in, a piece of candy walked up to us.  Bella was a little afraid of it, but Elias thought it was really cool.

If you ever go to Hershey Park, definitely take advantage of the preview! We felt that we got two days at the park for the price of one, even though it was only for 3 hours. The lines were so short (some rides had no line at all) that we rode twice as many rides as we could have ridden during the same span of time in the middle of the day.

The kids got their desire to ride something out of the way right away with the carousel. Josh and I were trying to get the "lay of the land", so we could plan our day tomorrow, but the kids just wanted to ride, ride, ride!  We went on almost every kiddy ride that evening.  And Elias had his first experience on a roller coaster!  We went on the Wild Cat first.  It is a wooden coaster and it was SO rough.  I felt like my head was being jolted off my neck and that my teeth might crack!  I warned Elias that wooden coasters were rougher before we went on, but I had forgotten just how much.  I was actually sort of surprised that Elias wanted to jump right on another as soon as we got off the Wild Cat.  The Wild Mouse was right beside the Wild Cat, so we basically got right on.  I was not a fan of this coaster either.  It takes you up high and then you sit upright and go quick and then slow in a zig-zag pattern that whips your neck back and forth.  Again, I thought I was going to need to see a chiropractor after this ride too.  Now, I love roller coasters and am willing to try any of them, but I like my coasters to go fast, so I don't have to think about how high up I really am or how little metal is actually keeping me from hurling to the ground!  So the fact that this ride took you up high and then went slow was also not an enjoyable aspect for me.  Again, Elias loved it. He wanted to ride another coaster, but there was no time before the park closed.  Because Josh stayed with Bella while I took Elias on the coasters, we have no pictures of Elias' first coaster ride.

We stayed until the park closed and the kids took one more ride on the carousel before leaving. The weather was still beautiful and the kids were being troopers, despite the fact that it was way past their bedtime.  We got back to our hotel, where I had set out pajamas and tooth brushes and had prepared the beds before we left at dinnertime.

We were getting Elias showered and when I walked back into the main room, I found Isabella laying over the bed on her stomach, with her feet still on the floor, fast asleep.  Needless to say, she didn't get a shower that night!  I finished getting her in her pjs and into bed.  Again, thanking Josh for the choice to get 3 beds, since Elias was still wide awake from his thrilling ride on the coaster!  But as soon as we turned the lights out, he was asleep too.  We all slept so well because the room was so quiet, dark, and evenly temperatured.  It was a good thing, because we had a long day the next day and it was 11 p.m. before we got into bed!

The girl on the ride with Bella was a stranger, but to see them chatting away during the ride, you would have thought they were best friends!