"By virtue of our mission statement we have dedicated ourselves to creating memorable experiences and investing in the success of our employees,” observes Frank J O’Connell, Hersheypark’s current general manager. “Our daily commitment to these two factors has sustained our operations for the past 100 years and will continue to propel us forward in the years to come.”

For this special season in 2007, the park has opened a water play area, The Boardwalk at Hersheypark. “We conduct extensive guest research,” acknowledges O’Connell. “Not surprisingly, the two most requested attractions are coasters and water. For our anniversary celebration we wanted an offering that would have a strong market impact, as well as a broad age demographic. What could be more appropriate then an entirely new themed area for the park?”

In addition, numerous activities are being planned for the park’s centennial celebration, including new shows, fireworks displays, a beach party-themed Picnic in the Park, various promotions at Hershey Resorts, and more.

The early years

The changes in Hershey Park since its beginnings are vast and dramatic. They represent a living testimony to the vision of its founder. From the moment he laid out his community, Milton S Hershey planned to build a park, making an early commitment to create a more pleasant environment for workers and residents than the typical factory town of the time.

“Mr. Hershey opened the park in 1907 as a picnic and pleasure grounds for his employees,” notes O’Connell. “From that date forward he continued to expand and add new attractions to his park until his passing in 1945. The town of Hershey had become a very popular vacation spot along the East Coast. Over the decades the park’s growth has been synchronised with consumer demand and done in such a way as to advance the legacy of our founder.”

Even though Hershey’s Mennonite mother thought his idea was frivolous, he proceeded to survey a site along Spring Creek in 1903. On April 24, 1907, Hershey Park opened; a baseball game was played on the new athletic field. Mr. Hershey and his wife, Catherine, watched the game from the grandstand.

Hershey Park’s original appeal was its simplicity. An ideal spot for picnicking, boating and canoeing, the park was landscaped with graceful trees and wooded groves that provided a shady retreat for thousands of people without being crowded. Swings were placed beneath the shade trees and shrubbery bordered the pathways.

The original main buildings were a small rustic bandstand and a pavilion that served as a stage. A merry-go-round was put into operation on July 4, 1908. In a 1909 brochure, the pavilion was described as a “most handsome structure and one of the largest to be found in any park in the entire country.”

Adjoining the pavilion was a newly constructed amphitheatre described as a “model of excellence.” One of the most acoustically perfect buildings of its kind, the amphitheatre offered 1,500-tiered seats on a sloping hillside. The entrance sign read, “Ye who enter here leave dull cares behind.”

The 1909 operating season featured many other new attractions includng two bowling alleys, a large band shell and a photography gallery where a first-class photographer provided “work of a better kind at reasonable rates.” The Scenic Railroad was also completed for this season. Built by the Lancaster Iron Works, it offered guests a relaxing ride through the picturesque area. Athletic events were popular attractions, too.

Hershey Park was growing, and so was attendance. At the end of the 1909 season, more than 100,000 had visited the park.

The Hershey Conservatory and Greenhouse opened in February 1910. In October 1911, a new outdoor pool measuring 250 by 110ft was completed in time to be used as a skating rink for that winter.

New for the following summer season was a $15,000 carrousel built in July 1912 by William H Dentzel of Philadelphia, the “great flying horse manufacturer.” The new ride, 50ft in diameter, featured 53 animals including pigs, cats, rabbits, lions, ostrich, deer, goats, giraffe, bears and other wild animals, as well as two chariots.

In 1913, Hershey constructed a new dancing pavilion to accommodate hundreds of couples. The structure was renovated and renamed the Starlight Ballroom. A new stage accommodating 60 musicians was built in May 1914. The late 1920s and early 1930s were the era of Big Bands and touring orchestras. Rudy Valee, Cab Calloway, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Louis Armstrong were among the many stars that performed at Hershey.

Sober entertainment

In the early years of Hershey Park, alcoholic beverages were frowned upon. A park brochure sternly observed, “No intoxicants are dispensed or permitted anywhere within the limits of the park; this is a feature that should commend itself especially to Sunday Schools and church organisations seeking an ideal place for an outing.”

In 1915 a new Convention Hall with seating for 6,000 was built. This building later became the Hershey Museum. That year the park’s attendance soared to more than 200,000 guests.

Prior to the park’s opening the following year, the Hershey Press made this observation, “Already it is seen that Hershey’s visitors in 1916 will be very largely an automobile crowd. The number of machines increases daily. They are coming from every direction and from many states.”

Also that year the Hershey Park Café opened, seating more than 1,000 guests. Chicken and waffle dinners were featured. The Hershey Zoo also opened in 1916 featuring one of the largest private collections in the country and covering 40 acres including animal buildings and several outdoor displays.

The community of Hershey celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1923. Mr. Hershey’s present to the town was The Wild Cat, a new rollercoaster for Hershey Park nearly a mile long. On its first day of operation, no ladies were allowed to ride until the afternoon, a caution typical of the times.

The Roaring Twenties brought even more new rides to Hershey Park – the Skooter from Lusse Brothers, a small Ferris Wheel and the Aeroplane Swing “with electric lights and streamers” that was supplied by Coney Island’s WF Mangels Company.

In July 1929, a new outdoor swimming pool opened. Complete with a modern bathhouse and 300,000 lockers, it was declared one of the largest and finest swimming pools in America.

A souvenir booklet printed on the 30th anniversary of Hershey in 1933 describes Hershey Park. “Its thousand acres are delightfully landscaped, its groves of shade trees, shadowy oaks, rustic bridges that span historic Spring Creek, all combine to stimulate a spirit of comfort and ease. The park lacks the traditional carnival midway with its bedlam of raucous shouts and insane laughter, supplying instead a beauty spot designed to furnish amusement for the young, diversion for the adult and relaxation for the elderly.”

Hershey Park became known as the “Summer Capital of Pennsylvania” and “The Park with a Country Club Atmosphere.” Guests travelled to Hershey by streetcars, trains, buses and cars. A favourite attraction was the Sunken Garden, which seemed to have flowers everywhere. A fountain sprayed water 65ft high and was illuminated nightly by 300 multi-coloured lights.

In 1933, new Hershey Park attractions included The Bug, The Mill Chute water flume ride, a Fun House and the Penny Arcade. A record of 60,000 guests visited the park that Independence Day. The Hershey Zoo opened three new buildings that year and acquired an elephant from India, kangaroos from Australia and two 250-pound turtles.

The Wild Cat (pictured) was renovated in 1935; its dips were built up and curves more steeply banked. A year later the Sports Arena was completed. Then in 1939, Hershey constructed a 16,000 seat concrete stadium. As with many of his other projects, Mr Hershey’s friends and associates thought that the huge structure was absurd in relation to the town’s population. But, Milton Hershey was, as always, building for the future.

Each season brought added attractions to Hershey Park. By 1945 there were more than two dozen “amusements and fun devices.” A carousel that is still in use today replaced the original. Built in 1919 by PTC and previously used at Liberty Park, New York, the ride boasts a wheezing Wurlitzer Band organ, 1,788 lights and 66 hand-carved wooden horses.

In 1946 The Wild Cat was replaced by The Comet, which is still a family favourite and is ranked in the country’s top ten wooden coasters. A twin Eli Bridge Ferris wheel, 66ft high, joined the other rides in 1950. Ten years later The Dry Gulch Railroad, designed according to a steam railroad of the early 1800s and built by Crown Metal Products, was installed.

Theme park emerges

In 1971, Hershey completed the first phase of a five-year redevelopment campaign with R Duell Associates of California. Thus began the conversion from Hershey Park as a regional amusement park to Hersheypark, as one of America’s most popular theme parks. The pay-as-you-ride policy was replaced with a one-price admission plan.

The SooperDooperLooper was unveiled on July 4, 1977 as the first steel looping rollercoaster on the US East Coast. This addition was credited in helping Hersheypark establish an attendance record of 1.7 million guests for the season.

The 1980s brought the addition of rides including the Cyclops, Pirat, Conestoga and Timber Rattler, all by Huss, and a Zierer Wave Swinger. The Conestoga and Timber Rattler became the nucleus of the new Pioneer Frontier theme area. In 1987, Canyon River Rapids opened at Hersheypark, allowing guests to simulate a white water rafting trip.

In 1990 The Flying Falcon ride from Huss was unveiled. A multi-loop steel coaster by Vekoma called the Sidewinder opened in 1991 as the fourth rollercoaster at Hersheypark. The park’s 85th anniversary was celebrated at the start of the 1992 season. In May 1994 Hersheypark opened Tidal Force, the world’s tallest water plunge ride. With the opening of the new ride, supplied by OD Hopkins, Hersheypark expanded to 90 acres.

In 1996, Hersheypark celebrated its 90th operating season with the unveiling of a new one-of-a-kind wooden rollercoaster, and the Wildcat name was brought back into use. Designed by Great Coasters International, the new Wildcat blends modern technology with wood to create a ride that crosses over and under itself 20 times. The ride is the cornerstone of a new themed area, Midway America, which celebrates Amusement Parks of days gone by.

In 1997, a Chance Ferris Wheel and Whip ride from Rideworks were added to Midway America, expanding the Park to 110 acres. In addition, a games building, merchandise shop and Pizza Restaurant were built.

In 1998, Hersheypark unveiled Great Bear, the first steel, inverted looping rollercoaster in the state of Pennsylvania and the park’s sixth coaster. In 1999, Hersheypark opened a Mack Wild Mouse, a coaster for all members of the family. In 2000, the park’s eighth rollercoaster was added. Lightning Racer, designed and built by Great Coasters International, became the first wooden racing/duelling roller coaster in the United States.

In 2001, Hersheypark offered guests AT&T NightLights: A Musical Laser Spectacular. This multi sensory show is 30 minutes long and is shown at the close of the day. The next season saw the introduction of Roller Soaker, the first interactive water coaster in the Northeast. Designed by Setpoint, this hybrid ride offers guests the best of both – a rollercoaster and a water ride.

In 2003 the park added the Claw, an Afterburner/Revolution from Chance Morgan. Storm Runner by Intamin, the world’s first-ever hydraulic-powered coaster with inversions and Pennsylvania’s first-ever launched coaster, galloped into Hersheypark in 2004. Sally Corporation supplied Reese’s Xtreme Cup Challenge, the world’s first interactive dark ride to pit car against car in multi-sensory laser competition, in 2006.

“I believe the most popular ride in the park at the end of the 2006 season is the Great Bear,” reveals O’Connell. “The Bear is just a classic B&M floorless coaster with just the right amount of height, speed and inversions to put a smile on any thrill-seekers’ face. The SooperDooperLooper is a close second, however, due to its ageless appeal and family demographic.”

Hersheypark has undergone many changes since it opened in 1907. But what has remained constant is the commitment to provide guests with fun and entertainment in the midst of beautiful, natural surroundings. Oh, and they also sell chocolate.

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