Hersheypark

Pedro Tulo's 5th and 6th grade chorus took a trip to Hersheypark this spring. They drove about 3 hours from Northern Virginia, performed a few songs at a church near the park, and then got to explore the amusement park before driving home. Hersheypark is a cashless facility, and we certainly weren't giving an 11 year old a credit card. Instead we bought him a $25 prepaid Visa card which had a $5.95 fee. What a scam! Anyway, Pedro Tulo had a great time, said that he rode a few roller coasters, and wanted to go back this summer.

The fact that I finally have a kid who is old/tall enough to ride roller coasters and interested in riding them made me very excited. So the two of us went to Hershey a few weeks ago. While we had a great time, and I'm really happy that we spent time together, Pedro Tulo is still a little hesitant to ride many coasters. We ended up riding three. Cocoa Cruiser is a roller coaster by definition only with the biggest hill being 14 feet high. Trailblazer went faster but with no big drops. We also went on the indoor coaster called Laff Trakk which was pretty good. Still, my hope of spending a significant part of the day riding on "real" roller coasters didn't quite happen.

The next morning, we went to Chocolate World to buy some treats for home. During our time at the park and at the store, products like Hershey's Kisses, Hershey's Chocolate Bars, Kit Kat, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are featured prominently and even in mascot form. This isn't surprising since these are the top selling products. However, I couldn't find my favorite Hershey's product, the Symphony milk chocolate bar, anywhere in the store. I asked one employee who said that he wasn't aware of the product. I was about to riot. Fortunately, another employee directed me to the right place. Symphony bars were hidden on a shelf with no signage whatsoever. This is a travesty. 

While I understand that Hershey's has dozens of products (I learned that they make the terrific Dot's pretzels), more needs to be done to promote Symphony bars. It doesn't have the history or the symbolism of other Hershey's products, but it's their best chocolate treat.