Park Trips

[Brian]

Beth and Georgina,

As I mentioned to Beth in my amusement park thread, I'm going to be away this week on a trip. Among other stops, I'll be visiting the following parks:


Hershey Park
Dutch Wonderland
Penn's Cave

Penn's Cave is not really an amusement park. Instead, it's an all water cavern and wildlife park located near State College. I've bever been there but always wanted to go. It looks neat! Check out the link.


www.pennscave.com/


I sure hope the weather cooperates. I should be back here by next weekend.

[MacBeth]

Have a great trip !! Let's see some pictures if you have time.

[Georgina]

Have a terrific time, Brian. Report back your findings!

[Calluna]

Did you get to see Thomas the Tank? I think I saw signs about that while driving back and forth through PA the past few weeks, and one of my old friends from way back when took her kids for that this past weekend (or at least that was the plan...I don't know if she got rained out). I'm sure that's not really the priority of adults, but if it happened to be at one of the parks you were visiting, I was more curious if it was just a fun train ride, or they actually have a traveling Thomas the Tank train, or what?

Let me know how Penn's Cave is. That is close enough I could travel there for a long weekend type trip. I have several WEEKS of vacation time accumulated that I'm going to start losing if I don't use it (but so hard to find time to use it), so if I can take half days on Fridays, I could visit places like that to use some of my time while not being away so much I can't keep up with all the other work I need to do.

Have fun!

[Brian]

Well, guys, I'm back! The trip was great! ;D I I was able to go to all the places I mentioned: Hershey Park, Dutch Wonderland, Penn's Cave.

Hershey Park was awesome!!!! The park has 11 roller coasters. I didn't ride them all, but I was able to ride 7 of them (three wooden, three steel, and a water coaster). The coasters were great. The chocolate world tour was really cool, too. I probably only eat chocolate 4 or 5 times a year, so I'm in no way a chocolate nut. But it was extremely interesting going on the chocolate world tour and seeing all the steps involved in making chocolate. Honestly, I never knew so much was involved in the process! It was really interesting, and chocolate world had a bunch of shops where people could buy Hershey's candies and other food made from Hershey stuff. Hershey Park itself was very clean and beautiful. It was crowded as hell, but the ride lines still weren't that bad. Additionally, there is a zoo attached to the park that offers free admission for everyone already at Hershey Park. And there is a Monorail at Hershey Park that takes passengers through the park and over to the chocolate factory. Hershey Park is pricey in terms of admission, but it's well worth it. There are lots of shops, a TON of eating places and lots of rides. The employees were friendly, too. I've also never seen a park with more of a visible security presence.

www.hersheypark.com/

Dutch Wonderland is billed as a kid's park, but it really isn't in terms of all the rides offered. Like Hershey, it's very clean. Unlike Hershey it has a Dutch/Amish theme. The employees at Dutch Wonderland were exceptionally friendly. In fact, they were friendlier than I can remember seeing at many other parks. Dutch Wonderland is in Lancaster, not far from Hershey and Harrisburg. Hershey and Dutch Wonderland are owned by the same company. So if you buy a combo pass for $70, you can go to both parks on different days.

www.dutchwonderland.com/

Penn's Cave is an all-water cavern and wildlife park near State College, PA. It offers a 50-minute guided tour (by boat) through an underground cavern located about 100 feet below ground. The cavern never gets warmer than 52 degrees, so you need a coat. (It actually felt colder than 52 degrees.) In this cavern are all sorts of incredible rock formations. It was SO cool! Each tour progresses through the cavern with about 20 people on a boat along with a guide. It was pretty dark down there, and at times the boat passes through some very narrow areas. But the rock formations that were formed there over the years are fascinating as heck to see. The cavern tour is also really cheap--only $16 bucks. It's really worth seeing.

www.pennscave.com/caverntours.php

And there is also a certain legend/folklore involving an Indian Princess and Penn's Cave.

www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/PennsCave.html

[Brian]

Jun 21, 2010 7:14:58 GMT -5 MacBeth said:

Have a great trip !! Let's see some pictures if you have time.

I took a number of pictures, Beth. The problem is I don't have a digital camera or scanner. So I guess I won't be posting any pics. And I hate to say it, but most of my Penn's Cave pictures didn't turn out too well. It was so dark in that cave that even the flash didn't help much.

[Brian]

Jun 21, 2010 23:48:19 GMT -5 Calluna said:

Did you get to see Thomas the Tank? I think I saw signs about that while driving back and forth through PA the past few weeks, and one of my old friends from way back when took her kids for that this past weekend (or at least that was the plan...I don't know if she got rained out). I'm sure that's not really the priority of adults, but if it happened to be at one of the parks you were visiting, I was more curious if it was just a fun train ride, or they actually have a traveling Thomas the Tank train, or what?

Let me know how Penn's Cave is. That is close enough I could travel there for a long weekend type trip. I have several WEEKS of vacation time accumulated that I'm going to start losing if I don't use it (but so hard to find time to use it), so if I can take half days on Fridays, I could visit places like that to use some of my time while not being away so much I can't keep up with all the other work I need to do.

Have fun!

Hmmm.....You know, I had never heard of Thomas the Tank until you mentioned it. Do you know if it's something that goes to different parks? If so, I've never seen it yet. But if it was at Hershey then I suppose it's possible I missed it. Hershey is kind of big, and I didn't take partake in every single thing in the park (mostly concentrating on the coasters, as always.) Plus, I only had one day there so I had to prioritize.

Calluna, Penn's Cave was AWESOME! ;D Be sure to read the description I posted about it in this thread and in my original "amusement park trips" thread on the main board.
Let me tell you, for someone like you who likes science it would be a great trip. I hope you get to go. Let me know if you need directions or anything.

By the way, speaking of Pennsylvania science attractions, have you been to the Carnegie Science Museum in Pittsburgh yet? I've never been there, but I've heard it's a wonderful place to visit. That might be a good stop for you, too.

[Brian]

Beth and Georgina,

I'm going to be offline until Friday or the weekend.

Guess what? Another park trip!

Actually, though, I'm not just going to a park. I'm leaving on a trip to Pittsburgh and will be gone until the end of the week. While there, I'll be visiting (among other things) the Carnegie Science Museum AND Idlewild Park.

Idlewild is southeast of Pittsburgh.

See you guys soon.

[Georgina]

Sounds terrific, Brian! Have a blast.

[Brian]

Aug 10, 2010 0:52:51 GMT -5 Georgina said:

Sounds terrific, Brian! Have a blast.

Thanks, Georgina. It was a helluva great time! In Pittsburgh we ended up going not only to the Carnegie Science Center but also to the Carnegie Museums of Natural History and Art (only a few minutes in the art one, though).

And Idlewild Park was awesome. Idlewild is located in the Laurel Highlands region of Pennsylvania, quite a beautiful area.

We got back later in the week. Today we took a day trip to Conneaut Lake Park in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania (about 90 miles north of Pittsburgh). And yes, that's another amusement park.