Hershey Christmas Candylane?

Question for you all...please don't rip my head off as I searched for this already in the forums. Has anyone in here been to the Hershey Christmas Candylane dates that the park runs in late November/December? How are the crowds? Is it worth making a 2+ hour drive to go to the event? Are the number of rides open worth going?

No coasters will be open. A complete list of rides can be found here

That sucks! In my mind, it's never too cold for coasters! Oh well, that lessens my chances greatly of going.

Crowds can be a bit insane at times.

I've not gone there in the past 3 years or so. The last time was in or around 2000 or 2001... we cut out of the hockey game in HP Arena at the beginning of the 2nd intermission and went to the park.

Might go this year though... if only to see the big empty space where Giant Wheel used to be.

Crowds will depend on the weather. One year we went on Black Friday when the temp warmed up into the 60s and it was like a July weekend. If it's chilly and overcast, crowds will be light.

Most of the rides operating are of the kiddie variety, although I did ride Wave Swinger one night with the temp in the upper 20s. Now the Claw in December sounds interesting. But will they ever close the restraint on me if I'm wearing a parka?

The monorail, Dry Gulch RR (Candylane Express), and Skyview are fun just to be able to see all the lighting displays, plus just walking through the park to see the millions of lights. Then there's the music, shops, shows, Sweet Lights should be neat too (that's across HP Drive), not to mention checking out what's going on with the construction for Turbulence. Not sure if that's worth the trip for you or not, but I plan on visiting at least once.

It's a nice family outing. We went there Thanksgiving weekend two years ago. The weather did a major change that week, and we raced a storm all the way back to Pitt(if you could call it that, it really started snowing hard and we were actually ahead of the plows for a while. Took us twice as long to get back as it took to get there).

Sounds alot like the old Winter Fest at Kings Island in the past. Wish I could get back to Hershey this year.

I went to it one time and i got two visits out of it. My first and my last. I guess it is nice if you have kids or if you want to grab a ride or two on a few flats before next season starts.They have alot of lights, and I think they have horse drawn buggy rides and deer (not sure if their just regular deer or reindeer.

It just wasn't my thing. I say, "Bah Humbug!"

Personally, I love Christmas Candylane and usually go during this period about as many times as I go during the Summer. I also love Christmas, so that explains a lot.

Crowds in November aren't too bad except for Thanksgiving weekend (typically). I once waited more than an hour for the train in freezing temperatures.

If you are only going for the rides that will be open, then (1) you might be disappointed and (2) lines are rarely long during the daylight hours. Go early, ride often.

- Jeff

I also love Candylane and try and make it whenever I'm up visiting the relatives during the holidays. We went a couple of days after Christmas last year (I think a Monday) and the crowds weren't too bad at all. I've never gone to ride the rides though. I just like to take in the cool Christmas vibe. My favorite part of the event is the laser show to Christmas music that they put on in the back of the park.

Forget about the laser show--it's not operating this year.

That sucks:(