Hershey's Boardwalk

I don't know what i expected, but I think I am disapointed. Maybe I wasn't supposed to be the target audience for this attraction? I dunno.

My thought is if your going to do something, do it right. I feel like it was a half-assed attempt to have a water park. With Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom being so close, I can't see how they compete.

Maybe they don't want to compete, maybe this was just supposed to appeal to a younger audience, but to me, I love HP, but I just don't see the purpose this Boardwalk serves.

I was impressed with the overall theming of the area - the food vendor trailors, the Nathan's stand, the ocean sounds coming from the speakers. It made for a nice setting. But as far as the actual water attractions I would agree with you. Other than the huge complex for the kids everything else just seemed really small and on top of each other. Get a big crowd like this past Saturday and it is way too congested.

Not sure that they are trying to compete with Dorney, but I see your point. How long will people put up with the crowds?

I thought it was pretty cool overall. Thought it looked great.

Is there room to expand and add more capacity in the next few years?

I don't think so. The Boardwalk attractions were squeezed into Midway America as it was so I don't think there is anywhere left to go.

The renderings I saw last year looked pretty cool but I generally don't like the idea. Hersheypark needs a full-fledged waterpark, not a bunch of water attractions scattered about the park... plus I'm not too keen on the idea of cluttering the Midway America area with stuff that doesn't fit in with the retro look the park was originally going for.

These comments are what I was afraid of (too congested) and I agree that they should have made a seperate water park. Reading some TR's, it also doesn't sound like it has the same effect on lines that WWK has on the amusement side of Dorney's lines.

The problem is that I don't think that they had the land to dedicate much more.

They seem to be the victim of trying to do too much, with alittle space.

Overall though, the theming is great, they just don't have the room for the crowds.

I agree, the theming is great! The deatils and the atmosphere, wonderful. The structure...impressive. I just don't feel that it has much value to me. Ofcourse maybe it wasn't meant for me. It was probably directed at young kids and familys. The problem I see is that there isn't enough there to handle the crowd, which in time will have a negative impact.

I guess I feel disappointed as well. The Extreme Cup Challenge last year was kinda a dud, and the boardwalk this year I had high hopes for, and is a dud. At the very least they need a full sized wave pool, and maybe a lazy river that takes you on a nice trip.

Like other posters said, though, I ain't quite sure they have the room for it. I think it was good intentions, and looked great on paper, but in the long-run I don't know if it will have a great affect on the park. Also, admission went up $5 because of this. Therefore, I don't know if it will bring in the target audience, if my assumption of the target audience is right.

I have terrible mixed fellings. I love HP, and the coasters and rides and atmosphere. I do feel a little let down with the Boardwalk though.

^^ But they now own the adjacent golf course and that will surely open up a lot of land.

Can someone show some pics?

I love the boardwalk, it is only an hour and ten minutes from my baltimore county home and I like the crowd Hershey attracts much, much better than Kings Dominion's or especially Six Flags America's. I knew it would not be huge and a full size wave pool would have helped but they did the best they could with the room they had and I was very happy to buy a season pass for the first time this year. Dorney is much further for me where I live. By the way there is a podcast and some good photos at this site http://www.hersheypa.com/attractions/hersheypark/boardwalk/index.php and no I am not an employee...

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Rob Ascough said:
^^ But they now own the adjacent golf course and that will surely open up a lot of land.

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A good bit of the higher elevated flat land has been used for the expansion of the parking around GIANT Center and the "new" entrance. Alot of the golf course is hilly. The rest of the golf course land is along the creek and in a flood plain... nearly impossible to get the state department of Environmental resources to let you do anything with that even if you want to take the risk of flooding out.

I wouldn't be so sure about not having room to expand the water offerings. I don't have first hand knowledge of their future plans or anything but before they announced the current hardware I would have been skeptical they could fit it all in.

Parks are pretty brilliant at not making it obvious where their empty space is.

I'm sure Hershey has something planned. I can't see them buying 100+ acres of golf course and only use 10-20 acres of it for parking and let the rest sit unoccupied. Figuring you get 100-120 parking spaces per acre, you gain a few thousand more parking spaces, but for what? Were the existing lots that overcrowded for the capacity of the park and Giant Center?

Just my totally uninformed opinion, but I can see them using more of the old golf course for parking-- use a lot of underground stormwater storage and make it more "green" than what they have in their current lots, infiltration, bio-retention and all the buzzwords DEP loves to hear.

They could even relocate the service building and parking, then expand the park out as far as the stadium. Maybe even create a path to connect Midway closer to the main entrance. Right now it's basically a long cul-de-sac, and I think still under-utilized. That would give them more room for a waterpark and would let them expand Midway America too.

Again, I don't claim any insider knowledge, but I can't see them expanding parking without planning to expand the facilities as well.

^That sounds like a great plan, no idea how feasible it is. I love Hershey to death but some layout improvements would be welcome, if not highly likely.

The rumor was that the Western Chuteout (sp?) slides were supposed to bite the dust, so maybe they'll go and will be replaced with a bigger complex. There's also a little bit of room next to Lightning Racer and Roller Soaker to put in something--whether it be a mini-hyper perhaps, or more slides. I could also see the "carnival-type" slide and tent next to it being used for future development.

I've said it before, and someone else said it too above, but why would you take an area that was specifically supposed to remind you of a bygone era with muted traditional colors, and then take it and dilute it with all the bright modern colors of The Boardwalk?

But, I do think it's brilliant that they made the changes to the entrances of Tidal Force, and Canyon River Rapids ride, so it becomes one area. I think the congestion that someone brought up will be a very real concern come August, which is when I will not be there ever again.

^ But aren't they billing the Boardwalk as a tribute to all the old shore towns and boardwalks of the past century?

Hershey seems to do a pretty quality job with whatever they install.

However, if they were going to put in a waterpark, I think it would have been a better idea to put in a full-fledged one that has more slides, a full-sized wave pool, and more room. I'm not sure where they could have put this, but I think it would have been a better idea. Now, they are even more squeezed for space inside the park.