Visiting Hersheypark With An Autistic Child
Everyone is feeling the financial pinch with the rising cost of near everything and we are not excluded from that. So this year, instead of our normal vacation of at least a few days away, we opted for a staycation. We did some college tours with our oldest, went swimming at the pool and topped it off with a day trip to Hersheypark.
Amusement parks aren’t the most inexpensive option, but truthfully, between the cost of gas and hotels, there really wasn’t any less expensive option for us that would give the variety of entertainment options we needed for our kids in the proximity of a day trip from Baltimore. Plus – it’s the home of Reese Cups – and that’s pretty amazing.
Like any amusement park, Hersheypark tends to run ticket specials throughout the year. We snagged the July special, which was buy 2 tickets, get 1 free – which worked out perfect for us.
We have not been to an amusement park since C was born. His delays and needs were obvious very early on and we recognized that an amusement park would be hard for him and expensive and traumatizing for everyone else involved. But after several years of therapy that led to him becoming verbal, more in control of his impulse (including eloping) and just a general ability to have fun when he’s not doing the same repetitive task.
Prepping Your Child with Autism for a Visit to Hersheypark
Because C had never been to an amusement park before, I had to build up the excitement. I started mentioning it to him in bite size chunks to pique his interest. C isn’t the kid that you can spring things on. He won’t even look at pictures or video unless it’s his idea. So I had to find a way to make it his idea. Which is where our conversations came in. One day while we were at the grocery store, he asked for his favorite Reese’s Cup in the checkout line.
“Hey, did you know the factory that makes Reese’s Cups is near here? Would you like to go visit?”. Immediately, I got a resounding “YES”.
So I told him more – “It’s called Hersheypark. They have the factory AND they have rides AND a waterpark. Does that sound fun to you?”
“I don’t like rides”
“But you like swimming right? They have a big pool and water slides”
“I want to go there”
“Ok cool! That would be fun! Can I show you a video of the waterpark?”
(Grabs my phone and turns it off)
So the conversation ended there and I didn’t push it. I know him too well that if I pushed it, the deal was dead. So the next time he asked for some Reese’s Cups, I started again “Hey would you like to go to Hersheypark when I am off work next week to see where they make them?”. And again planted little seeds about all of the fun he could have there. He wasn’t interested in looking at pictures – but I had the website up on the computer while I was doing something else.
“I want to go to that pool”
“That’s Hersheypark! The place that makes Reese’s Cups! Let’s go when I’m off work in 2 weeks!”
When he was open to talking about it, I told him about the fun things he could see. It would take 90 minutes to get there – so he could look for old minivans along the way (his latest obsession).
Then I found my in… C loves my oldest son’s girlfriend. During a conversation one night, T mentioned his girlfriend couldn’t come over that night because she was going to dinner at Cracker Barrel with her family. C’s ears perked because he loves to eat.
“What’s Cracker Barrel?”
“Oh it’s a really cool restaurant where you can cheeseburgers, chicken tenders and you can get breakfast ALL DAY LONG”
“WHAT!? I can get pancakes for dinner?”
“Yep! And you know what else? They have special pancakes with fruit and even pancakes with cheesecake. AND it’s on the way to Hersheypark.”
“I want to go there”
“Cool! Do you want to go for breakfast or dinner?”
He couldn’t decide. He wanted both. So I told him if we went to Hersheypark, he didn’t elope and didn’t have any tantrums, we could go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast on the way up and dinner on the way back. He was sold.
Planning for Hersheypark with an Autistic Child
So after I got C excited about Hersheypark, I realized I had made a fatal flaw. While I had visited Hersheypark several times, I had never gone with someone with a disability. And I hadn’t researched their disability program – or if they even had one. Off to Google I went.
The program is pretty comprehensive for people of various physical disabilities, but I had to do a little bit of extra research to understand how they could accommodate someone with Autism or Type 1 diabetes. I found a great Safety Accessibility Guide that gave descriptions of all of the rides and provided information on what the rider needed to be able to do (or tolerate) to enjoy it safely. This was perfect because I could use it to help prepare C for all of the fun things he would see at Hersheypark – and also to make a mental game plan. And the reality is – every person with Autism has different needs, so it’s not possible to say “Yes this is perfect for someone with Autism!”, so Hersheypark’s approach is actually a pretty good one. Plus, they have quiet areas throughout the park which gave me a sense of relief in case we needed it.
The one thing the guides did not cover is Type 1 diabetes. Specifically, we would need to travel with backup diabetes supplies, including insulin, as well as some sugar snacks in case we experienced low blood sugar. I tried calling Hersheypark to inquire about their policies on this – since they do not allow outside food and drink – but was not able to get through due to a long wait. I opted to message them on Facebook and explained our situation and asked if we would be able to bring in 2 sugary snacks in the event of low blood sugar. (I am not trying to bypass their policies or save money – I just know that food lines can take a while and low blood sugar doesn’t wait for anyone). I got a response within 20 minutes explaining that they were fine with that since it was based on a medical need.
Visiting Hersheypark with an Autistic Child
Even with the program, I knew an amusement park on the weekends would be a bad idea. Too many people overwhelms me – so I can only imagine what it would do for my kids. So we decided to visit Hersheypark on a Monday. Hersheypark is only a 90 minute drive from Baltimore. We stopped for Cracker Barrel along the way, enjoyed our stack of cheesecake pancakes and got to Hersheypark a little before noon.
Parking at Hersheypark is pretty overwhelming. We had pre-paid for parking when we bought tickets (which I highly recommend) and thankfully the trams were running regularly and C was open to the idea of riding on them so we didn’t have to walk too far to get into the park. Exercise like extensive walking and high heat is a recipe for disaster when you are a Type 1 diabetic, so the tram helped us minimize the extra exposure before we got into the park.
When we arrived, I didn’t realize that we had to visit Guest Services INSIDE of the park to get the Disability Pass – so keep that in mind when you go. Guest Services is just beyond the main gate on the right. When you walk up, make sure you bring the person with the disability with you. There is a person at the end of the Guest Services line who can help guide you where to go and who to take with you. I was instructed to take only my youngest son – and the rest of our group had to wait beyond the line. They provided me with the ADA Questionnaire to learn about his disability, which I provided to the staff at Guest Services.
Hersheypark has a lot of stimuli and can get very busy even on slow days. I recommend bringing headphones as Guest Services does not have them available for guests.
The staff at Guest Services could not have been more helpful. I explained that C had Autism, as well as Type 1 Diabetes. They asked me a series of questions to assess his specific needs, such as if he was capable of waiting in lines for 10 to 20 minutes or if he needed something shorter. I explained that he has a tendency to elope which would make lines of 10 to 20 minutes challenging, and standing in the sun could cause his to experience low blood sugar. They came back with our pass and explained that C and up to 3 guests would enter any rides through the exit and would be placed on the next ride – with a possibility of a 5 to 10 minute wait. This was the perfect solution for us. (The alternate was to enter through their Fast Pass lane).
I remember when Disney got rid of their old program for disabled guests due to it being abused, so the last thing I wanted to do was push any boundaries. I used what we needed and if C was able to wait, we waited in line with everyone else.
Our first stop was the water park. Inspired by the Jersey Shore, the water park features a wave pool, lazy river, 2 kids specific spray grounds, East Coast Waterworks (the perfect place to get drenched without going “in” any water) and lots and lots of water slides. They have several changing areas, with lockers to store your valuables. Just know – 1) the lockers are PRICEY and 2) if you lock up your diabetes devices or sugary snacks, you’re gonna have a problem (rookie mistake!). We put one backpack with clothes in the locker and carried his phone and Omnipod5 PDM with us in another backpack. I remembered to change the pump setting to “Activity Mode”, but forgot to bring the sugar snack in the backpack we didn’t pack away.
C was in love with everything in the water park. Honestly – we could have stayed here all day. The lazy river was exactly what I needed and then onto the East Coast Waterworks where my boys got SOAKED. My only disappointment personally was the Shore wave pool looks bigger online than it actually is – but in reality, it was the perfect size for C to play in without me being on top of him to make sure he and others were safe.
After low blood sugar killed the mood, as it is apt to do, we decided to check out the rides. Unfortunately, C still has a fear of rides so we didn’t get to do much. We did decide to use our disability pass, however, to ride the monorail around the park. I debated standing in line but after seeing the sea of people, we hurried up the exit ramp to avoid the wait. It was a little uncomfortable since the monorail has people exiting almost all the time – so I felt like a fish swimming upstream, which was a little uncomfortable for C especially since he felt like he was breaking the rules. We explained to him that we were allowed to go up the exit ramp – even though it didn’t stop the glares from some of the park guests who were patiently waiting in line. One of the challenges of having a “hidden disability” like Autism can be at times is that your kids don’t always look like they have special needs. But I’ve learned that I cannot be worried about what they say or think. I was following the rules and using them to ensure my child had a great day.
When we got to the top of the exit ramp, we showed our pass to the attendant who took it briefly to mark that we used it. We waited all of a minute before we were escorted onto the ride before anyone else was allowed on board. It was perfect because it gave C an opportunity to look around, get comfortable and most importantly, get excited. This was fun!!
Visiting Hersheypark Chocolate World with an Autistic Child
After the monorail, C was tired and hungry (even though he wouldn’t admit it) so we decided to leave the park and head over to Chocolate World. Chocolate World sits just outside the park with a huge store full of more candy and Hershey souvenirs you can imagine, a fun ride that tells you the history of Hershey chocolate (and emulates the factory and don’t forget the singing cows!), and then some fun activities that have a cost, like making your own Hershey bar. After the ride (which he loved!!!), C really wanted to do the Make Your Own Hershey Bar but the next available time was a few hours from then and I knew he wouldn’t last. If you go, I would highly recommend you book your time in advance. We opted not to do this because C can be extremely unpredictable and I didn’t want to risk having to leave Hershey without doing the activity. We tried to replace it with Make Your Own Reese’s Cup (which is over the top in a good way!) But the line was just too long for C to wait in. Even though he was disappointed, he was quickly distracted by the store, where he got a 2 pound Reese’s Cup, a ton of chocolate, and some fun other souvenirs to remember our day getting Hersheypark Happy.
Chocolate World is pretty busy so if you go, I would recommend bringing headphones if your child has sensory sensitivity and prepare them for a lot of people. If your child elopes, I would consider extra safety precautions, like a wrist safety leash. We found that Chocolate World had the greatest potential for sensory overload and to get lost in a crowd.
Tips for Visiting Hershey with an Autistic Child
Here’s my top tips for making your visit to Hersheypark and Hershey Chocolate World a great one!
- Dress your child in bright colored or fluorescent clothes! This will make them easy to spot if they wander off
- Introduce your child to the person at Guest Services and show them what the Hershey badge looks like so they know who to go to if they get lost
- Bring headphones! Hershey does not have these available for use.
- Sign up for the Disability Program to avoid long lines
- Prepay for tickets and parking to save time
