Hersheypark Off-season Photo Update: 2/7/10

My friend Alex and I took a trip up to Hershey this past Sunday (2/7) right after the area was blanketed with about a foot of snow. This, along with blue skies led to some beautiful pictures. These are just a handful from the over two-hundred pictures I have from the day.

Let's start off over at Chocolate World:

Now onto some ride pics:

Not sure how long this was here, but as you come off the ride and up the stairs, you are now greeted by this nice display about the Hershey Company. This is different than the display on the left as you approach the on-ride photo booth.

The retail areas.

More Chocolate World pix:

The Reese's #29 showcar (driven by Kevin Harvick) is currently on display at Chocolate World.

Onto the Hersheypark Chocolate Parade. This annual Chocolate-Covered February event steps off inside Chocolate World every Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 pm and features a band and all the characters you can imagine:

The band plays a wide variety of chocolate and candy-themed tunes.

Several parade cast members dressed in festive garb hold brilliant colored banners with various park photos on them.

Mr. Hershey Bar and Reese's.

A first for Alex and I - a photo op with both Mr Hershey Bar and Reese's.

As Alex and the Rolo character say - <<>>

Mr. Kit-Kat

The Hershey's Kiss

I thought this was absolutely adorable!

Mr. PayDay

We leave Chocolate World with this view of their famous sign.

Next up, we're heading over to the park for some beautiful snow and winter off-season pics, all coming up!

This was the first time I ever saw the park covered this much in snow. Along with the blue skies, this made for some really beautiful pics.

Welcome to Hersheypark. Please be advised that we are covered in snow today and that all rides will not be operating, but we'll definitely do our best to accomodate you with many shops, eateries and indoor entertainment.

This goes to show why the rides are closed.

Latest bullitan: Sorry we had to close today. With over a foot of snow on the ground with more to follow, we decided it was best for the safety of you, our most valuable guests, to wait until April 2nd to open for Springtime in the Park.

Mr. Hershey Bar and Reese's must not mind the snow. They seemed to have braved out the foot or two that's already on the ground.

Looking across the parking lot at, what else, snow!

The old pool complex.

Hersheypark Stadium in the snow.

The old Hershey Museum, and Hersheypark Arena. Even though the old museum is no longer there, the building itself looked absolutely gorgeous in the snow.

Next up, see some coasters in the snow.....

The last part of this update features the best for last - roller coasters in the snow!

The Kissing Tower

I'm wondering if Storm Runner will receive its much-needed paint job this season. If you look closely, there is a crane under the top hat. Not sure what this is all about.

Fahrenheit during its winter hibernation.

The Comet and the snow - white and white!

Great Bear - still one of my favorites.

Roller Soaker

Lightning Racer

Wildcat from a distance.

Midway America and various park attractions from a distance, all covered in snow.

And I leave you with a few pictures from my first visit ever to the Hotel Hershey as well as a park overview in the snow from the hill:

See you in the spring!

Loved this TR! I guess it's because it's a sight I don't see often, but roller coasters in the snow are beautiful and make for some great pictures. The one time I saw HP in the snow was when they were building Lightning Racer, and my dad pulled into a nearby Turkey Hill store and we watched some of the construction. It was awesome, and so are your pictures!

~Megan

Loved this PTR! It is definitely so cool see the park with no one there. I cannot wait to get back there this summer to finally get to make it through the entire park. I had no luck last time I went. (I need a good game plan. lol) Thanks for sharing.

Lena "really needs to finish her PTR from last year" Messana

It's time for me to add my say: Your pictures of Hersheypark in the Off-season and covered in snow was wonderful since it's a side of the park in this park of the season we (the riders and the amusement park flyers) don't usually see nor even consider. We all usually see the park in the sunny and warm summertime, but never even thought what the park does in the off-season. I bet a majority of the riders and amusement park flyers don't even know that the roller coaster trains are taken off the tracks and stored in storage unit in the wintertime, nor that certain rides would have certain parts removed in the off season to protect that part from rust and weathering. If you knew all the facts about what these parks do before and after every season, you might get !!!

No, all we know about the rides and parks are the things that happen during the opening season, when the rides are up and running, the kids are screaming, and we (the riders and the amusement park flyers) are ranting and raving about the newest attraction that you must either "ride it or die, dude!" I'm sure by the time the park reopens (for their fashionable and economically priced "Springtime in the park", all that snow should have been melted and long forgotten. (That's what we're hoping; with the way this weather has been acting up it might still be snowing on Good Friday.)

"What? A white Easter? And why is my quotation in white?

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks of all the wonderful comments guys! They are very much appreciated! We always take this off-season trip every February. It's something we look forward to shave away those off-season blues. Thank goodness we're only 40 to 45 min away.

Commenting on palmerleeberry's post, I remember some TR's and PTR's on this very site mentioned about some snow flurries and unseasonally cold temperatures for the 2007 Springtime in the Park. I remember someone mentioning that they went either Easter Sunday or the day before and that half the coasters scheduled to be open were shut down due to the temperatures (with the exception of Comet and sooperdooperLooper which I think were running) along with some other rides that were also down. Heck with the way the weather is cooperating around here recently, that could easily not be out of the question, even though myself (along with alot of others at this site) want this snow to be over.

Great pictures! I noticed snow in the flume of Tidal Force in a few of the pictures, which is cool to see. I really hope the cold and snow goes away for Springtime in the Park. It's the only seasonal event at HP I haven't been to, and it's the earliest park to open to begin the roller coaster season!

I can tell you right now that you'd like Hersheypark in the Dark more, mainly because the entire park is running. Unless there are exceptionally large crowds, you can count on Midway being shut down like they intend to. I've been to STITP twice and even though I wouldn't mind going again, it's worth the money more with HP in the Dark.

WOW! Super amazing photos! I agree with you... Hopefully Storm Runner will get its much needed paint job.

~Matthew

Love the pics! Hershey is one of my favorite amusement park: clean, great customer service, and awesome rides!

Nice work, I love these incredible pictures. It's always impressive to see what a famous theme park looks like covered in a blanket of snow. Can't wait for the season to begin.

I guess I'm a bit too late- Photobucket (or Photo[bleep]it, as some have called it...) hit it's limits.

I have the same problem. Pictures doesn't show anymore