Hersheypark

Review by eFreeware

The Hersheypark app is the official mobile companion for the park, published by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. It is free to download and carries no ads and no in-app purchases, which is a rare combination for a park app. The main reason to consider it is simple: it gathers the practical information a visitor needs during a day at the park, from maps to ride wait times, in one place.

It covers three destinations rather than one. Alongside Hersheypark itself, the app holds information for ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park and Hershey's Chocolate World Attraction, so a trip that spans more than the main park stays within a single app. With more than half a million installs and a 4.7 average from over ten thousand ratings, it has clearly found an audience among park visitors.

I'd treat it as a planning and orientation tool rather than an entertainment app. Nothing here is meant to replace the visit itself; the point is to remove the small frictions of a park day, such as finding a restroom, checking whether a ride is running, or working out what to eat with an allergy in the group.

What the app actually does

The core of the app is a map of the park that you can shape to your own interests. You choose which attractions to show or hide, so the map reflects the rides and areas you care about instead of every point of interest at once. A directions tool then guides you to any spot in the park.

Around that map sits a catalog of attraction details. The app holds information on rides, shows, games, shops and services, and it shows current ride information, including which rides are closed and how long the waits are. A search function helps when you know what you're looking for, and results can be filtered or sorted by height, distance, name and other criteria.

The height filter is the detail that stands out to me. Anyone visiting with children knows that ride eligibility depends on height, and being able to sort attractions that way before walking across the park is the sort of small feature that saves real time. Distance sorting serves a similar purpose when the group is tired and wants the nearest option rather than the best one.

Maps, wait times and alerts

Wait times are only useful if they reach you at the right moment, and the app approaches that with alerts. You can set ride wait time alerts for your favorite rides, so the app can tell you when a queue looks workable rather than making you check repeatedly. The same alert idea extends to shows, with reminder alerts for the performances you want to catch.

The service locator covers the unglamorous side of a park day. Ticketing services, first aid, accessibility services, lost children and lost and found are all listed, along with the Barking Lot Day Kennel. Restrooms, ATMs, lockers, smoking gazebos and stroller or wheelchair rentals are marked too.

For families, that list is more valuable than it first appears. Knowing where the nearest restroom or locker is, or where to go if a child gets separated from the group, matters more than any ride description. The app also carries daily entertainment schedules and Hershey Character appearance times, which helps when meeting a character is the whole point of someone's day.

The one caveat the developer gives is about battery life. Continued use of GPS in the background may drain the battery faster, which is worth remembering on a long park day when your phone is also your camera and your meeting point.

HPGO, ride stats and photos

The app includes an optional account layer called HPGO. An HPGO login ties your Fast Track buys to ride photos and stats. A profile personalizes the experience, and the account also supports a to-do list and reminder alerts for favorite shows.

This is the part of the app that rewards repeat visitors. Ride stats and photos accumulate over time, so someone who returns to the park regularly gets more from the account than a first-timer does. Connecting Fast Track purchases suggests the account is meant to tie together the pieces of a visit rather than sit apart from them.

The to-do list is a small but sensible addition. Deciding in advance which rides and shows matter most, then keeping that list in the same place as the map and schedules, is a cleaner arrangement than juggling notes elsewhere.

Food, hours and the wider resort

Dining information goes further than a list of restaurants. The app includes menus, ingredients and allergens, which is the kind of detail that decides where a group with dietary restrictions can eat. Checking that before joining a queue or walking to a distant food stand is a genuine convenience.

Hours for nearby spots like Chocolate World and the Hershey Story Museum are listed too. Together with the ZooAmerica information, that makes the app a broader resort companion rather than a single-park tool.

What appeals to me here is the breadth without the clutter. You can search for a specific attraction, filter the results to what fits your group, and read the details that matter, whether that is a height requirement, a menu or an opening time.

What it asks of you

The app is free, shows no ads, and offers no in-app purchases, so there is no cost question to weigh. The HPGO account is the one thing you create rather than simply use, and it is the route to ride stats, ride photos and Fast Track connections. If you only want the map and wait times, the account layer is there when you want it.

The other consideration is the GPS warning. Turn-by-turn navigation and location features are central to how the app works, and the developer notes that continued GPS use in the background can reduce battery life. On a full day in the park, that is worth planning around.

This is built around a visit to Hersheypark, ZooAmerica or Chocolate World, and its value scales with how much of a day you spend in those places. Someone planning a single afternoon will use less of it than a family staying for a weekend.

A useful companion for a Hershey visit

The Hersheypark app is worth installing before a trip to the park. It is free, it does not interrupt you with ads or purchases, and it puts the map, current ride information, wait time alerts, show schedules and food details in one place. Ride stats and photos come with the HPGO account.

It suits families with children, especially those who need to sort rides by height or find services quickly, and repeat visitors who will get value from collecting ride stats over time. Anyone spending a day across Hersheypark, ZooAmerica and Chocolate World will find the combined coverage convenient.

My advice is to install it ahead of the visit, set up alerts for the rides and shows that matter most, and keep an eye on battery life if you plan to lean on navigation through the day. With a 4.7 average from more than ten thousand ratings, it appears to be doing its job for the people who use it.

What's new in version 3.1.47

Performance improvements and bug fixes.