We were all driving separately and meeting up there and I think I had our bags packed and ready 3 days prior to our trip. Yes, I was that excited!!
Unfortunately, the morning we were going to drive up, Lauren woke up sick. She could not keep anything down and had a low grade fever. And then Charlie developed a fever and seemed very tired. But I packed the kids up in the car anyway, along with a large stash of plastic bags, and off we went. Chad met us up there later that day.
We hung around the hotel and got some dinner. Then it was time to put the kids down and pray that they would feel better in the morning. And they did!!!!!!!
On Saturday, August 8th, Chad, Lauren, Charlie, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Kevin, Grammy, Grumpa, Mee-maw, Grandpa, and I all drove over to the amusement park.
This year, Lauren measured in as a Reese's Chocolate Bar and this opened up a whole new world of rides she was allowed to enjoy. And she was ready to go!!!
The first stop was the Flying Rocket Ships. Lauren and Chad waited in an extremely long line and then they flew as high as they could go. Lauren had control of the levers and we weren't sure if she would go very high...but she did!
Next up were some kiddie rides. Lauren rode a few of them, and I managed to get Charlie on the small airplane ride. This was the same kiddie ride I enjoyed with Lauren when she was smaller. Charlie seemed a little uncertain at first, but he did seem to like it.
Next we rode the big carousel and then posed for a family photo with the Chocolate Bar!! Charlie did not enjoy posing with the large chocolate characters, but he sure did love eating the actual chocolate!!
We stopped for some lunch, with salads that took a half hour to make, and played quite a few games of skee ball. The last time we were in Hershey Park, we all played Skee Ball to win Lauren a stuffed animal. This year she wanted to make sure we got Charlie one. And of course everyone was more than happy to play. It really is a fun game!! We managed to not only get Charlie the biggest stuffed animal they had, but we got Lauren a smaller stuffed animal and a small stuffed Hershey Kiss. What can I say, the "Falicroft" family can play a mean game of Skee Ball!
It was really cute watching Lauren play Skee Ball. Many times she was able to get enough force behind her throw to get it over the bump and score 10 points. But the other times, she would toss the ball up and it would come rolling back towards her. She enjoyed herself and a game of 9 balls usually lasted quite a while!! It was a win/win outcome.
After that break, we headed off to go on some more rides. Lauren went on a few more kiddie rides and then she got to try out the Falcon, which is a ride that spins very high into the air. Chad wanted to take her on there and I made him promise that he would hold on tight. It really was up there pretty high. They went on along with Grandpa and Aunt Sarah. I didn't know if she would like it or not, but she immediately asked to go again, so I think she liked it.
(See if you can spot Mee-maw, Grammy, and Grumpa pointing up towards the ride)
(See if you can spot Mee-maw, Grammy, and Grumpa pointing up towards the ride)
Then it was on to the Coal Cracker, which is a grownup log ride. She sat up front, while Aunt Sarah, Grammy, Mee-maw and I climbed in behind. I think she might have gotten some bruises because I had a death grip on her the entire time. I certainly had to make sure she didn't fall out during the large drop. But despite that, she had a great time and we even got our picture taken.
And during this time, Charlie was extremely patient. He either watched all of the rides/people from his stroller or took naps.
Thank goodness we had the stroller, because it was very helpful in carrying all of our bags, drinks, and the massive amount of stuffed toys everyone won. But the biggest and best toy came a little later in the day. While we took Lauren on her first roller coaster, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sarah went off to play some carnival games. Aunt Sarah was stuck on the sidelines because she is expecting a Baby Meadowcroft next spring, so the big rides were a no-go. Next time will be a different story, but this time around they managed to win a rather large Minion, which we named Kevin!!!! Lauren was very excited, and it definitely made the stroller even more crowded!!
But back to the rides! As I mentioned earlier, Lauren rode her first roller coaster this trip!!! Grammy, Chad, Mee-maw, Grandpa and I took her on The Comet, which is a rather fast wooden coaster. It was extremely bumpy (I was very bruised afterwards), and the drops were pretty substantial. I think Lauren had fun but she was exhausted and a little shocked when it was over. And she was also pretty dizzy. As soon as we got off the ride, she was not able to walk straight for a few seconds. Just check out her face in our group photo taken immediately after the ride. Poor girl!! ha ha ha
By then it was getting late, so Aunt Sarah offered to take Lauren on a driving ride, at the Speedway. Little did she know that it would be the longest line of the day, and it took forever! While we were waiting, the grandparents posed for a photo, with Charlie and the Hershey Kiss. Once again, he was not too keen on the large chocolate characters.
And then we took some time to rest our feet.
It was getting late, but Grammy wanted to take the kids on one more ride, the Convoy. Luckily the line was not too long and then it was time to head back to the hotel.
We tried to stop at the Bear's Den for dinner, but the wait was too long. By then it was close to 9pm, so we got the kids bathed and down for bed, and then ordered in some food. Needless to say it might have been a late night for the kids, but not for the adults!!
The next day, we checked out of the hotel and split up. Grumpa and Chad headed to Troegs Brewery for some beer tastings and the rest of us headed off to Chocolate World for some more fun. We did a chocolate tasting experience and learned a little something about the difference between dark chocolates and milk chocolates. Then we did the tour of the chocolate factory. There was quite a few chocolate samples available and Charlie took advantage of every one. He certainly was not afraid of those chocolates and had a great time!!!!
We bought a few things in the gift shop and then met up with Grumpa for some lunch. Chad had to leave early so that he could get back home to mow the grass and play in a hockey game. But the rest of us got to eat at the Bear's Den. We had some sandwiches and took turns taking a VERY cranky Charlie out of the restaurant. And we managed to get some cute pictures of Lauren in front of the Hershey Bear signs. She has certainly grown since the last set of photos were taken!!
Then we all said goodbye and headed home! This is always one of our favorite trips, because the park is not too far from home, it is never too crowded, and there are rides for both the little kids and the grownups. It was fun watching Lauren discover some of the big kid/grownup rides and I am already looking forward to riding some more of them with both Lauren and Charlie next time!!!
