What is the best plan for visiting Hersheypark?

All of my visits to Hersheypark have been in the summer (June-August) period, so I'm going to focus this on visits during that timeframe. Across my four visits, these are the typical wait times I've experienced for the park's coasters...

45-60 minutes: Candymonium, Laff Trakk
30-45 minutes: Comet, Fahrenheit, Great Bear, Skyrush, Storm Runner, Wildcat's Revenge
20-30 minutes: Jolly Rancher Remix, Sooperdooperlooper
10-20 minutes: Cocoa Cruiser, Lightning Racer, Trailblazer, Wild Mouse

First things first...Hersheypark is a two-day park. While you can do all the coasters in a single day, you will have to sacrifice spending time at Chocolate World (located outside the park but directly adjacent to the gate), The Boardwalk (which is quite good for an included waterpark), and ZooAmerica (which displays over 200 animals and is included with admission). My recommendation is to plan one day just for rides, then a second day with 3-4 hours of ride time and the rest devoted to these other activities. Additionally, a two-day ticket is only $90, which is on par with a single day at many other parks of this caliber.

What if you don't have two full days (or don't want to pay for two days)? Well, the first option is to do Chocolate World the first day, as that doesn't require an admission ticket and can be seen in a couple hours. The free dark ride is excellent, and there are other add-on activities that can be purchased a la carte based on interest and budget. Additionally, the gigantic store stocks virtually every Hershey's product currently in production, and even if you aren't planning to make a purchase, it's fun to wander the aisles and see what interesting and unusual treats you can discover. The other option is Hersheypark's preview plan. All tickets include admission for the last two operating hours the day before your primary visit, and parking is comped for the evening so you don't have to pay twice. Arriving in the afternoon to tour Chocolate World, having dinner at the Chocolatier (more on that below), hanging out in the park for the preview, and then going back for a full day the next day is a fantastic way to experience Hersheypark for about a third the cost of a single day at an Orlando theme park.

One last thing before we get to strategies: Hersheypark, despite it's name, is not actually themed to Hershey. While the branding is used in signage and the characters appear throughout the park, only a limited number of attractions actually reference the company or its products. For the most part, Hersheypark is an amusement park reminiscent of the average Six Flags or Cedar Fair property, but operating at the level those parks should operate at. Upkeep is strong, downtimes are uncommon, and operations tend to be reasonably efficient, but it is still largely a collection of unthemed rides in areas with some light aesthetic consistency rather than immersive environments.

On the day you're visiting the park, I recommend being at the gate a minimum of 20 minutes before opening. Keep in mind that it can be a bit of a walk from some areas of the parking lot (a tram is available), so allow for that in your plans. Candymonium will usually open early (and it can be worth coming even earlier to get on that), but a rope will prevent going deeper until the park's official opening time (hotel guests and some passholders get an hour of early entry to Founder's Way and the Hollow). Once that rope drops, everyone takes off along the same path, so be ready to go and have your destination in mind ahead of time.

Due to Hersheypark's long, narrow layout, it is not a park for which an effective full day plan is worthwhile. Instead, it's best to plan out your first hour or two of the day, then go from there in a logical order. The following are your options for an opening play, so decide which ride(s) are most important and choose accordingly...

-Option 1: Candymonium. Simply put, you rush this coaster as soon as you enter before heading deeper into the park. I do not recommend this strategy if you've ridden B&M hypers at other parks as the ride, while good, is fairly pedestrian compared to other offerings at the property and is easy to hit on the way out instead. However, if you get in line before rope drop, it can be a viable option.
-Option 2: Midway America. If you choose this option, you're going to head all the way to the farthest point from the interest right away. Back here, there are four coasters to ride (Laff Trakk, Lightning Racer, Wildcat's Revenge, and Wild Mouse), plus a couple fairly standard family flats. The biggest pro of this plan is that it eliminates backtracking as you'll be spending the rest of the day working your way back toward the entrance. The biggest con is that you'll be bypassing the park's lowest capacity major coaster (Fahrenheit) on your way here, setting yourself up for a potentially long line at that once your return.
-Option 3: Pioneer Frontier. This is the option to choose if you want to knock out Fahrenheit first, along with the nearby Jolly Rancher Remix, Storm Runner, and Traiblazer. This is also the section with the park's railroad (not really worth it) and several decent flat rides of varying intensity levels.
-Option 4: Great Bear. The park's popular inverted coaster is located atop a hill across a ravine from the park's entrance, and is flanked by a couple kiddie rides and the park's three drop towers. As the coaster is among the highest capacity in the park, this isn't usually the ideal strategy for beating crowds, but if you sleep in and miss rope drop it's an excellent option.
-Option 5: The Hollow. The main early entry section of the park, this area contains three coasters (Comet, Skyrush, and Sooperdooperlooper), as well as multiple flat rides (including the brand new Twizzlers Twisted Gravity). It's often busy in the morning due to the early entry crowd, but it is a good choice if you're not up for a 10 minute powerwalk right away.

Aside from coasters, Hersheypark's most notable attraction is Reese's Cupfusion, an interactive dark ride featuring the Hershey characters in a spy themed adventure. It isn't amazing, but is fun for what it is. The park also has two water rides (a log flume and a splash boat), two scenic rides (a monorail and a railroad) and tons of flat rides to ensure you never run out of things to do. For those wanting to do the waterpark, earlier is better. For those wanting to do ZooAmerica, check the closing time and make sure to head in at least a couple hours before then.

What about Fast Track? If you only have one day and any of the following apply to you, I'd recommend purchasing Fast Track if doing so is within your budget:

-You want to get multiple rides on the coasters
-You want to spend time in the waterpark, ZooAmerica, or Chocolate World
-You want to dine at the Chocolatier
-You are unable to arrive at or before opening and stay until closing
-You are visiting on any Saturday, or on Fri-Mon between 4th of July and Labor Day (again, no info after summer season ends)
-You are unwilling to wait 45 minutes for a ride

If you have two days at the park, Fast Track is less essential and only really needed for Saturdays or inability/unwillingness to wait in line. I do recommend splurging for the unlimited option if you buy it as the system operates similar to the Cedar Fair Fast Lane system where you simply enter an alternate queue and merge before the station, so you'll rarely wait more than 15 minutes in the Fast Track queue and can lap coasters pretty consistently.

When it comes to food, Hersheypark is dominated by third party vendors and basic (generally subpar) amusement park fare, so I'd generally just recommend picking what looks good or what's convenient. There is one exception, however: The Chocolatier. This is a full service eatery located just outside the gates of the park, and features a golden age amusement park vibe with a menu akin to the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. As Knott's is to the boysenberry, Hershey is all about chocolate, and many (though not all) of their entrees use this as an ingredient in some way. While I wouldn't consider the food to be top tier, it is above average for a theme park and significantly better than any of the other offerings on property, so particularly if you've got multiple days it's worth dining here. Be warned that service tends to be on the slow side, so even with a reservation expect an hour and a half for a full meal here (including the "mandatory" dessert).

A few other miscellaneous notes regarding the park...

-Hersheypark is pretty friendly with loose articles. All attractions have either cubbies on the station platform or free lockers for storage of items. Pocket items may remain on your person on the coasters here.
-While there are no huge hills, Hersheypark is not flat and you will be going up and down the central ravine at points. The steepest climb is from the Hollow to Kissing Tower Hill, so those preferring to exert less energy may want to navigate around this area.
-This park gets pretty hot during the summer. Fortunately, there are soda machines scattered around the park that can be used to refill any container with water (RFID chips are required to get soda from them).
-I'm not usually a proponent of this, but Hersheypark is one park where you'll probably want some smartphone games for the lines. Almost all are large unthemed cattle pens, and with the exception of Candymonium and the second halfs of Laff Track and Reese's Cupfusion, are outdoors with varying amounts of shade.
-Larger guests should be aware that several of the park's coasters are fairly tight fits. In particular, Fahrenheit and Storm Runner seem to deny a fair number of riders, so if you're unsure, try the test seat before waiting in line.

"Hersheypark is pretty friendly with loose articles. All attractions have either cubbies on the station platform or free lockers for storage of items. Pocket items may remain on your person on the coasters here."

Just a slight modification to this one is that Wildcat's Revenge has a double-sided free locker system at the base of the station where guests can empty their pockets. There are no metal detectors like at some RMCs, but employees will ask you if you have any items in your pockets before you walk up the stairs. Expect to be ejected from the line (and possibly ejected from the park) if you're spotted with loose articles in the station or on the train.

I would generally agree with AJ's suggestions. Lines at Hersheypark can be all over the place sometimes, and I used to reliably start at Fahrenheit due to its limited capacity (12-person trains), but have found that with an increasing number of guests utilizing season pass and hotel early entry perks, you could still be faced with a 15+ minute wait for the coaster even if you head straight there, so it's probably better to head to Wildcat's Revenge or Skyrush after the official rope drop (past Candymonium).

The one attraction that consistently has unbearably long lines when compared to the quality of the ride is Reese's Cupfusion (shooting gallery dark ride). This ride is pretty fun and worth a spin if you've never been before, but it's a far cry from the likes of MIB, Buzz, or Gobbler Getaway. The issue with this attraction is that it's a slow loader with limited capacity (runs on coaster-like tracks instead of a flat floor like most dark rides). Also, the wait time estimator always seems to be off by 15-20 minutes, so I would approach this as an opportunistic ride - if the line is just outside of the building (probably somewhere between 15-20 minute wait), I'd hop in, but if there is a line outside through just one switchback, I'd probably come back to it later.

Another ride that has inexplicably long lines is Laff Track (indoor spinning wild mouse, which ironically is just across the path from an outdoor wild mouse). This is another really slow-loading ride that has lines that defy reality. As with Cupfusion, I would not even bother waiting for this coaster if you can see anyone waiting in the switchbacks outside of the building (at least 20+ minutes).

I've also noticed that Comet has lines longer than the quality of the coaster would suggest. It's a fine old wooden coaster, but not worth waiting more than 15-20 minutes for, yet regularly has lines of 45-60 minutes on busy days (extending beyond the physical queue into the pathway). Comet does have an unusual double down and back layout, but when you're talking about "classic" woodies in Pennsylvania, it probably wouldn't even crack the top 5-8 in the state. Both sides of Lightning Racer are superior to Comet.

I do think that if you can get to the park 45-60 minutes before the official opening time, it's worth getting through the entrance gate early to grab a few rides on Candymonium before the rest of the park opens. Yes, everyone else will probably do this too, but you still probably won't wait more than 10-15 minutes to ride one of the better coasters in the park. At the very end of the day also tends to be a good time to get rides on Candymonium, especially if the park is open past dark. Because the coaster is located right near the entrance, most people are too tired to want to ride this on their way out, so lines are typically close to walk-on in the last hour of park operation.

I'd also agree with AJ that the Boardwalk (in-park water park) is quite good for one that is included in daily admission. However, it is very small and can be extremely crowded on hot summer days. Do not expect to find a chair or anywhere safe to stash your stuff, so I'd recommend packing extremely light or having a designated non-rider to babysit your loose items if you don't want to rent a locker (lockers here are decently sized, but are an upcharge as you would expect).

I'd also note that Jolly Rancher Remix is actually pretty good for what it is (Vekoma Boomerang). This coaster went through a massive renovation when it was rethemed a few years ago and features a second generation Vekoma train with the vest restraints, so it is no longer a head banger and probably the best version of this type of coaster I've ever ridden - I had actually avoided this for years even after the renovation until last fall, and was surprised how much this has been improved, so much so that I rode it twice. They've added a few special effects (sounds and lighting) that elevate the experience in addition to the smoother ride provided by the new train. However, I wouldn't ride this over Storm Runner, which is just across the path and one the last Intamin hydraulic launch coasters left in the US that has one of the most unique coaster layouts you will find anywhere in the world - ride Storm Runner first (and maybe a few times in a row if there's no line) before going to Jolly Rancher Remix.

I really like this park and all I have to add is:

-Make sure to ride the Comet at dusk and/or night. Going on an old school wooden coaster from the 1940s, when its dark out with the chaser lights, is a unique experience that you don't really find at any other parks.

-On a similar note make sure to ride the monorail as well, which is a unique experience you don't really get at any other park nowadays. You get great views and it even goes outside the park for a few minutes.

-I agree with Russel that Laff Track is a total nightmare to get on, its really low capacity and very popular, so either go on it first thing or be mentally prepared to wait a long time. Last time I went to this park the place was almost empty yet Laff Track still had a 30+ minute wait.

-If you stay at one of the Hershey onsite hotels or have a certain tier annual pass they have part of the park open 1 hour prior to normal opening time, which according to their website includes Skyrush, Sooperdooperlooper, and a bunch of family rides. Oddly enough their website also says that Candymonium opens 1 hour early for everybody (even people not staying at onsite hotels)...so theoretically if you stay on property you can do Candymonium, Skyrush, and Sooperdooperlooper (and family flat rides) before the parks opening time. I have never stayed at the Hershey hotels but they look pretty nice (no idea how much they cost but i'm sure its significantly more expensive than other local offerings).

-I really like most all of the coasters here, its refreshing to go somewhere where the coasters are unique. Some people say Lightning Racer is rough but I personally have never had a rough ride, its always been racing every time I've been there, and its been very enjoyable every time. The only two rides I skip at this park are Farenheit and the Vekoma Boomerang. I thought the boomerang was terrible even with the vest restraints and Farenheit is just a rough/uncomfortable POS.

Just as side note I want to add that whatever this park adds next I really hope its not IP. The park historically has had a really unique "vibe" and I feel all the IP being thrown in there is tacky and its starting to ruin the park. Don't get me wrong I live me some Hershey products, but much like what Disney has been doing, its starting to feel over commercialized and losing its unique feel.

I no longer have a strategy because the park is almost invariably too crowded. Before Hersheypark initiated Halloween events, the last two weekends of the regular season were an ideal time to visit because the park was practically deserted and almost everything was a walk -on. I'm not a fan of Halloween so really miss those days. Also, before Skyrush got new restraints that coaster was often a walk-on. I now think that the best time to visit is a Tuesday in late August, when schools are already in session. As for the overcrowding, it took me 5 visits to Hersheypark to be able to get on Comet.