Hersheypark

Hersheypark in an amusement park located in Hershey Pennsylvania. It was originally opened in 1907 as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. Later on, the park opened up to the public. Today, the park contains over 60 rides and attractions spread out over 110 acres of land.

This park contains nine themed areas these include: Tudor Square, Rhineland, Founder’s Circle, Commet Hollow, Music Box Way, Minetown, Pioneer Frontier, The Boardwalk as Hersheypark, and Midway America

Tudor Square was the first themed area of the park and is made up mostly of shops. This area is located outside the entrance gates and is free for all to enter. Rhineland is the first area that was located inside the park. It too is made up of shops and places to eat. Founder’s circle is centered around the parks Carrousel. Surrounding this is other small carnival like rides. Comet Hollow is home to the parks oldest operating roller coaster.  In this area you can also find a games area fun for the whole family. Music Box Way is where you can find an array of musical entertainment.  In Minetown you can see an area that was made to resemble a mining town. This area contains multiple rides. Pioneer Frontier is the largest park out of the nine. Here you can enjoy four different rollercoaster or head on over to the food court and choose from an array of food. The Boardwalk at Hersheypark is the parks newest themed area. It is home to eight waterpark attractions, a wave pool, lazy river, and cabanas for those who want to seek shade. Midway America is themed towards that Midway Fair. Here you can find three roller coasters and food stands that are similar to those that you would find at a carnival.

Blizzard Beach

Blizzard Beach is a water park located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. This park is located on the Walt Disney World Resort. It opened on April 1, 1985 and was the third of Disney’s three water parks to open. When you walk in, you feel as if you are at a ski resort.  They made it so it looked like a freak snowstorm hit the area.  In the park, you will not find any snow but you will find chair lifts!

While at the park, you do not have to worry about cold water! Here almost all of the water is heated to approximately 80 degrees Fahrenheit while it is open.  The water parks main attraction is Mount Gushmore. This mountain stands 90 feet tall and is split into three colored slopes (green, purple, and red) to help the guests understand where they are. This park is also ranked one of the greatest parks in the United States!
On the green slope, one can find you can find several single rider water slides. One of these is slides is Summit Plummet. It stands a whopping 120 feet tall and can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour! This makes it the fastest free fall slide in the world! Slush Gusher a body slide that you can actually get some air in. Lastly, there is Teamboat Springs. This 4 to 6 person attraction is known as the world’s longest family white-water raft ride.
On the purple slope, you can find the Downhill Double Dipper, a side by side racing slide, Snow Stromers, a mat slide and the Toboggan Races an 8 lane racing slide.
On the red slope you can find the Runoff Rapids. This has two open and one enclosed tube slide.

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios is located in Buena Vista, Florida at the Walt Disney World Resort. When this park first opened in 1989, it was the 3^rd park to open on the resort and they called it MGM Studios. The name later changed to what it is today and is themed around Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. The most well known piece of work in this park is The Sorcer’s Hat which is a version of the magical hat in the movie Fantasia. Everyday hundreds of people pose in front of this hat for pictures.

Located within the park are 6 themed areas that were designed to look like a real motion picture studio would. When you first walk into the park, you enter Hollywood Boulevard. Here you can find numerous shops and live entertainment though out the entire day. Next, comes Echo Lake. This area is located in a lagoon and has very interesting architecture similar to that of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Here you can also take part in the American Idol Experience or view a 3D audio presentation staring none other than Drew Carey! Streets of America offers the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure that both kids and their families can enjoy. At Animation Courtyard, you can find The Magic of Disney Animation where characters are developed and brought to life! This area also hosts the live show, Playhouse Disney Live on Stage! In the newest section of the park Pixar place which was built to look like Pixar Animation Studios you can find Toy Story Midway Mania an interactive 3D attraction. Finally, there is Sunset Boulevard where you can experience the ever to popular Tower of Terror or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. If rides aren’t for you one can enjoy the live entertainment that this section has to offer.

Epcot

Epcot is an amusement park that is part of Walt Disney world Resort. This park first opened on October 1, 1982. This park is a little more different than the other parks located within the resort, meaning it attracts an older generation.  The park is laid out to look like an hour glass and contains two sections; Future World and World Showcase. This park is huge and almost twice the size of Magic Kingdom. It is also the most visited park at the Walt Disney World Resort and is home to the giant globe at its entrance.

In Future World, you will notice that that area allows you to explore innovative aspects and applications of technology. A unique aspect  about this section is that each area was at one point sponsored by a corporation who helped fund its construction and maintenance in return for their logos to appear throughout the area. In this area you can find: Spaceship Earth, Innovations, Universe of Energy, Mission: SPACE, Test Track, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, The Land, and Imagination!

In the section of the park known as World Showcase, you can find pavilions set up representing eleven different countries around the world from all different continents.  These countries include: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada. Within these different areas you can learn about these countries and enjoy their food, shops, music and sometimes even rides.  This section of the park opens two hours after the park opening and remains open later than Future World.

Holiday World and Splashin' Safari

One really neat thing about this Park is that is has its own blog on its website. You can go here and check out the latest things that are happening at the park or take a look at what they are doing in the off seasons Blog---> http://www.holidayworld.com/blog/4 

Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari is a theme park and water park combo. It is located in Santa Claus Indiana. The park first opened in 1946, making it the first themed amusement park in the world!  It originally started out as strictly a theme park called Santa Claus Land, then as it expanded more sections were added with different holiday themes, so they changed the name to Holiday World.  Then, in 1993, Splashin’ Safari was added.  Some of the perks you get when you come here include free unlimited Pepsi products and free sunscreen.

The theme park section is separated in to four different parts including: Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July. In these different sections you can find rides, live entertainment, games, and attractions. The names of rides, restaurants, and attractions all go along with the theme of the area of the park that they are located in. Out of all of the rides, this park is known for its three wooden roller coasters. The newest roller coaster, The Voyage, has been given the Golden Ticket Award for best new ride and Best Wooden Coaster. Seven different shows are also available in the theme park section. These shows range from live performances of different type of music to story time with Santa.

Splashin’ Safari is connected to Holiday World and it is free to go to with a purchase of a park ticket. This water park includes the world’s largest water coaster, wave pools, lazy rivers, numerous water slides, and a kids area.

Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari have a lot to offer for the whole family. Ticket rates for the upcoming season are $38.95 for regular and $30.95 for those under 54” or over the age of 60. For more information, vistit the parks website.
http://www.holidayworld.com/

Magic Kingdom

This amusement park was opened on October 1, 1971 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is one of the amusement parks that make up Walt Disney World. It was also the first park built at the resort and is home to the well known castle that you see in many pictures. The original park had a total of 23 attractions. Only 3 of these attractions were original to the other park. The other 20 were replicas to the attractions at Disneyland in California. These attractions were then divided into six themed lands, only one being unique to the Florida park. 

Disney world is known for being one of the happiest places on earth. This park is open year round every single day of the year.  The attractions are divided into five themed lands, only one being unique to the Florida park.  These lands include: Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland.  Adventure land is themed to make you feel like you are part of the jungles in Africa, Asia, the Middel East, South American and the South Pacific. Some of the main rides in this land are the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise. In Frontierland you can pretend you are in the Wild West! Here you can find the Big Thunder Mountain railroad, Splash Mountain which is sure to get everyone wet J and the Country Bear Jamboree.  The well known attraction the Haunted Mansion can be found in the revolutionary themed Liberty Square.  If you have younger ones or if you yourself is young at heart Fantasyland will be great for you. Here you can find rides geared towards the little ones such as Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Mad Tea Party.  Finally in Tomorrowland you can see a land of the future! Thrilling rides here including Space Mountain and Astro Orbiter.

What You Should Bring to a Water/Theme Park

To help you figure out what you should bring along with you to the different parks I have compiled a list that will help you out. Depending on what type of park you are going to what you need and should wear will sometimes vary.

·         Camera

You want to be able to capture all the fun you are having. By taking pictures you will be able to remember your trip for years to come.

·         Sun Screen

For most of the day you will be outside. Even if it doesn’t seem that sunny out it is important to bring sunscreen and make sure everyone puts it on. This is especially important for the children.

·         Something to entertain children on the car ride there.

If it takes a while to get to where you are going you want to be sure to bring something to help entertain the kids in the car. This will make the trip go more smoothly and you will then be in better moods once you reach your destination.

·         A stroller for the young ones.

When there is a lot of walking to do a stroller is nice so do not have to worry about carrying around the children all day.

·         Cash

Now days, most places take both debit and credit cards, but it is important to have a back up. You might run into little vendors that do not or the machines may even go down, but if you have backup cash you will not have to worry about this.

·         Mini First Aid Kit

There should be at least one person in a group that has some sort of mini first-aid kit on them. This should at least include band-aids, Tylenol, and Neosporin.  A headache is that last thing you want to have, when you have a lot of rides that you want to go on.

·         A mesh bad/Swim Bag

A mesh bag that you can put on your back is handier than a purse when you are at a park. You can put more stuff in it, both guys and girls can wear them, and you don’t have to worry about one of shoulders starting to hurt from all the weight being on one side.

Dollywood

Dollywood can be found in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains in a town called Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This theme park is quite unique and the top attraction in the Smoky Mountain area. Unlike most theme parks, the atmosphere of Dollywood takes you back in time. The way its buildings look and what goes on there reminds you more of an old mountain town. Dollywood has a lot to offer including, rides, traditions crafts, and music.

The only thing tradition about this theme park is the rides. The offer family rides, kid rides and thrill rides. They even have an award winning wooden roller coaster called Thunderhead.

At Dollywood you will not find your everyday modern crafts. Here, you will find master craftsmen hand-make centuries-old crafts including blacksmithing, glassblowing, and woodcarving. You can also watch demonstrations throughout the day. These shops are located throughout the park.  One could easily take a nice break at any of one of them sometime during the day.

Dollywood really values its music, just like Dolly Parton one of the parks owners and to whom the park is named after.  The park offers more than a dozen stage shows where you can here live music performances in country, bluegrass, mountain and gospel. Dollywood is even the site of the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame.

During its operating months, Dollywood is home to five of the south’s largest festivals. These festivals usually last about a week and offer many cultural events by performers from around the world.

These five festivals include:

·                         1. Festival of Nations

·                         2. Kids Fest

·                         3. Barbeque and Bluegrass

·                         4. Southern Gospel and Harvest Celebration

·                         5. Smoky Mountain Christmas

This park opens up in early spring and stays open until around Christmas time. Ticket prices are $57 for ages 12-59, $45.80 for children ages 4-11 and $53.65 for seniors ages 60+. For more information take a look at Dollywood's website. http://www.dollywood.com/