Hershey Recognized With 4 USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards

Hersheypark amusement park in Hershey, Pa., was listed in the top 10 in four theme park categories in the USA TODAY 10Best Reader's Choice Awards! Voting for these four contests continued for weeks and we're excited to share where we landed with the results for Best Theme Park, Best Roller Coaster with Skyrush, Best Theme Park Restaurant with The Chocolatier Restaurant, Bar + Patio, and Best Theme Park Hotel with The Hotel Hershey. See our rankings below!

#6 Best Theme Park

Hersheypark received the #6 spot in the category for Best Theme Park after competing amongst 20 other theme parks. Hersheypark is one of three Pennsylvania theme parks listed in the top 10. 

The amusement park of every chocolate lover's dreams, Hersheypark features 121 acres with more than 70 rides, a water park open from Memorial Day through Labor Day and an 11-acre North American Wildlife Park – all accessible via a single admission. When the new Wildcat's Revenge hybrid coaster opens this summer, Hersheypark will have the most coasters in the Northeast, with 15 total. 

Check out the full list of winners. 

#1 Best Theme Park Hotel

We are thrilled to share that The Hotel Hershey claimed the very top spot in the Best Theme Park Hotel category! Celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2023, The Hotel Hershey - opened by chocolatier Milton S. Hershey in 1933 - is known for its refined elegance, signature service and abundant amenities and is a recipient of the Forbes Four-Star Award and the AAA Four-Diamond Award. 

The Hotel Hershey is a sweet spot to lay your head, whether you're in town to take the Hershey's Chocolate World factory tour, check out Hersheypark, or you're just in the mood for a little pampering with a cocoa-infused spa treatment. A member of Historic Hotels of America, the four-star Hotel Hershey is an elegant retreat that references its chocolate town roots without drowning guests in cloying fudge. Best of all, the hotel has a wide range of sports and recreation facilities where you can work off all those tasty treats, including a fitness center, golf, tennis, hiking trails and a pool with waterslides.

Check out the full list of winners.

#2 Best Theme Park Restaurant

The Chocolatier Restaurant, Bar + Patio was listed for the very first time in the Best Theme Park Restaurant category and ended with the #2 spot! The Chocolatier has been serving up family fare with a fun spin, and hints of chocolate for almost 2 years. 

Here's the sweet secret about The Chocolatier: it's not just about chocolate, but rather a full-service restaurant with some of the best views of Hersheypark from its second-story patio and bar. "Chocolate lovers will delight in this restaurant that incorporates cocoa into many dishes from salads to burgers," says expert Jamie Davis Smith.  

Check out the full list of winners.

#6 Best Roller Coaster

Skyrush at Hersheypark claimed the #6 spot of the Best Roller Coaster contest amongst 20 other coasters in the U.S. 

A ride on Skyrush takes just a little more than a minute but packs a lot of thrills into those precious seconds. The big yellow steel coaster starts with a 200-foot hill climb before a 75-mph descent into a series of four high-speed turns and five zero-G airtime hills. Skyrush is considered one of the most intense rides in the park, especially for riders who sit on the "wings" of the coaster cars that dangle them in the air far from the coaster track.

Check out the full list of winners. 

Hersheypark Open Weekends in May and Daily May 25 - Sept. 4

Hersheypark amusement park kicked off its 117th operating year on April 1, with eight fun-filled spring weekends of coaster rides, new food and beverage offerings, Hershey Characters selfies, ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park visits and endless Hersheypark Happy moments. For more information, visit our Guide to Spring Weekends 2023 at Hersheypark. 

Guests can save on tickets when purchased on Hersheypark.com with the current offer. Tickets purchased online will be valid on any 2023 public operating day through Jan. 1, 2024. 

Visitors looking to extend their stay in The Sweetest Place On Earth can book a sweet spring getaway at The Official Resorts of Hersheypark: The Hotel Hershey luxury accommodation, Hershey Lodge resort and Hersheypark Camping Resort campground. It’s also the perfect time to plan for summer fun. Check rates on our website. 

All guests of The Official Resorts of Hersheypark also receive FREE Resort Benefits, including the best price on Hersheypark tickets, extra hours at Hersheypark with Preview Plan, free front-gate shuttle service to the exclusive resort drop-off location, free admission to Hershey Gardens and The Hershey Story Museum, and more. See more information here. 

Thank you to all of our fans for voting! Don't forget to vote for us in multiple Harrisburg Magazine's Simply The Best 2023 awards. Voting ends June 15!