Hersheypark Christmas Candylane Named 2023 Top 10 Best Theme Park Holiday Event

The votes are in! Hersheypark Christmas Candylane is once again named a winner in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice travel award contest for Best Theme Park Holiday Event in 2023!

Christmas Candylane was voted #4 overall,  securing a coveted spot as one of the top 10 best theme park holiday events in the country.  The 121-acre Hersheypark ranked above all other nominated Pennsylvania amusement parks. For the past two years, we were #8 so an especially sweet finish as part of the 40th year of our annual Christmas experience!

Twenty nominees were chosen by a panel of relevant experts which include a combination of editors from USA TODAY, editors from 10Best.com; relevant expert contributors, and sources for both these media and other Gannett properties. 

Thank you to all who voted for us!

Hersheypark Christmas Candylane 

Hersheypark Christmas Candylane is open to the public through Jan. 1, 2024, with daily operations starting Dec. 14 (closed Christmas Day). The seasonal event at the largest amusement park in Pennsylvania offers more weekend hours for holiday fun in 2023. 

During Christmas Candylane, Hersheypark is decked with more than 5 million lights - the most in the state - including a dazzling NOEL light show with more than 250,000 dancing lights synchronized to Christmas music. Christmas Candylane is also the only place in the Northeast where guests can see all nine of Santa's reindeer, including Rudolph.

And oh, what fun it is to ride! Hersheypark offers a unique blend of family-friendly rides and seven thrilling coasters, weather permitting, including the new-for-2023 Wildcat’s Revenge. The Park's first hybrid coaster, and the only one of its kind in Pennsylvania, opened this summer and is available with unique light packages for all seasons.

Guests can also enjoy signature hot chocolate and other sweet treats, holiday shopping in Hershey’s Chocolatetown region, an interactive experience and photo with Santa through Dec. 24, a new Mrs. Claus' Dance Party, and Hershey Characters Sweet Greets inside the heated Chevrolet Music Box Theatre.

Vote for Wildcat's Revenge

Oh, what fun it is to ride!  We are thrilled to share that our new-for-2023 Wildcat’s Revenge is also up for Best New Attraction of 2023. The Park's first hybrid coaster, and the only one of its kind in Pennsylvania, opened this summer and is available with unique light packages for all seasons. A Golden Ticket winner, we would love to have your vote as the contest goes through December 25.