How to Use Hersheypark Accessibility Pass for an Enjoyable Trip

How to Use Hersheypark Accessibility Pass for an Enjoyable Trip

When our middle son was diagnosed with Autism shortly after his third birthday, we knew his life and ours would never be the same. Slowly anxiety crept into our lives making it increasingly hard to do certain things, one of them was travel. Our first trip to Hersheypark was extremely difficult on him. I sat with him behind the kid’s water park area for hours because he was overwhelmed. Initially, I thought we would never be able to take him to the park again. I started looking for solutions and ended up looking the Hersheypark Accessibility Pass.

Disclosure: This post is apart of my Sweetest Moms Series of post in partnership with Hersheypark. Any opinions expressed are my own.

How to Sign Up for Your Accessibility Pass

Signing up is a breeze. It’s super easy to do, the hardest part was waiting in line at the Hospitality Services building once you enter the park. Once inside the building head over to the Accessibility Pass counter. One of the Hersheypark staff members will help you fill out a short application about any limitations your child may have that could prohibit them from riding certain rides. Don’t worry it does not ask any specific questions in regards to disability. The next step is to measure your child to determine the rides they are able to ride safely. Once those steps are completed the staff member will hand you the Hershepary Boarding Pass booklet with a listing of rides eligible for the program and a wristband.

Sweetest Mom Tip: Choose the best way to secure the wristband based on your child’s own individual needs. We keep ours stapled to our booklet since we know our son would pull it off his wrist. You need the wristband to gain faster access to the rides.

Hersheypark Attractions Eligible with the Boarding Pass

Surprisingly not all the rides at Hersheypark are eligible for use with the Hersheypark Boarding Pass. We, unfortunately, found a few of the rides for younger children were not included. We were quite surprised however we found it helpful to talk with the ride attendants asking for our pass to be used on the ride. It didn’t work all the time but most of the time it worked out for us. Here’s a listing of all the rides included with the pass including height restrictions and ride rating.

Rides with Fast Track Entrance

Comet – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (43″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated high thrill ride

Laff Trakk – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (43″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated aggressive thrill ride

Sooperdooperlooper – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (43″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated aggressive thrill ride

*Laff Trakk features intense sounds, bright neon lights and strobe lighting which may be a trigger for some children. I recommend watching the POV video prior to riding with your child with sensory issues.

Rides in Founder’s Way

Balloon Flite – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Ladybug – Kisses 36″ through Twizzlers 60″ and Miniatures (36″ & under with adult rider) rated children’s ride

Tilt-A-Whirl – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Reese’s Xtreme Cup Challenge – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Trafic Jam – Kisses 32″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Scrambler – Twizzler’s 54″ and taller and Miniatures through Hershey’s (32″ through 54″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Skyview – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s & Kisses (36″ – 42″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Mini-Himalaya – Kisses 36″ through Twizzlers 60″ and Miniatures (36″ & under with adult rider) rated children’s ride

Swing Thing – Kisses 32″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Dinosaur-Go-Round – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Space Age – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Carrousel – Reese’s (42″ and taller) and Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 42″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Bizzy Bees – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Mini Pirate – Kisses 36″ through Twizzlers 60″ rated children’s ride

Coco Cruiser – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Helicopters – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Starship America – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Dizzy Drums – Kisses 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Monorail – Reese’s (42″ and taller) and Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 42″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Rides in The Hallow

Tea Cups – Reese’s (42″ and taller) and Kisses (36″ – 42″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Comet – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (43″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated high thrill ride

Sweet Swing – Hershey’s Kisses through Twizzler’s 38″ – 60″ rated children’s ride

Sooperdooperlooper – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (43″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated aggressive thrill ride

Rides in Midway America

Ferris Wheel – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Laff Trakk – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (42″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated aggressive thrill ride

Granny Bugs – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Music Express – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (42″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Pony Parade – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Tiny Tracks – Hershey Kisses through Hershey’s (36″ – 54″) and Miniatures (36″ & under with adult rider) rated children’s ride

Merry Derry Dip – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Whip – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (42″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Rides in Kissing Tower Hill

Coal Cracker – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated high thrill ride

Kissing Tower – Reese’s (42″ and taller) and Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 42″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Red Baron – Hershey Kisses through Hershey’s (36″ – 54″) rated children’s ride

Twin Turnpike: Sunoco Classic Cars – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Twin Turnpike: Sonoco Speedway – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

Rides in Pioneer

Frontier Flyers – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (42″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Livery Stables – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Hershey’s 54″ rated children’s ride

Mini Scrambler – Hershey’s Miniatures 36″ through Reese’s 48″ rated children’s ride

Trailblazer – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Pirate – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (42″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Dry Gulch Railroad – Reese’s (42″ and taller) and Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 42″ with adult rider) rated mild thrill ride

The Howler – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (42″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Rides on the Boardwalk

Bayside Pier – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult supervision) rated mild thrill ride

Coastline: Riptide/Surge – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Resse’s (42″ – 48″ with adult rider) rated high thrill ride

Coastline: Pipeline/Hydro – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) rated high thrill ride

Sandcastle Cove – Reese’s & Hershey’s (42″ – 54″ and Kisses & Miniatures (36″ – 42″ with adult supervision) rated children’s ride

Tidal Force – Reese’s 42″ and tall rated high thrill ride

Intercoastal Waterway – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult supervision) rated mild thrill ride

The Shore – Hershey’s (48″ and taller) and Reese’s, Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 48″ with adult supervision) rated mild thrill ride

East Coast WW: Entry – Reese’s (42″ and taller) and Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 42″ with supervision rider) rated moderate thrill ride

East Coast WW: Slides – Reese’s (42″ and taller) and Miniatures & Kisses (36″ – 42″ with supervision rider) rated moderate thrill ride

Shoreline Sprayground – Hershey’s Miniatures (36″ and taller) rated children’s ride

You can view the Hersheypark Rider Safety and Accessibility Guide online for a more information on rides.

Sign Up with Family Finder

Hersheypark has teamed up with PennState Health to offer the Family Finder Wristbands as an easy alternative to locating parents in the event of separation. We stopped by the booth outside the Hospitality Services building to sign up and get our free wristbands for the kids. Each child has a wristband with our names and a phone number to call if we get separated. Of course, we keep a very close watch on our children but things happen and in case of an emergency we want to make sure it is easy to locate us if we are ever separated from any of our children.

Learn All the Rules

Having a Hersheypark Boarding Pass is just one step in making your trip more enjoyable. It’s worth learning all the rules associated with the pass. Each pass gives the pass holder and three other riders a fast track to the rides listed on the boarding pass. For larger families like mine, you are required to break up rides into two parts. The pass holder must ride at all times. You must use the ride exit for attractions that do not have a fast-track lane. If you are visiting more than once in a thirty-day period the staff at Hospitality Services will save application information for faster processing on your next visit.

Find the Quiet Areas

Our son gets overstimulated at times. Our summer in the park was hard for him and we weren’t aware of the quiet spaces for families like ours. If your child needs a break while at Hersheypark visit one of the designated quiet areas located at Pioneer Frontier Guest Services inside the Family Health & Services Center and Kissing Tower Hill Guest Services.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions

If you’re ever visiting Hersheypark with a child with special needs and you’re having problems with using your pass be sure to stop by the guest services building either outside the park or ask to speak with a manager at the ride. Ask any questions you have and a note of any concerns or suggestions for improvements.

Hersheypark is currently open for its shoulder season for Halloween and Christmas, you can also purchase your 2018 season passes online for a great price.