Hershey Park: Cabanas at The Boardwalk

My family and I love to go on mini getaways within driving distance of Philadelphia.  One of our favorite destinations has always been Hershey, PA.  If you follow my blog regularly you know that I was named a Sweetest Mom for 2016 by Hershey Park.  This is like a blog ambassadorship and it means my family gets to visit Hershey Park as much as we want.  With my oldest in tournament baseball this summer it’s been tough to find days but luckily we were able to head down last week for 2 days.

In an effort to maximize our visits my husband and I always try to come up with a “game plan” on how we will navigate the park each visit.  Since the Water Works has opened in the Hershey Lodge we also need to add that onto our must do list because my kids are OBSESSED with it!  Luckily the Water Works has food and drinks (adult drinks) so we always plan to end our nights there before heading to our hotel room to sleep and rest for another big day at the parks in the morning.

During our visit last week we decided to try something new.  A friend of mine had just visited and was raving about the Cabana’s at The Boardwalk in Hershey Park.  She told me she will never go to the park again without getting a cabana so naturally I was very intrigued. We set up with Hershey so that we could have a cabana during our visit and OH MY!!!

When we arrived at the gates for the Cabanas we gave our name and a lovely attendant escorted us to our very own private cabana to use for the entire day.  We were given an awesome Beach Club tote bag that was filled with 4 beach towels, sunblock, 4 cups with lids and straws to refill all day and a band for our own locker.

Every cabana has a table and chairs for eating lunch, a ceiling fan, medium sized refrigerator with 12 bottles of water in there for cabana guests, condiments for food you order from their Cabana Grill, 2 lounge chairs and 2 kids chairs.

The cabana is located alongside the lazy river.  While you’re sitting and relaxing inside your cabana you can watch park guests go by on the lazy river.  We did a lot of this during water breaks and lunch time.

All Cabana guests are given their very own entrance and exit to the Lazy River.  NO LINES!!!  You read that right, NO LINES FOR THE LAZY RIVER!!! Just head over to the nearest Cabana Guest Only entrance and a lifeguard will be there waiting to give you your raft and help you into the lazy river.

With little kids at the park it can get hard.  They want to do everything, play on everything but there are lines, it is hot and they get tired.  This is where I found that having a cabana really helped with our visit.  Being able to have a “home base” for the kids to take in a little down time is great.  It allowed them to recharge, eat at a normal pace and not have 3 french fries, proclaim they are done and try to run to another ride.

When the temperatures are super high and the kids are losing their patience with ride lines, being hot and not having a space to feel like they can relax,; it can be overwhelming to the whole family.  Having a cabana allowed us to give them the freedom to chill out a bit, get onto the lazy river with no delay to cool off, get their own drinks and use a private large bathroom with showers and changing rooms.  It really feel like we were at a resort club.

It was really great to also have a space that wasn’t crowded, for the kids to joke around and just be silly kids.

From the Hershey Park Website:

Hersheypark Cabana Benefits

• All-day use of the cabana, equipped with refrigerator, table, four chairs, and two chaise lounge chairs
• Beach towel at check-in for each guest
• Beach bag and suntan lotion at check-in
• 12 complimentary water bottles per cabana
• Walk-up service to exclusive Cabana Grill, offering a grill menu, including kids’ meals*
• Complimentary fountain soda at the Cabana Grill
• Complimentary locker for use throughout the day next to the Beach Club Restrooms & Changing Rooms
• Exclusive ride access to the Intercoastal Waterway (lazy river)

Cabana Capacity

May 28 – September 5: Rates starting at $260 base rate**

Access to the Cabana Area is private and each guest requires a non-transferable wristband.

**Base rate includes 4 guests. Additional guests, up to 3 (maximum of 7 total occupants per cabana) cost $32 each. Rates are subject to change and are subject to 6% PA State Sales Tax.

 

Reservations

Reserve Online or by calling 717-508-1959.

We all cannot wait to get back to the Cabanas.  It’s such an amazing way to navigate the park while exploring all the water options with young children!!