No golden ticket required.
Although the minute you start designing your own candy bar, the whole thing does feel a little Charlie-and-the-Chocolate-Factory-adjacent.
In Pennsylvania, chocolate gets treated less like a snack and more like an activity.
You can see how cocoa becomes the candy everyone recognizes, then start making a few delicious decisions of your own.
Pick the ingredients. Design the wrapper. Try not to get overly attached to your creation before eating it.
There is more to explore if you want to stretch the visit, including a ride through local chocolate history.
But really, the make-your-own part is hard to ignore.
Charlie Bucket had to survive an entire factory tour for his big chocolate moment.
You just have to decide what goes inside the bar.
A Sweet Adventure Waiting In Central Pennsylvania
Few road trip stops come with a built-in chocolate activity quite like this one. Hershey’s Chocolate World sits in Hershey, Pennsylvania, right beside the rides and roller coasters of Hersheypark.
That location makes it easy to include both attractions in a longer trip, although admission and parking arrangements are separate. Hersheypark also operates on its own seasonal calendar, so check its schedule before planning to visit both.
Inside Chocolate World, colorful displays lead toward candy counters, shops, dining areas, and attractions.
Entry to the main building is free, and the Chocolate Tour ride doesn’t require a ticket. Other experiences, including Create Your Own Candy Bar, require paid admission.
Parking deserves a little planning. The Chocolate World lot offers a limited period of complimentary parking. Purchasing an eligible attraction ticket bundle can also provide complimentary all-day parking.
When Hersheypark is operating, additional parking charges may apply to visitors who don’t qualify for complimentary parking. Follow directions to the correct parking area.
Opening time is generally 9 a.m., while closing hours vary throughout the year. Check the daily schedule before leaving home.
For a shorter visit, begin with the free ride and browse the store afterward. A longer outing calls for choosing ticketed activities before you arrive.
Build A Candy Bar With Your Name All Over It
Ever dreamed of creating a candy bar that nobody else picked out for you? At Hershey’s Chocolate World, the Create Your Own Candy Bar experience gives you the chance to choose ingredients and watch your personalized treat take shape.
The activity lasts approximately 45 minutes and follows a production-line format. You make selections, pull a lever, and follow your creation as it moves along a conveyor belt.
The equipment handles the chocolate-making process, so you won’t be mixing or tempering chocolate by hand. Instead, you can watch the stages that turn your choices into a finished bar.
This attraction requires a timed ticket. Children ages two and younger can accompany a paying guest without creating a bar at no charge; admission arrangements for accompanying children should be made during booking.
The experience is wheelchair accessible, and the finished candy bars are kosher certified.
Before booking, decide whether everyone in your group will create a bar. Choose a session that fits your schedule.
Once inside, the main decision moves from scheduling to chocolate. Milk chocolate or dark chocolate? Something crunchy or something sweeter?
The production line handles the assembly, but the ingredient choices are yours.
Pick Your Favorite Mix-Ins And Toppings
Crunchy, sweet, or slightly salty, which direction sounds better for your chocolate bar? During the candy-making experience, ingredient choices let you put your own combination together.
Start with the chocolate base. Hershey’s milk chocolate offers the familiar creamy option, while Hershey’s Special Dark provides a different cocoa flavor.
Then consider the available additions. Pretzel bits introduce a crunchy, salty element, while rainbow sprinkles bring color and sweetness. Butterscotch chips and Premier White chips offer other ways to change the finished bar.
A combination of pretzel pieces and milk chocolate provides a different experience from dark chocolate with sweeter additions. Think about the flavors you’d enjoy together before making your selections.
Ingredient selections follow the attraction’s customization process. Available combinations and selections may change, so choose from the options offered during your session.
There is also an important allergy consideration. Bars are produced on shared equipment, and the ingredients contain or may contain milk, soy, wheat, peanuts, and tree nuts. People with allergies to those ingredients should not consume the finished products.
Making a bar for someone else? Consider their preferences and dietary needs before selecting the ingredients.
Once the choices are complete, the bar continues along the production line, where visitors can follow the next stages before collecting their finished creation.
Wrappers That Turn Chocolate Into A Keepsake
A chocolate bar might disappear quickly, but its personalized packaging offers another part of the Create Your Own Candy Bar experience.
After choosing your ingredients, you can design a wrapper for the finished product. The customized packaging turns the bar into something more individual than an ordinary candy purchase.
This part of the process is a chance to think beyond the chocolate itself. Making a treat for a birthday, a family outing, or a special occasion? A personalized wrapper can connect the finished bar with that event.
For a gift, decide on the intended recipient before choosing the design. Someone who enjoys straightforward packaging may prefer a different approach from someone who likes colorful details.
You can also coordinate the wrapper with the ingredients you selected. A bar made with dark chocolate and pretzels might call for a different design from one filled with colorful sweet additions.
Keep the design process simple enough to fit comfortably within the attraction’s allotted time. Choosing the main idea beforehand means more attention can go toward watching the candy bar move through production.
Once the wrapped treat is ready, decide whether to enjoy it during your visit or take it home. If you’re traveling on a warm day, protect the chocolate from prolonged heat.
Ride Along On The Free Chocolate Tour
Here’s good news for budget travelers: the Hershey’s Chocolate Tour ride costs nothing. It operates during Chocolate World’s regular hours and doesn’t require a ticket.
You board a ride vehicle and travel through animated scenes illustrating how chocolate is made. The journey introduces cocoa beans, processing steps, and the transformation of ingredients into finished chocolate products.
It isn’t a tour of an operating factory. Instead, the experience uses simulated production scenes, colorful displays, and narration to explain the process.
The ride offers a straightforward introduction to chocolate production before visitors explore other attractions.
At the end, each rider receives a complimentary Hershey’s product sample. There’s no need to purchase another attraction ticket to receive it.
Weekends and holidays can bring longer waits, particularly during the busiest parts of the day. The beginning and final hours of operation are useful times to consider when planning around the line.
For a shorter outing, the free tour can be the main activity, followed by a look around the store. If you’ve booked Create Your Own Candy Bar, consider taking the tour first to see the illustrated production stages before watching your own chocolate move along a conveyor.
Hands-On Fun Beyond The Candy Line
Sitting through one chocolate activity doesn’t mean you’ve reached the end of the options. Beyond the free tour and candy-making line, several ticketed experiences offer different ways to explore Hershey’s history and products.
Hershey’s Unwrapped is a theatrical chocolate-tasting experience lasting approximately 30 minutes. It includes chocolate tastings.
Hershey’s Great Candy Expedition takes a different approach. This train-themed cinematic attraction uses projection mapping and interactive effects during an approximately 30-minute experience.
Prefer a look around town? Hershey Trolley Works offers rides exploring local history. Programs run approximately 45 to 75 minutes, with year-round and seasonal options.
Reese’s Stuff Your Cup adds another customizable treat. Participants select mix-ins for a one-pound Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup prepared with fresh peanut butter. The activity takes approximately 15 minutes.
Each experience requires its own purchase unless included in a qualifying package. Ticket bundles can combine several attractions and provide parking benefits.
Compare the combinations before booking, especially when planning multiple activities. Some packages include two or three attractions, while the trolley and Reese’s experience may be available as add-ons.
Allow time between scheduled activities for lunch, shopping, and moving through the building. One tasting and a tour might suit a shorter visit, while several attractions can fill much of the day.
Shelves Upon Shelves Of Candy Await
A shopping bag might be useful before entering the World’s Largest Hershey’s Store inside Chocolate World.
The retail area carries Hershey’s chocolate bars, Kisses, Reese’s products, branded clothing, mugs, gifts, and other candy-themed merchandise. Giant candy packages and exclusive items offer additional choices beyond everyday chocolate bars.
Start with a walk through the displays before filling your basket. Compare smaller treats with larger packages.
The Amazing Candy Machine provides another personalized option, allowing shoppers to create their own assortment of sweets. It’s separate from the ticketed candy-bar production experience.
If you’re traveling with a group, decide whether to buy individual gifts or a larger assortment to share. Chocolate bars and packaged treats are easier to divide, while clothing and keepsakes provide nonedible alternatives.
Warm weather deserves some attention. A small cooler or insulated bag can help protect chocolate purchases during a long drive, especially if you’re making additional stops before returning home.
The Food Hall offers savory meals and snacks, including sandwiches, pizza, and other options, along with sweet treats. Plan a lunch break if your attraction schedule stretches beyond a couple of hours.
Before leaving, take one last look at the candy displays and choose what you’ll carry home. For navigation, Hershey’s Chocolate World is located at 101 Chocolate World Way, Hershey, PA 17033.