On Saturday we headed to Hershey's Chocolate World. We drove through town before getting to the "factory tour" and delighted in the Hershey's Kisses street lamps.
Once we got to the factory, we rode the factory tour ride. The cars riding through the mock factory was very Disney-esque. After we got off the ride and got our free mini Hershey's bar, we walked around and around the gift shop so the kids could look and think about what they wanted to get at the end of the day.
The next activity was a 4D experience with a little animated movie. The theater also had rumbling seats, misting water (for chocolate splashes), and the smells of chocolate and Jolly Ranchers pumped in at the appropriate times.
The second activity was a chocolate tasting class. Even the kids got something out of it. And, RJ learned that he likes Hershey's Special Dark more than the traditional Hershey's milk chocolate. Whoa! The super fancy dark chocolate was not for any of us. We had a taste wheel to help us describe the chocolates as they melted (not chewed) in our mouths. I chose tobacco. Jip chose leather. Needless to say, we didn't buy any of that chocolate in the gift shop. :)
After a little lunch in the cafe, we headed out on a trolley tour that took us around the town of Hershey. We learned all about Milton, his competitors, and the school he started for orphan boys that is now a tuition-free private boarding school for boys and girls who wouldn't normally have the opportunity for a private school education.
When we returned to Chocolate World, we bought our souvenirs and then donned our hairnets and aprons for a fun experience of making our own chocolate bars. We scanned the bar codes of our tickets and using a touch screen, we picked our chocolate base, the fun stuff for the inside, and whether or not we wanted sprinkles. Then we went into the manufacturing facility, scanned our tickets again, and approved our bar to be produced. We watched it travel down the conveyor belt to get filled, robed, and sprinkled (or not). As it was cooling, we then scanned our tickets again to custom design our labels. We then watched our bars get demoulded, packaged in a paper box, laser labeled, and then packed by hand in a tin with our custom labels. It was awesome!
Crayola Experience is sort of a factory tour in that there is a 20 minute demonstration about how they make crayons. But, the rest of the experience is just getting to play with Crayola. The kids got to name their own crayons and wrap them, have digital paint poured on them, color fairies and unicorns and dragons for a digital mural, make dancing birds, paint with melted wax, make a shape with melted wax, and more.
We enjoyed taking a route home that hugged the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia shorelines. The kids were exhausted and took turns sleeping.
Today was a day of recovery. The kids actually slept in. So did their parents. But now it is time to gear up for another week of school and activities. As always, pics to come. Until next time, cheers!
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