Hersheypark Christmas Candylane is a celebration of the season with holiday activities throughout the park. Today I am sharing my guide for the 2025 Christmas at Hersheypark holiday season.
If you love spending the holiday season at the theme parks you are going to want to include at trip to Hersheypark.
During the holidays Hersheypark is filled with holiday magic. From treats to special lights on select attractions, and your favorite characters to meet it is a wonderful destination to enjoy the holidays at a theme park.
- Christmas at Hersheypark
- Hersheypark Christmas Candylane
- 2025 Hersheypark Christmas Candylane Dates
- Cost of Hersheypark at Christmas
- My Must Do List
- Where to Stay for Christmas at Hersheypark
- Hersheypark Sweet Lights
- Hershey Chocolate World During Christmas
- Is Hersheypark Christmas Worth It
- Hersheypark Christmas Itinerary
Christmas at Hersheypark
Hersheypark Christmas Candylane is the holiday event at Hersheypark. It features holiday décor and special events through Hersheypark and the resorts. Below is a brief list of what you can find at Hersheypark Christmas.
- See Santa’s Reindeer
- Breakfast with Santa
- Noel Christmas Light Show
- TREEville, Festival of Tree
- Twinkling Through Time, Stage Show
- Holiday activities at Hershey Chocolate World
- Hershey’s Sweet Lights (Mile long drive thru lights, not located at Hersheypark)
- Ride and attraction overlays
Hersheypark Christmas Candylane
Visiting Hersheypark is fun any time of the year, but Christmas at Hersheypark gets us all in the holiday spirit! It is a fun family activity to do during the Christmas season.
There are rides, shows, character meet and greets, and specialty dining options during the Christmas Candylane event.
Most of the roller coasters and kiddie rides are open during the event making this a great event for all ages.
Some of our favorite rides are Laff Trakk which gets a holiday light overlay. Cocoa Cruiser, Jolly Rancher Remix, Wild Mouse, Wildcat’s Revenge, and Candymonium are typically open during the event.
There are over 45 rides and attractions open to guests of all ages. Expect water rides to be closed. Check here for open attractions or download the Hersheypark app for the most up-to-date information.
2025 Hersheypark Christmas Candylane Dates
Hersheypark Christmas Candyland runs on select dates November 14th-January 4th. Check your dates here.
If this is your first time visiting consider doing the rides during the day and seeing the holiday show in the evening when the light displays are on.
Cost of Hersheypark at Christmas
Hersheypark Christmas Candylane tickets start at $46.99 and you can find discounted tickets on their website. Be sure to look at the bundle pricing if you plan to do Hershey Sweet Lights during your visit.
My Must Do List
- Noel Light Show-A choreographed light show synchronized to classic holiday tunes and popular Christmas music. (My favorite!!)
- Meet Hershey Characters dressed up in holiday outfits to meet.
- Mary N. Bright Airfield- Start at the Yule Lodge to visit Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the Elves. Then guests can visit Hangar 96 to meet all 9 reindeer before they leave on Christmas Eve.
- TREEville at the Boardwalk- A festive tree trail telling the story of The Sweetest Place on Earth. This starts November 26th.
- Hershey Sweet Lights (This is offered as an add-on to your ticket. It is not at Hersheypark.)
- Hot chocolate and seasonal treats available throughout the park.
- Holiday attractions: We love experiencing the Hersheypark rides with a holiday overlay.
Along with the holiday events some rides and attractions are also open, weather permitting. Not every ride is open during the holiday events, but enough are to make it a fun trip.
Where to Stay for Christmas at Hersheypark
If you want to feel immersed in the Hershey world you can stay on-site Hershey resort options. We have stayed at all three of the resorts during different visits and each offers a unique stay for families.
I have reviews on each Hershey resort to help you decide the best one for your family: Hotel Hershey, Hershey Lodge, and Hershey Campgrounds.
The resorts typically have activities during the holidays like letters to Santa and character meet and greets.
Prices may be a bit high at the Hershey resorts and you may want to check for other accommodations. Use the map below to find the best deals on local hotels.
Hersheypark Sweet Lights
Hersheypark Sweet Lights is a drive thru light attraction through 2 miles of holiday displays. This is located close to Hersheypark but not at Hersheypark.
Hershey Sweet Lights is a ticketed attraction separate from your admission to Hersheypark Candylane. Guests can purchase tickets as a bundle here.
If you don’t want to drive the tour you can purchase tickets for the trolley tour that starts at Hersheys Chocolate World. Learn more here.
Hershey Chocolate World During Christmas
Hershey Chocolate World is located at the same parking complex as Hersheypark. It is a very large store with bake shops, a free factory tour, and paid activities to enjoy.
During the holidays they have specialty treats as well as photos with Santa as well as the Grinch and other holiday characters.
Guests can also view the Hershey’s Holiday shop decorated with candy. It is free to walk around Hershey Chocolate World and is worth including in your visit.
Is Hersheypark Christmas Worth It
Yes! A visit to Hersheypark at Christmas time is worth it. They decorated the park beautifully and it is an awesome event.
You also will find less crowds than a summer visit and will have shorter wait time for the rides.
Hersheypark Christmas Itinerary
I like to share how we plan our visit to make it easy to plan your visit. This is an itinerary we planned for a visit to Hersheypark during the holidays.
Day 1: Hersheypark Christmas Candylane Special Event
We left our home in Rochester around 12 after the kids morning activities, and started our drive to Hershey. The 4 hour drive had us arriving at dinner time.
We surprised the kids with this visit, and had lunches packed in the car and ready to go. The drive takes you through some really pretty parts of Pennsylvania.
We have driven it so many times! If you need to stop for snacks or bathroom breaks I suggest stopping at a Sheetz.
They are clean, have a gas station, and many snack options. It’s also a half way point for us and a good time for a stretch.
We arrived around dusk, checked into our hotel and started our way to the park.
Our plan was to explore Hershey Chocolate World and then we had tickets for Hershey Sweet Light on the trolley. The trolley takes you through a guided tour of miles of holiday lights.
You can drive this yourself but we opted for the tickets so we could relax and enjoy the lights. It is spectacular!!
They sing songs and the lights are incredible. We all loved it and you receive a sweet treat during your ride!!
After visiting Hershey Chocolate World and the trolley tour we made our way to experience Hersheypark at Christmas.
One of the things I really love is you can enter the park the day before your actual purchase tickets. Guests can enter the park 2.5 hours before closing!!
We had tickets for Sunday but were able to enter the park at 7:30 on Saturday night. This was a really cool perk and all I had to do was show our Sunday tickets.
Always check the website for times and to confirm but this “preview night” is typical.
Saturday night we watched Noel Light Show and visited Santa Clause and his reindeer. We also went on a few rides.
A lot of the attractions are open and we were not lacking for things to do. Our favorites were:
- Laff Trakk (Indoor Dark Rollercoaster decorated with lights for the season. This also had the longest line. If you want to ride it arrive early or at the end of the night. (42 inches to ride)
- Kissing Tower-A tower that lifts up and rotates. Gorgeous views of the town and park.
- Reese’s Cupfusion
- Monorail-This takes you around the park and it was a nice way to see everything from a different view. It is a great attraction to rest your feet and see the lights from above.
Be sure to check the Hersheypark ride heights before you plan your visit.
We stayed until 10:00pm close at the park. It was so beautiful walking around and seeing the lights all over the park.
Remember to dress for the season. We wore hats, gloves, and winter coats. When the sun goes down the temperature will drop!
We were having so much fun that we went back in to Hershey Chocolate World and took a few rides on the Factory Tour. At around 10:45pm we left the park!! It was a packed day but we had so much fun!!
Day 2: Hersheypark
Sunday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. It was typical bagels, cereal, yogurt, and a few hot choices. My kids love hotel breakfast so they were very happy. I love coffee…so I was happy too!!
Then we packed up, checked out and were first in line to enter the park!! I always arrive early when visiting theme parks to stay ahead of the crowds.
On Sunday we spent the day riding attractions. Most of the holiday activities are in the evening so we used this time to ride attractions.
If you only have one day you may want to do rides first and then start exploring all the Christmas activities at the park.
Hersheypark Christmas Candylane is a great place to celebrate the holidays and enjoy time together as a family. We really enjoyed this holiday event in Hershey, PA.
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Leah has been traveling with her family of 5 since 2012 and sharing her expertise on planning family vacations and visiting theme parks since 2016. Leah has been featured in Visit Rochester, Undercover Tourist, and Home Publications. She has worked with brands like Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Hersheypark, Toyota, and various Tourism boards and destinations. Leah creates family travel itineraries based on real trip experiences with her family. Her guides and tips help others plan great family vacations. Learn more about Leah and Five for the Road.