Hershey Park? Is it safe for severe peanut allergy child?

I will offer my 2 cents but must caution you that I am uber-risk-averse. I have thought about Hershey Park for our kids as well, and my vote is no. I think it is risky at any amusement park to a certain degree, but the fact that the park is at the home of a chocolate company which uses nuts and peanuts--and I have been there, those chocolates are sold everywhere there!--makes me too uncomfortable. I personally avoid that level of risk. We visited there pre-PA, so I am unable to say it was positive or negative from the PA perspective. Peanut allergy never entered our minds when we were there.

What is most important, though, is your comfort level. I am betting there must be some members of the peanutallergy.com community who can tell us about their experience at Hershey park.

BTW, we did do Sesame Place with our PA child and that was a piece of cake! Very accommodating, no problems. We also visited an old amusement park called Idlewild in western Pennsylvania, brought our own food, and had no problems.

Curious to hear others' 2 cents and experiences... :)

Jennifer B
www.foodallergybuzz.com

I have not been due to the same reasons you and Jennifer have brought up. However, non allergy friends of mine have recently gone and said that they were surprised that they did not see a single piece of candy the entire time except a small Hershey bar AFTER they did the chocolate making tour.

My guess is they've wised up to food allergies and are no different than any other amusement park. We do go to parks all the time and my son has never had a reaction from rides. The only reaction was from touching a trash can to throw trash away and rubbing his eyes after. (You could wipe down rides if you felt the need.)

I'm a bit like Jennifer on the caution side but at the same time believe in letting our kids live normal lives with precautions.

Best of luck with your decision!
Ruth

My 10 year old son has severe peanut/tree nut allergies, and Hershey is a company we trust very much. I realize they have peanut products, but they use separate machines and are very aware of the peanut/ tree nut allergy. We took a trip to Hershey last year and had a wonderful time at the chocolate factory - absolutely no worries. We were not there to visit the amusement park, so I can't speak for that, but I am extremely cautious of the surroundings for my son and have to say we felt very safe on the factory tour. Whenever we travel, we always have to be aware, but I want him to experience things without being fearful. Good luck and I hope you will have an opportunity to visit Hershey.
Julie

Thank you all for the excellent information!!!!!

MGN,

That is so exciting! Glad you were able to have a good time.

Ironically my husband threw out that we should go there this weekend for a long weekend. We're in MA so it's a 6 plus hour drive and rain in the forecast for today (Sunday) so we didn't go.

But we plan to soon..and with all the great reviews I'll feel better knowing others have had great experiences.

Ruth

I grew up going to Hershey Park and we are planning to take your children this summer. My daughter is PA. I am going to follow our regular "rules" no fingers in mouth, wash hands often, check food items and places they are made, and carry epi pens. I am feeling good about going. They have a lot of peramedics on hand and are close to a hospital. They are also very allergy aware and want kids to enjoy there visit. I am glad to here your trip went well.

This is all great info. We are not too far from Hershey. And they are the only candy that I trust to give my son.

Since you all seem to be in the same general area as me, have any of you been to Dutch Wonderland? We'd like to take our kids there this summer.

I used to work at Dutch Wonderland:) However that was a good number of years ago. My understanding is that they are now owned by the same people who own Hershey Park. It is geared more toward a younger audiance than Hershey. I would suggest giving them a call and seeing what they say. Good Luck!

Never ever ask "should I go there", always ask "what should I do once I am there."

As you can see through being safe and going informed any trip can be a fun and safe trip.

Just got back form Hershey Park. Things were labeled and peanut/nut free food areas were provide. I was pleased to see how many options we had. We also asked at the Hershey Chocolate store about which bars were done in a peanut free factory and the staff provided us with an up to date list. It was a great experience. We will go again.