Your DW Pass at Hersheypark

I was curious to see if my Dutch Wonderland season pass would offer me any benefits once inside Hersheypark...

Dutch Wonderland is no longer owned by the Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company, but there is still some association between the two parks. Both parks offer a Gold Pass as a Season Pass option which entitles the holder to unlimited admission to both The Sweetest Place on Earth and the Kingdom for Kids for a whole calendar year. Beyond that offer, regular season pass holders of Dutch Wonderland can receive $10.00 off a full-day admission to Hersheypark.

We went to Hershey this past week. I had Comp. tickets from last year, but figured it wouldn't hurt to see if my DW pass would allow me any other discounts or benefits once at Hersheypark. It was a hit or miss affair, but mostly hit!

• I received free parking in the Hersheypark parking lot. That's a savings of $12.00!
• We got a discount on lunch at Minetown Restaurant. (I forgot to check exactly what the discount was, but it was considerable.)
• I also got a discount on treats at the Turkey Hill Ice Cream Parlor in the Boardwalk section.
• The only time I was denied a discount was at one of the large gift shops just before you exit through the turnstiles.

Even though the Dutch Wonderland Season Pass Privileges and Guidelines states only the $10.00 discount for tickets, it's obviously worthwhile to bring your DW pass along and just ask. It can't hurt.

Merlin's Restaurant Opens

As we've already mentioned several times, Dutch Wonderland enters the business of full-service restaurants with the debut of Merlin's Restaurant - located inside DW's iconic Wonderland Castle. The new dining facility replaces half of the Castle Gift Shop as well as a portion of the former Castle Cafe. Merlin's offers a slightly more relaxed dining experience than the hustle and bustle of the Mill Stream Eatery. You enter the restaurant through an entrance located next to the Royal Family Photos booth in the front of the park. During construction, it looked as if you would be able to visit the restaurant without admission to the park, but that is not the case.

 Merlin himself now resides at DW. On this particular day, he was pretty much stationed right inside the main entrance all day greeting guests to the park. Merlin will also be part of the park's new reservations only Character Breakfast experience which will be held at Merlin's Restaurant beginning in July.

 A nice overview of the menu, posted outside the restaurant's doors.

 This insane sandwich seems out of place on the menu at a park geared towards 2 to 10 year olds.

 During construction it did not appear that the venue would seat many people, but the actual size of the restaurant should accommodate large crowds with a minimal wait time.

 The layout is comprised of tables and chairs and booths which could easily hold 6 people.

On to the menu...the offerings are an attempt to step up a notch from the normal amusement park food. Their signature dish is the Dragon Fire and Ice. It's a goblet of creamy Mac n' Cheese served with buffalo chicken bites and crumbled blue cheese on top. (They were out of the blue cheese on my visit.) The mac n' cheese was really good and the buffalo bites were tasty as well. They mixed nice together, and I'm sure the blue cheese would have added the Ice to the Fire & Ice. It's kind of a small portion for $10.99, it comes with two sides - I had fries and a garden salad.

 There are had been some preopening hype that Merlin's was to offer Gluten Free menu options...here's the option: A plate of chicken tenders and star shaped tater tots. I believe this was the exact same offering at the Castle Cafe. It's also the most kid friendly choice on the menu, but does not come in a kid meal size - so you'll be paying $9.99 which is a bit high for a child's meal.

A nice touch at the new restaurant is the use of Souvenir cups. Not only do they sell them, but they also honor the 99 cents refill policy of the park. So drinks don't need to set you back three bucks a person.

Overall review: The room has nice atmosphere. It does feel like you are eating in a whimsical medieval castle. Bright colors and interesting lighting fixtures help to sell that story. The menu offers some unique dishes but too unique for kids. In a park geared toward children, ordering off a simple kids menu of staples like pizza, chicken tenders, hot dog, hamburger ect. ect. would make things alot easier for a parent who has had a long day in the park. The upcoming character breakfast should add a nice touch to the park's lineup of experiences.