Hershey launches Memorial Day guide

Memorial Day travel guides are usually fluff. This one is more like a booking prompt. Hershey Entertainment & Resorts just rolled out a 2026 Memorial Day weekend guide for Hershey, Pennsylvania, and the real point is simple — get families to treat the holiday as a multi-day summer kickoff, not a single park day. The timing matters because several pieces of the destination’s summer lineup switch on at once over that weekend. ### What actually launched? Hershey’s tourism arm published “7 Ways To Celebrate Memorial Day Weekend 2026 in Hershey, PA” on May 4. It packages the weekend into a menu of things families can stack together — Hersheypark rides, The Boardwalk water park, resort pool time, dining, spa stops, gardens, the museum, and live entertainment around town. That sounds obvious, but it’s a different pitch from “come ride coasters.” It’s “come fill three days.” ### Why now? Because the calendar finally lines up. Hersheypark shifts to daily operations starting May 21. The Boardwalk water park opens May 23 and runs through Sept. 7. Hershey’s official resorts also open their outdoor pools for the season over Memorial Day weekend, weather permitting. So the guide lands right before the destination can honestly say the full summer product is live. ### What’s in the guide besides rides? A lot of it is about widening the trip. The itinerary pushes families toward Hershey Gardens, The Hershey Story Museum, Chocolate World, shopping and downtown dining, plus resort time at The Hotel Hershey, Hershey Lodge, and the camping resort. That matters because weather, age mix, and stamina can wreck a park-only plan fast. Hershey is basically selling backup options as part of the vacation. ### Why emphasize the water park so much? Because it’s the clearest seasonal unlock. The Boardwalk is an 11-acre water park inside Hersheypark, included with admission, and this year Hershey is also touting two new water play areas for the 2026 season. For a family deciding whether a holiday trip feels “summer enough,” that’s a stronger hook than just saying the coasters are open. It turns a spring amusement-park visit into a summer trip on cue. ### Is there anything else special that weekend? Yes — Hershey is also using Memorial Day weekend as the front edge of its America 250 summer programming. The broader May events push includes fireworks presented by HERSHEY’S on May 23, with a new patriotic show starting May 29 and themed food and character overlays rolling into summer. So the guide is doing double duty: holiday planner and on-ramp to a larger seasonal campaign. ### Why does this matter for travelers? Because holiday trips get harder and pricier when people wait. Last year AAA projected a record 45.1 million Memorial Day travelers, up 1.4 million from the year before, with most of them driving. Even without a fresh 2026 national forecast in hand yet, that backdrop explains the strategy — destination guides like this nudge families to lock rooms, tickets, and meal plans before the holiday crunch. ### So what is Hershey really selling? Not just Hersheypark. A contained family getaway within a few square miles. The park is still the anchor, but the guide keeps pointing to the resorts, pools, restaurants, museum, gardens, and town events because that mix raises the odds of an overnight stay — and probably a longer one. The recent push for a $99 Summer Fun Card and resort packages fits the same logic. ### Bottom line? Hershey’s Memorial Day guide is really a summer-launch play. The company is bundling park operations, water attractions, resort amenities, and holiday programming into one easy decision: come now, stay longer, and let Memorial Day be the start of summer.