Hershey's Chocolate World is an area unto itself w...

Hershey's Chocolate World is an area unto itself within Hershey Park.

At the chocolate world, you can take a tour of the "factory" (in quotes because it's not really a factory), create your own candy bar, do the tasting experience, watch the "4D Chocolate Mystery" movie, and grab some stuff at the food court.

The actual tour itself is free, more like slow ride through the factory like you'd find in Disney World or some such. It's a nice distraction and take about 20 to 30 minutes to get through.

Creating your own candy bar is nice, as is the tasting experience. Personally, I could take or leave the 4d movie experience, but my kids enjoyed it. Please note that these experiences are *definitely* not free.

Which brings us to the food court, bakery, and candy store. The food court was ridiculously overpriced in my opinion for what you received. The workers and attendees merely went through the motions, and definitely seemed to not care about their jobs or the customers (with the exception of two employees who definitely went above what was required). The pulled pork sandwich which I got was 11.95, and was only slightly more than what you'd get at a church picnic or backyard BBQ. Seriously. The bakery was not quite as bad as far as prices, but it was close.

The final stop was the candy store and gift shop. The gift shop definitely contain some items unique to Hershey. Candy, however, was not one of them. While there were some good deals on the day that we were there, you could do much better by going to your local Walmart and getting the candy there. As far as trinkets and knick-knacks go, magnets, keychains, stuffed animals, etc., they're about standard in price and quality when compared with other theme parks, gift shops, etc. The place was also packed to the hilt. My wife remarked that the place was a madhouse. She was one to the mark. Definitely hold on to young children when you're there, lest they disappear into the maddening crowd.

I would advise doing this experience with a Groupon, or coupon from local travel guides, etc. It's a nice experience, but the prices and crowds ding it one full star.