HERSHEY, DAUPHIN CO. (WOLF) \u2014 Headlines circulating online have some Pennsylvania amusement park fans wondering whether Hersheypark is shutting down for good.<\/p>\n
It isn’t.<\/p>\n
Hersheypark remains open and has operating dates scheduled throughout the remainder of 2026. The confusion follows online headlines about a permanent closure at the park, prompting USA TODAY Network to examine the claims and clarify what is actually happening.<\/p>\n
The park itself is not permanently closing. Hersheypark’s regular summer operating season ended September 7, a normal seasonal transition on its annual calendar. Hersheypark’s official website lists additional operating seasons through the fall and holiday period.<\/p>\n
What is actually closing?<\/p>\n
The permanent closure generating attention involves Tidal Force, not Hersheypark.<\/p>\n
The longtime water ride ended operations after the summer season. Tidal Force had been a Hersheypark attraction for more than three decades.<\/p>\n
The distinction between the closure of an individual attraction and the seasonal end of daily summer operations appears to have contributed to the online confusion.<\/p>\n
Hersheypark reopens this weekend<\/p>\n
Visitors won’t have to wait long for the park’s next season.<\/p>\n
Hersheypark Halloween and Dark Nights begin September 12 and run on selected dates through November 1.<\/p>\n
Hersheypark says its Halloween admission includes access to 13 roller coasters, more than 40 family rides, five haunted houses and five scare zones, along with ZooAmerica.<\/p>\n
After the Halloween season, Hersheypark’s operating calendar lists its annual Christmas Candylane season extending from November into January.<\/p>\n
The park’s own FAQ also states Hersheypark is operating on selected dates during its 2026 season, which began in April.<\/p>\n
So despite the attention-grabbing headlines, the answer is straightforward:<\/p>\n
Hersheypark is not closing permanently. Its summer season has ended, one longtime attraction has been retired, and the park’s fall season begins this weekend.<\/p>\n
FOX56 independently reviewed Hersheypark’s current operating calendar and park information after USA TODAY Network reported on the online confusion surrounding claims that Hersheypark was closing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HERSHEY, DAUPHIN CO. (WOLF) \u2014 Headlines circulating online have some Pennsylvania amusement park fans wondering whether Hersheypark is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-282416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}