This should have really been our first clue, but sometimes, my family can be slow.
It's looking suspiciously Nickelodeon here, and yet, we're still clueless...
Can't you just hear the high pitched voices?
Dad and Tracy contemplating the idea of creating their own fun. (In fairness, this is a section of the...place... where they try to part you with your money. In exchange, you can create your own wrappers for your favourite Hershey chocolate things.)
Ah yes, Gabby, Harmony and Olympia. How your haunting song will be stuck in my head FOREVER...
More cows. They followed us. Who knew cows could be stalkers? Singing stalkers.
Fake examples of how they mix chocolates to make their confectionary goodies.
After the chocolate is turned to liquid, it's actually turned into a paste, then dried out, pressed into flat sheets, and rolled til it crumbles. Then they mix it in with more liquid. Guess it concentrates flavour?
The production count for the day.
The colour explosion begins...
Mockup of how kitkats are packaged. It's all rather Willy Wonka, isn't it?
More colour explosions. I was sort of looking for oompa loompas, at this point...
Banners of some of thte many things the Hershey company produces.
Coming out of the singing nightmare, in which I learned absolutely nothing new or interesting about chocolate (thanks, Dad & Tracy), we overlook the store. Part of the store, really. Note the Batman promo'ing upfront.
More store. The green really popped out the primary colours.
I took closeups of a lot of the brown Hershey setup a bit later on, but this is to give you an idea of the scale.
Bright! Shiny! ...what?
This on the other side of the singing cow exhibit, before your limited two pieces of complimentary chocolate, payment for the singing trauma of the cows. I think.
Of course, they sell more than chocolate.
People to offer some sense of scale of the size of all the things in this store.
Got Reese's?
Chocolate is made with milk! Did you know that? Well, the cows want to make sure you do! Gaaaaaaaaah....
I really don't know why it was set up like this, or what it was supposed to be... other than large. Really, really big.
Tins of chocolate.
So remember the overhead pictures, and I mentioned taking closeups? This is on top of a display of syrup that stood taller than I can reach. Each bottle must have easily been the size of your average two year old...
Got chocolate?
Tracy, offering scale for how large these sales areas really are. She's about my height, for those of you who haven't met my sister. (She has a face, too, she just has about the same aversion to being photographed that I do.)
It's a stomach ache waiting to happen!
Giant kisses.
Batman promo chocolate.
On the whole, I thinkk it's good advice. ...what?
Apparently that's the hotel up the hill in the background, behind the Weclome to Hershey thing engraved in the hillside. They have some amazing sounding hotel packages, too... chocolate spa, anyone?
Of COURSE the main street in Hershey, PA is called Chocolate Ave. What were you expecting, Main Street?
The streetlights on Chocolate Ave. Yes, they do alternate wrapped and unwrapped.
The Hershey Factory.
Picturesque, yet still almost Tim Burton-esque. I think it's the shape of the weeping willow in the foreground.
The plants do indeed spell out Hershey Cocoa. One of my cousins thought this whole thing just looked entirely too Willie Wonka for his tastes.
A closeup of the streetlights. A wrapped one, obviously.
Eenie meenie meine moe...
How to create a thriving factory town...
The main cross street. Of course.