Our Final Christmas at Hersheypark

Christmas at Hershey Park
Hershey, PA

We visited Hershey Park during the holiday season in 2008 and 2010 and had a lot of fun on both occasions, so we decided to come back for a third time.

This is going to be our last visit to Hershey Park for Christmas, or any other time of year for that matter.  The prices here have gotten completely out of control, especially when you compare it to the prices at the other amusement parks in the area.  I'm sorry, but Knoebels is not only much more affordable, but it's the superior amusement park in almost every way.  The only thing I'd give Hershey Park the edge on is that it has a retro arcade that I'm going to discuss in a separate post, but if that's your main reason for coming, you'd be better off going to the Timeline Arcade in Hanover which is much less expensive and has about ten times more games.

It is what it is though.  I've got a lot of happy memories at Hershey Park, both from my childhood and as an adult, but unless they make a lot of major changes (and I don't expect that they will), this is a place that I can cross off of my list.

Steamrolling Toward The Holidays

Mannheim Steamroller
FM Kirby Center - Wilkes-Barre, PA

In Vino Video

Mahoning Winefest
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
The final event of the 2025 season on the lot took place this afternoon with the first annual Mahoning Wine Fest.

Each of the guests received a Mahoning Wine Fest glass to taste the many offerings from winemakers who vended at the event.

 

The event was very well attended.  I spent most of it hanging out with friends and gathering purchases from the vendor tables to bring up to the pickup station next to the concession building.

I'm not much of a drinker, but I had to pick up a couple bottles of the official Mahoning Drive-In Theater wine from Blue Mountain Vineyards: Moonlit Marquee.

I'm sticking pretty close to my diet until I get down to 160 lbs, but there was no way that I was going to pass up the Bacon On A Stick stand without trying some.

 

There was also live music from Jeremiah Tall to accompany the festivities on the lawn under the big screen.  This was his second time performing at the Mahoning in 2025 following his appearance at Wayne Stock earlier this season.  There was also a movie on the big screen after the vendors wrapped up for the day, but I had to head out before it began.

Under 200

As of today, I am under 200 pounds for the first time in a long time; probably about ten years, if not longer.

Dad and I

The Godfather Of Gore

Fulci Fest
The Gap Theatre - Wind Gap, PA
Friday and Saturday was a celebration of the Italian Godfather Of Gore at The Gap Theatre.

Friday November 7th, 2026

Movie #1: The Gates Of Hell (1980)

Movie #2: The House By The Cemetery (1981)

Movie #3: Murder Rock (1984)

Saturday November 8th, 2026

Movie #4: Lizard In A Woman's Skin (1971)

Movie #5: Don't Torture A Duckling (1972)

Movie #6: The Psychic (1977)

Movie #7: Zombi 2 (1979)

Movie #8: The Beyond (1981)

Movie #9: Zombi 3 (1988)

Movie #10: A Cat In The Brain (1990)

I had every intention of writing up a short review for each of these movies, but I've fallen so far behind on posting here that I just want to get the photos up.  The short version is that I enjoyed all of the films except for A Cat In The Brain, which I wasn't too crazy about.  I'll come back and update this post later with some more details.

The Best Season Finale Ever

First Annual Dusk To Dawn Scare-A-Thon
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
Halloween 2025 just entered my top five favorite nights spent on the lot at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater.

The first annual Dusk-To-Dawn Scare-A-Thon was a marathon of five horror movies that began on Halloween night and continued to the sun coming up on the morning of November 1st.  There were five movies, the first four of which were screened from 35mm.

Here's the catch: All of the titles were a surprise.  No hints.  No clues.  No inside information.  You just show up and let it ride.

It was so windy in the hours prior to gates opening at 6:00 that one of the port-a-potty stalls had blown out into the road.  I'm just glad it didn't top over.  Unfortunately, these damn pumpkins on the photo op stage weren't as cooperative.  Each pumpkin was a separate piece that locked together, but they were pretty lightweight.  They blew over a few times, and the top center pumpkin kept coming loose.  We must have fixed them at least half a dozen times.

 

Mark wasn't sure how well this show would do because there's so many other things happening on Halloween night.  I'm pleased to say that we were absolutely slammed.

These pictures were taken by Sergio.  He took the one of the cars waiting in line too.  I try to remember to give credit where credit is due on here.  Generally speaking, if you see any photos on here of the Mahoning or any other theater that looks good enough to appear in a magazine, you can bet that it's one of his.

I worked the front gate with Dave and Donnie and we were scanning and selling tickets straight up to showtime.  It's a pretty safe bet that this will become an annual event.

I'm going to miss these folks over the winter.  I've never been much of a social guy before coming to the Mahoning, but I've met so many awesome people and made more friends on this lot in five years than I have in the rest of my adult life.  This truly is a special place.

You're welcome to tell me or anyone else on the staff that the temperature is not to your liking, but I'm not really sure what we could do for you.  Maybe a hug or a pocket burger?

I sat outside for the first movie but it was just too damn cold.  My little Mazda 3 turned into a cozy blanket and pillow fort for the rest of the night after that.

Here are the movies.  I'm going to come back in here later on and add a short review for each of them, but I've been falling so far behind in keeping up with posting on this thing, so I wanted to at least get the names of the movies and the photos of the title cards up.

 

Movie #1:  Mausoleum (1983)

Movie #2:  Black Christmas (1974)

Movie #3:  Nightmare (1981)

Movie #4:  The Children (1980)

 

Movie #5:  Pin (1988)

Sunrise held off just long enough to finish the final movie.

Johnny, Wes, Wayne, and I were among the survivors who made it to sunrise.  In addition to seeing five great horror flicks to close out the 2025 season, we were given golden commemorative tickets.

 

There were a lot more people who made it through the entire night than I was expecting.  I thought there would be a dozen people or maybe twenty at the most, but I'm pretty sure there were over a hundred.  It was a great night, and the start of a new tradition that will make Halloween night incredible for years to come.