I can clearly remember coming home from school 20+ years ago and telling my dad I had the worst day in the world and hated school. He packed me up in our van and took me for a surprise trip to Adventure Sports where we spent the evening getting over my bad day and made some really great memories. He was a fantastic go-kart driver and taught me to drive a go-kart for the very first time that evening. I can vividly remember the thrill of getting behind the wheel and how much fun it was to whip around the corners and try to pass the other drivers. The arcade had a game where you had to smack the button when the light passed over the jackpot - I won that game twice in that day and felt like the luckiest kid alive. My dad has since passed away, but I'll always hold that evening of go-karts and arcade games dear to my heart.
When I found out my son and I would be visiting Adventure Sports in Hershey during our weekend trip to celebrate his 10th birthday I was really excited to share with him somewhere that I loved as a kid and have such wonderful memories of. My son is a pretty adventurous and thrill-seeking kid, so the bumper boats, outdoor laser tag, batting cages, arcade, go-karts and more were right up his alley. He comes by his love of go-karts honestly, both my husband and I are huge fans and have been taking our kids in go-karts as soon as they pass the height requirements. The track at Adventure Sports is probably one of the top three go-kart tracks we've ever done. It has plenty of corners, is pretty long for each lap, your ride lasts 5 minutes and it has plenty of room for cars to stretch out and not be all bunched up on each other. Cole has already made me promise to come back as soon as he crosses the height limit so he can learn to drive go-karts here.
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Cole did the bumper boats with a bunch of our friends and found it really easy to drive on his own and had a blast. The pool the boats are in isn't terribly large, but it's still plenty large to be able to maneuver your boat away from someone spraying you with water. I really like that the boats are easy enough for kids to be able to drive on their own so they don't feel like babies by having to be in the boat with an adult, but the kids are plenty safe on their own because any bumping is pretty gentle and won't jostle them around too much.
We've seen indoor laser tag around, but it has never been something that was on Cole's "must do" list when we go places. He decided he wanted to give the three-acre outdoor course at Adventure Sports a try with our friends and is now hooked. I'm kind of worried that their course was so big, well maintained and offered plenty of bridges and hiding spots that he is now spoiled for participating in laser tag anywhere else. Our group ended up doing moms vs. kids, which the moms won!, and found the course to be big enough for everyone to maneuver, hide and find the other team without feeling like we were on top of each other. I was really impressed with how well the game was run, the quality of the headgear and weapons and the helpfulness of the staff.
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While the arcade isn't huge, it's big enough to have some of our very favorite games and let your kids go on their own from game to game without a huge fear of them getting lost in the arcade. Cole and I both enjoyed the variety of games, how well the games were maintained and the quality of prizes. He ended up leaving with a pretty nice kickball and a bag pretty full of candy and was as happy as could be.
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Before we left we had to squeeze in a couple of rounds in the batting cages. Cole was impressed with how accurate the pitching machines were and loved that they offer different speeds and both baseball and softball. The quality of the batting helmets and bats provided was pretty good and had plenty of kid-sized helmets to fit all the kids in our group taking turns in the cages. Some of our parents even got in there for a few swings and enjoyed it.
We spent a couple of hours at Adventure Sports in Hershey and didn't even manage to do all of the activities offered. Cole has made me promise to bring his siblings and dad back to try out the mini golf since the course looked so well maintained and fun. The ice cream parlor near the arcade ticket counter offers a fantastic selection of ice cream and toppings and is the best way to end your day at Adventure Sports in Hershey. We really loved our time at Adventure Sports and can't wait to come back for a visit soon. CLICK HERE to find out more about the attractions and fun waiting for your family at Adventure Sports in Hershey.
My son and I were guests of Visit Hershey & Harrisburg and were hosted to help facilitate this review. All thoughts, opinions and good times are our own and were not influenced upon.
