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Hershey Media Report 6/23/17
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Hersheypark unhappy: Park owner fights federal lawsuit by patron who shattered her ankle
Jun 20, 2017 | Penn Live
By Matt Miller
Denise Spicuzzo wasn't injured on one of the high-energy rides at Hersheypark. She didn't get that far. -
Could a big expansion of Hersheypark be coming?
Jun 23, 2017 | Penn Live
By Barbara Miller
Plans are afoot for what could be a major expansion of Hersheypark. "We are currently working through various concepts both internally and with a retained theme park master planning consultant," said Garrett Galllia, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts spokesman, in an emailed response to questions about future possible expansion on the former Parkview Golf Course land. -
Hersheypark may be eyeing expansion
Jun 21, 2017 | Lancaster Online
An amusement park in “the sweetest place on earth” may be getting a little larger. PennLive is reporting that Hersheypark may be in the early stages of planning expansion onto the former Parkview Golf Course property which it owns. Former pool and ballroom sites to the west also would be affected. -
New Jersey Woman Sues Hersheypark After Falling During Photo Op
Jun 22, 2017 | Peta Pixel
By Will Nichols
A 42-year-old woman from New Jersey is suing the popular theme park Hersheypark after she fell from a watercraft while posing for a picture at a photo op spot. -
Hersheypark asks for dismissal of lawsuit filed by woman injured in fall off waterpark display
Jun 20, 2017 | Fox 43
By Keith Schweigert
Hersheypark’s ownership group is asking the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey woman who was injured in a slip at the park in 2015, according to Pennlive.com. -
N.J. woman sues HersheyPark over photo op fall that led to broken ankle
Jun 20, 2017 | NJ.com
By Jeff Goldman
A New Jersey woman who seriously injured her ankle when she fell off a personal watercraft display after posing for a photo at a HersheyPark has filed a negligence suit against the park. -
Central PA Live Video Clip
Jun 23, 2017 | WTAJ-CBS (Johnstown, PA)
View Clip Here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27947850?token=afb89c0a-e7fe-4744-bc53-34f3f86bc2cd -
ABC27 News at 6 Video Clip
Jun 21, 2017 | WHTM-ABC (Harrisburg, PA)
View Clip Here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27947876?token=afb89c0a-e7fe-4744-bc53-34f3f86bc2cd -
Eyewitness News at Noon Video Clip
Jun 23, 2017 | WYOU-CBS (Wilkes Barre, PA)
View Clip Here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27947893?token=afb89c0a-e7fe-4744-bc53-34f3f86bc2cd
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Hersheypark unhappy: Park owner fights federal lawsuit by patron who shattered her ankle
Jun 20, 2017 | Penn Live
By Matt Miller
Denise Spicuzzo wasn't injured on one of the high-energy rides at Hersheypark.
She didn't get that far.
Instead, the New Jersey woman claims she shattered her ankle while dismounting from a wave runner on static display at the park's Shoreline Sprayground area in June 2015.
She is asking a federal judge to award her more than $75,000 in damages for that painful mishap.
This week, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co. fired back by urging U.S. Middle District Senior Judge Sylvia H. Rambo to deep six Spicuzzo's lawsuit.
Spicuzzo claims in her complaint that she was on a family outing when she came across the display featuring the wave runner - a cross between a motorcycle and a small boat - while heading to the park's water rides.
She decided to get on the immobilized wave runner, which was in front of an aquatic backdrop on the boardwalk, to have a picture taken with her sons. The foot well of the machine was filled with water, however. Spicuzzo claims her wet foot slipped on the side of the wave runner while she was trying to get off and she slipped and shattered her ankle.
So instead of a day at the park she ended up in a hospital in need of surgery.
She contends that Hershey Entertainment officials are responsible for her injuries because they didn't make sure the wave runner display was dry and safe.
In answering the suit and seeking its dismissal, the park owner claims, among other things, that the wave runner display was "reasonably safe" and that Spicuzzo was injured because of her own "comparative negligence."
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Could a big expansion of Hersheypark be coming?
Jun 23, 2017 | Penn Live
By Barbara Miller
Plans are afoot for what could be a major expansion of Hersheypark.
"We are currently working through various concepts both internally and with a retained theme park master planning consultant," said Garrett Galllia, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts spokesman, in an emailed response to questions about future possible expansion on the former Parkview Golf Course land.
Now that the Park Boulevard realignment bordering Hersheypark was completed last fall, Hershey Entertainment could look toward expansion on the land remaining from the former Parkview Golf Course property which it owns, along with former pool and ballroom sites.
"I would characterize our planning process as being more towards the beginning than the end - with any actual master planning development being years off in the future," Gallia said.
"As you can imagine, a lot of ideas come and go as part of this process - so there's nothing that we are really able to report as being 'final' at this point," he said.
Hershey Entertainment donated about $9 million worth of land for the Park Boulevard realignment.
Derry Township's winter 2016 newsletter said the road relocation will allow Hersheypark "to expand west to the old swimming pool and ballroom area to develop approximately 38 acres."
The park now totals about 121 acres, said Kathy Burrows, Hersheypark spokeswoman, including the 11-acre ZooAmerica.
Officials said the expansion will generate additional jobs, help attract more tourists, generate more income and amusement taxes, and create more business for hotels, restaurants and retail establishments.
"What really drove the state to participate in funding the project was not that Derry Township had a problem. What drove it was the fact that Hershey Entertainment & Resorts was gaining approximately 38 acres of new land for the Hersheypark expansion. From the state's viewpoint, that was important," said former state Rep. John Payne.
No plans for park expansion have been submitted yet to Derry Township planning commission or supervisors, said Chuck Emerick, township community development director.
Last fall the 5,807-foot Park Boulevard realignment - a project that has been in the works for 10 years - was completed.
The realignment of Park Boulevard takes away a barrier between the park and the former golf course, pool and ballroom land.
The realignment was from the Hershey Entertainment complex entrance on West Derry Road to Ridge Road, and also included a new bridge over Spring Creek, widening of Park Boulevard from Ridge Road to Park Avenue, and a new shared-use sidewalk.
Hershey Entertainment donated about $9 million worth of land for the realignment, and the remaining $9.7 million came from local, state and federal funds.
In the project, the 60-foot bridge over Spring Creek, which was deemed structurally deficient, was replaced with a new 126-foot bridge. In addition, Park Boulevard had poor sight and stopping distances for drivers, authorities said.
Hershey Entertainment closed the Parkview Golf Course in 2005. It bought back the two Hershey Country Club courses and Parkview in 2002 from American Golf, to which it had sold them in 1994.
About 35 of the 130-acre Parkview Golf Course was used to expand the Giant Center parking area about 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, Hersheypark isn't yet saying what it has in store for visitors next year.
"It's a double tip-top secret," Burrows said. Teasers and Information on new rides is posted on the park's Facebook page, she said.
This year the Hershey Triple Tower was added, and Laff Trakk was added in 2015.
In 2014, three new family-oriented rides were added: Cocoa Cruiser in Music Box Way, Tea Cups and Sweet Swing in the Hollow area.
Hersheypark added Shoreline Sprayground in 2013, and in 2012, Skyrush, billed as the park's tallest and fastest coaster.
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Hersheypark may be eyeing expansion
Jun 21, 2017 | Lancaster Online
An amusement park in “the sweetest place on earth” may be getting a little larger.
PennLive is reporting that Hersheypark may be in the early stages of planning expansion onto the former Parkview Golf Course property which it owns. Former pool and ballroom sites to the west also would be affected.
“I would characterize our planning process as being more towards the beginning than the end — with any actual master planning development being years off in the future,” Hershey Entertainment & Resorts spokesman Garrett Gallia told PennLive in an email.
Any expansion would be made possible by the recent realignment of Park Boulevard. That work removed a barrier between the park and the former golf course.
Hershey had closed the golf course in 2005, and used part of that property to expand the Giant Center’s parking area. About 95 acres of former golf course remain.
Counting ZooAmerica, Hersheypark now covers about 121 acres, according to Hersheypark spokeswoman Kathy Burrows.
Chuck Emerick, Derry Township community development director, told PennLive that no park expansion plans have been submitted yet. But Gallia said that a theme park master planning consultant has been retained.
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New Jersey Woman Sues Hersheypark After Falling During Photo Op
Jun 22, 2017 | Peta Pixel
By Will Nichols
A 42-year-old woman from New Jersey is suing the popular theme park Hersheypark after she fell from a watercraft while posing for a picture at a photo op spot.
NJ.com reports that Denise Spicuzzo and her family arrived at the park on the June 15th, 2015, and the group stopped to take a photo with the personal watercraft used as a static display at the park for photo ops.
The lawsuit states that visitors are “encouraged” to sit and pose for photos on the watercraft in front of a aquatic backdrop by park officials. The incident occurred when she climbed down from the watercraft, slipping on an area with no slip-proof material.
The 42-year old suffered a fractured ankle which required surgery 3 days after the event. She claims to now be permanently limited by the injury, which caused surgeons to insert a plate into her ankle.
Spicuzzo claims to have also suffered from “humiliation, embarrassment, mental anguish and psychological trauma” because of the injury. She’s now asking a federal judge to award her over $75,000 for damages, PennLive reports.
The lawsuit perhaps seems farfetched, but her attorneys say that the park’s managers failed to properly maintain and inspect the display. The suit also states that the park failed to warn visitors of the dangers posed by the immobilized watercraft.
This week, the park’s owner, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co., asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the photo op display is “reasonably safe” and that the woman broke her ankle due to her own “comparative negligence.”
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Hersheypark asks for dismissal of lawsuit filed by woman injured in fall off waterpark display
Jun 20, 2017 | Fox 43
By Keith Schweigert
Hersheypark’s ownership group is asking the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey woman who was injured in a slip at the park in 2015, according to Pennlive.com.
Denise Spicuzzo is asking a federal judge to award her more than $75,000 in damages for a fall that shattered her ankle. She claims she was injured while dismounting from a wave runner on display at the park’s Shoreline Sprayground area.
But Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co. is asking U.S. Middle District Senior Judge Sylvia H. Rambo to dismiss the lawsuit.
Spicuzzo claims in her lawsuit that she was visiting the park with her family when she saw a display featuring the wave runner — a cross between a motorcycle and a small boat — near the park’s water rides.
She decided to get on the immobilized wave runner, which was mounted in front of an aquatic backdrop on the boardwalk, to have her picture taken. The foot well of the machine was filled with water, Spicuzzo says. She claims that when she was trying to get off of the display, her wet foot slipped on the side of the wave runner, causing her to fall and suffer the injury to her ankle.
The injury required surgery, Spicuzzo says.
She says in her lawsuit that Hershey Entertainment officials are responsible for her injuries because they didn’t make sure the wave runner display was dry and safe.
In answering the suit and seeking its dismissal, the park owner claims, among other things, that the wave runner display was “reasonably safe” and that Spicuzzo was injured because of her own “comparative negligence.”
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N.J. woman sues HersheyPark over photo op fall that led to broken ankle
Jun 20, 2017 | NJ.com
By Jeff Goldman
A New Jersey woman who seriously injured her ankle when she fell off a personal watercraft display after posing for a photo at a HersheyPark has filed a negligence suit against the park.
Shortly after Denise Spicuzzo, of Spotswood, and her family arrived at the amusement park on June 15, 2015, she and her sons stopped to take a photo with the personal watercraft, according to a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month in Harrisburg. Visitors are encouraged by park officials to sit on the watercraft and take photos, the suit says.
Spicuzzo climbed aboard the immobilized watercraft and her right foot got wet after placing it in a footwell where water had pooled, the suit said.
When she attempted to dismount, Spicuzzo lost her balance and fell after she placed her foot on the side of the display, which had no slip resistance, the suit said.
The then 42-year-old was brought to Hershey Medical Center and underwent surgery three days later to repair a fractured ankle, the suit said.
Surgeons inserted a screw and a plate into her ankle. Spicuzzo said she is permanently limited and still has difficulty walking as a result of the ankle fracture. She also suffered from humiliation, embarrassment, mental anguish and psychological trauma from the injury, the suit said.
Her attorneys say HersheyPark failed to properly maintain and inspect the display. Filed June 5, the suit also alleges the park didn't warn of the display's dangers. Spicuzzo's husband, Charles Spicuzzo is also listed as a plaintiff.
On Monday, HersheyPark asked for the suit to be tossed, arguing the display was safe and that Spicuzzo's "comparative negligence" caused her to get hurt.
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Jun 23, 2017 | WTAJ-CBS (Johnstown, PA)
View Clip Here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27947850?token=afb89c0a-e7fe-4744-bc53-34f3f86bc2cd
Rough Transcript: all right. there is still more to come, 4:39 PMincluding this hershey park known as sweetest place on earth. and the company owns the amusement park, they are considering an expansion. let's look at what they have in store. >> more visitors. 12-year-old patrick. >> i go every week. >> loves hershey park. >> i like big rides. >> he is excited because hershey park entertainment and resort released a statement wednesday saying they are in beginning stages of planning new developments on approximately 35 acres of nearby land. no word on exact details as development is years away. kids are hopeful. >> cool if they added more roller coasters. >> i want them to put more big rides in. like more taller ones. >> more lines, more people. >> lines will be long. >> welcome to -- have i ever been here. >> local businesses. >> we have vanilla with oreo and hot fudge. >> they are excited. >> buzz is we will be bringing more tourists and more people into the local area. >> they say the negative. >> obviously additional traffic that we will have. >> are minor compared to positive. >> additional jobs to local kids. rez tire res and people looking for full-time employment. >> cannot wait to see what hershey park has in store. hershey park said expansion and development is a few years down the road but they appreciate the community's enthusiasm
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Jun 21, 2017 | WHTM-ABC (Harrisburg, PA)
View Clip Here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27947876?token=afb89c0a-e7fe-4744-bc53-34f3f86bc2cd
Rough Transcript: >> dennis: the sweetest place on earth about to get sweeter for hershey park enthusiasts. The park plans to expand. >> reporter: the expansion means more visitors to hershey theme parks and more visitors to local businesses. 12-year-old patrick. >> i go every week. i like to ride the big rides like sky rush and storm runner. >> reporter: he is excited because hershey park entertainment and resorts released a statement wednesday saying they are in the beginning stages of planning new developments on approximately 35 acres of nearby land. no word on exact details as development is years away. but kids are hopeful. >> it would be cool if they added more of the rollercoasters that you have your feet dangling. >> i want them to put more big rides in like more taller ones. >> reporter: more lines, more people. >> the wait times are going to be very long. >> welcome to ducktown. have you been here before. >> local businesss. >> we have the vanilla with oreos and a hot funnel drizzle. >> are excited. >> the buzz is we will bring more tourists and people into the local area. >> reporter: the negative. >> the additional traffic that will happen. >> reporter: are minor compared to the positive. >> providing jobs and people looking for full-time employment. >> reporter: and can't wait to see what hershey park has in store. >> there you go. see you. >> reporter: hershey park says this expansion and development is a few years down the road, but they appreciate the community's enthusiasm.
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Eyewitness News at Noon Video Clip
Jun 23, 2017 | WYOU-CBS (Wilkes Barre, PA)
View Clip Here: https://app.criticalmention.com/app/#clip/view/27947893?token=afb89c0a-e7fe-4744-bc53-34f3f86bc2cd
Rough Transcript: ((kell) in other news from across the commonwealth. the sweetest place on earth is going to get even sweeter, hershey plans to expand it's amusement park. park officials are in the beginning stages of planning new developments on 35 acres of land. we won't know more specifics on the plans for a few years.
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