The Continuity of Hershey's Chocolate World

 In episode 94 of I Hate Talking, the hosts center their discussion on the word “continuity.” They define it both as the unbroken, consistent existence of something over time and, more specifically, as the careful maintenance of consistent details in films and shows so that scenes flow smoothly. Using their own multiple false starts recording this episode as a jumping-off point, they joke about editing to preserve continuity, talk about how continuity errors (like moving props or reversed doorknobs) can pull viewers out of a story, and contrast one host’s obsession with detail against the other’s tendency to half‑watch TV while doing other things.

The second half of the episode continues their travel‑review mini‑series with a visit to Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania. They describe it as a free, family‑friendly attraction next to Hershey Park, featuring a ride‑through simulation of the chocolate‑making process, iconic singing cows, and complimentary candy samples at the end. They reminisce about earlier years when full‑size bars were handed out, explain the add‑on experiences like making your own custom chocolate bar or seeing a 3D show, and rave about the unique chocolate flavors and hot chocolate available only on site. While you could easily spend more on extras and souvenirs, they recommend Chocolate World as a worthwhile 1–2 hour stop for anyone already in the area—and a sweet example of nostalgic continuity in their own lives.

Keywords: continuity, continuity definition, film continuity, continuity errors, editing, Stranger Things doorknob, The Office mockumentary style, Hershey’s Chocolate World, Hershey Park, free chocolate ride, singing cows, custom candy bars, specialty Hershey flavors, family travel, I Hate Talking podcast.

Transcript

I Hate Talking: 0:29

Welcome to episode 94 of I Hate Talking. -- Hi -- everyone. So, we do use editing in our podcast. Yeah, somewhat, wouldn't, you wouldn't know, but we started this 3 times already. That's true, through the power of editing, and that preserves our continuity. Yes. And that is our word or phrase of the episode, continuity, continuity, OK. I mean, it's not that difficult of a word, but it sounds pretty cool. Yeah, it's a good word, continuity. Because it just means to continue something. So that something is continuous. I like, yeah, keep the continuity versus keep it the same. One sounds much more elevated. Yes. Elevated Oh, what did I say, Ron? Well, it's elevated, but there's probably a better word, but I, now I can't even think of a better word. You elevate the conversation by saying continuity instead of the same. Yes, that is true. What you could say instead of elevated is Sesquip I don't even know how to pronounce it. SES. Let's see if I can. -- Can -- I guess what it says? I see your paper. You're googling something right now. Let me see it. Is it sesqui? Yeah, -- but -- this would be our word for next time. Oh, sorry, never mind. What you could say instead of elevated is sesquipedelian sesquialian. Yes, that will be our word or phrase of the episode next time, -- I -- suppose. OK, is that the same thing as continuity though? No, it has nothing to do with continuity. OK, I thought that was like another term you were looking up for continuity. So let's define continuity. We've said that it's already something that is continuous, that is going to Continue on, but according to our favorite Oxford language dictionary, it says it is a noun consisting of two main definitions, and the first definition being the unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over a period of time. And then number 2, the maintenance of continuous action and self-consistent detail in the various scenes of a movie or broadcast. So, that's more what we're going for with how we're using it because we are creating continuity by editing our podcast. Yeah, you know what I, the job I'd be horrible at would be a continuity person. They're like for TV shows they have them. Good thing that I mean you could have gotten hired for Stranger Things then. I guess so. If you're not good at it, then they, that's what they were looking for. Well, there's like people that their job is to make sure like for take 2 and 3 and 4 that you're holding the cup the same way, the same much, the same fluid in it, the same, you know, your legs across the same way. Like they're so detailed about it. It's amazing, cause I can't do that. That's true. I would probably be somewhat good at that. I feel like I would have a good eye for the continuity in terms of making sure that things are consistent from take to take or even from picture to picture like we did for your throwback photo that you did with your siblings. I was thinking about that. We had you intentionally take the photo because we knew you'd be good at it. Right, Everybody was looking at the camera and I was like, no, nobody is looking at the camera in the old photo. You need to look over here. I don't know what in the real photo we were looking at, but yeah, -- y'all probably -- some like. -- Probably -- my mom or something. No, it's probably that that was the, that was the age of the photographer in like the time where they would use like. Stuff to distract you, right? To get you to smile or something. Look over at Elmo. Yeah, exactly, yeah, yeah, so there's a photo that Haines in my family, my parents' house. For the last nearly 30 years at least, and it's me and my siblings, and it's a cute photo. Uh, it's very 90s of its era, all matching handmade dresses, all that. Uh, it's very sweet that my mom took the time to do all that. So my siblings and I got together and we said that'd be really fun to recreate that. So we tried to get matching clothes and recreate it the best we could and one of our siblings is so tall now and he was one of the younger ones at the time, so we were debating like should we have him stoop. Or is it funny that he's like so much taller than everyone else, so we opted for the let him be his height now. Versus making him kneel or something. So the proportions are definitely off cause we're like sitting and he's standing, but he's like. Half the size Taller than us, but you did a good job making sure that we were looking the same way and facing the same direction. That's true. That's what continuity is all about. Do you enjoy continuity? I Require continuity, yes. And even it's bothering me that we haven't talked about the etymology because that would be continuity of our episode in terms of how we have a word or phrase and we defined it and we did the two definitions and now we need to talk about the etymology that is part of the continuity. -- I'm -- sorry to mess up the continuity. No worries, but you were the one that started the conversation about my siblings. That's true. I did. -- So -- you broke I broke the continuity, but I'm bringing us back. All right, that's what you're good at. -- Let's -- do it. So the continuity in terms of the origin is from Latin. Continuous. Continuity and continuitis. And it went through, it looks almost at the same time, Old English and French. And basically became used in the late Middle English as continuity, which means continue or continuous. OK, so, very similar though the whole time. Yes, it does. And it is specifically used within more of the modern day in terms of the film or stories where there are continuity within plot and character lines or scene to scene smooth smoothness as it were. As you were mentioning, making sure that people's legs are crossed the same from take to take so that there are no continuity errors. Do you, does that bother you when you're watching a show, maybe? Uh, characters. The cup is on the table, and then the next thing they're holding it, and then the next scene is on the table again. If it's something that is very, very obvious, then yes, it will bother me. If it's something like Less obvious where. It's not quite as abrupt. And it doesn't remove you from the enjoyment or entertainment of the particular show or movie, then it's not that big of a deal. But I think that if it is in any way, remove you from sort of the experience, then that is a significant continuity error and is an issue. I think continuity people might really like people like me. Because I never watch a show or very rarely actually pay attention to it. I'm always doing something else and treat most things I watch as if it was like audio only. And even if I'm watching, I'm still thinking about other stuff or doing other stuff, so I don't pay attention. So, I never catch continuity errors unless someone points them out first, and then I'll see them. That's true. I mean, one of my favorite movies actually has a lot of continuity errors. The Matrix Oh really? It does, yes. Where like there's certain things where. There's people holding certain things or wearing certain clothes and then in the next scene they're not, or there's actually in that particular movie, a lot more of Affects errors where like you could see the cameraman or you can see the camera or you can see the boom mic and things like that. So that is some of the things that I'm OK with because In reality, Those things could be different because The Matrix wasn't really real to begin with. Ah, there you go. Well, yeah, that's The Office. I do enjoy that show. And occasionally they'll have the, yeah, boom mic in it, and that sort of thing. And they always have said that keep it if that's in the scene, because that leads to the Documentary mockumentary scene that they're creating, right? Like if you see the boom mic or the camera or whatever, yeah, and -- like the really -- did not like when they brought in. The actual people that were running the cameras and the boom mics as like part of the story, right, but they were actors. They weren't the real people. -- I -- know, but it just was too much. Broke the fourth wall too much for you. It did. It also seemed a bit of a reach. And that was like when they were trying to like retain viewership because Michael Scott was leaving, right? Yeah, that was after he had already left and it was, see, that's, it's not even, it doesn't even count as the office after he leaves. So, this is not a Stranger Things episode, nor is this a Stranger Things podcast, but one of the major continuity errors that spoiler alert, I suppose so, if you're worried about a doorknob. I don't know. I'm not. The doorknob is not critical to the story. OK, just making sure because people are really into it. It is, it is true. People are into it. So if you are concerned about doorknobs inside of Stranger Things 10 seconds, then fast forward at least 10 seconds. So the continuity error is that in the particular shows that in some episodes, the doorknob is on the left side of the door. And then in future episodes, it is on the right side of the door. OK, if you're listening and you don't want spoilers, keep skipping ahead. So In the Upside Down. Or just in In the right side up, in the right side up. This is all happening in the right side. Yes, they're swapped. Now there is a fan theory about why this actually makes a difference, OK OK. So It could be significant. Are you gonna tell us why or no? No, that would be too much of a spoiler for the latest season because I think there may be people out there that have not watched it. So, I'll let you draw your own conclusions on whether the position of the doorknob is significant or not. OK, well, once again, the Office, I don't think it's a spoiler cause it's 20 years old. When they do their talking heads, the where you're by yourself and you're talking to the camera directly. They intentionally put it up that if your life is outside of the office, there's a window behind you. But if your life, like your main purpose in life is the office, your uh back is to a flat wall. And that was an intentional choice they made in the very first season and continued on with it. And even some characters that start to move on out of the office, they move them and their background is a wall or a window afterwards. For every scene of that character or based on what they're describing at the time as that character? Yeah, like at that time, that character, whether their life is central in the office or central out of it, they'll have a window behind them or not. Interesting. That almost makes it worth rewatching. Cause I'm curious to see, cause I can think of specific scenarios where like, Characters are either talking about the Office or not the Office, like maybe they're talking about their farm or their mung bean production, and those would be things outside of the office and they're behind the window. Interesting. There you go. Yes, but I don't think a spoiler because hopefully everybody's caught up on The Office. Especially since The Office stopped when Michael Scott left, in my opinion. In your opinion, exactly. So we haven't even gotten to our review. Oh, OK, let's go. What are we reviewing this episode? -- We are reviewing Hershey -- World, Chocolate world, located in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Yeah. There is only one of the world. So I think in a lot of the reviews that we've done over the last few episodes, there's been many different locations or franchises of the things that we've reviewed. So touched on in our previous episodes in this currently unknown number of episodes that we're doing as a series on things that we've done over the last year or so. And this particular one is the one and only chocolate world. Yeah, oh, I love chocolate world. As you may have already heard, this is located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and it is nearby or adjacent to the Hershey Park, which is an amusement park with roller coasters and carousels and bumper cars and various other rides, but Chocolate World is a standalone attraction. That is open, I guess, year-round and offers a particular ride through a simulated chocolate production environment. Yeah, so the park itself is only seasonal because when it's snowing or whatnot, they're closed, right? But Chocolate World is right next door, and it is open. Like I said, I assume it just closed the main holidays. It's free to go in, and is parking free? I don't remember. Parking's free, yeah, OK. The parking is free. It's free to go in. Well, I guess I should caveat that parking is free probably during like the offseason. So we did park for free, but I think maybe during like the summer season so that like people don't cheat and park -- there and then -- walk, park there and walk. They may charge parking during like the summer season, but When we were there during the offseason, parking was free. Fair enough, I get that. And then, um, the ride that's inside is free, and then there's a ton of stuff you can pay for, like make your own chocolate bar. And things like that, that cost a la carte. Right, I think there's other like rides and attractions, so like there's the 3D chocolate experience and things like that, that does cost an extra fee, but the core chocolate world ride is Complimentary. Yeah, and you get a chocolate afterwards. They give you a candy. Yeah, in the olden days when I was a kid and we went, they gave a full size chocolate bar. Oh wow. They don't do that anymore, nor did they do that even at my later childhood. I think at some point they changed that to just the mini size, but I think some of our kids got 2. Yeah, some got multiple. They would just hand them to them, and we went on the ride several times. And so they got plenty of chocolate. Chocolate world has a big part in my heart because for a few years, our early, early marriage, we lived out there and I worked, not in like the chocolate world, but in the town, and often I would stop by for a free chocolate. And uh. Just, it was so nice cause you'd smell, sometimes if they were making the chocolate in the factory, the air outside actually smelled like chocolate, smelled so good, and I would get a free chocolate and I'd go home and, you know, it's just a nice way to end my stressful day at work. Uh, so it holds such a good spot in my heart. So we took all our kids and yeah, they had a good time, and like you said, several of them got more than their allotted share of chocolate, and they were super excited about that. That's true. I think we also, again, a la carte, additional purchases, bought some hot chocolate and a whole variety of candy, because as part of the chocolate world, there is a store where you can buy Like massive chocolate bars or like massive Hershey kisses, or mix and match candies, or there's even some things that are like exclusively sold at that location that are different flavors and things like that. So you could get like a Pistachio chocolate bar, Hershey's chocolate bar. Yeah, it was really interesting, uh, chocolates that you wouldn't normally get anywhere else, but they were good. So we got a handful of them, a mix and match kind of thing to sample. Did you have any that you liked most that you enjoyed? There was, yeah, I think the pistachio, Hershey's chocolate bar, which is, again, I think something that you probably could only get at that particular location in Hershey, Pennsylvania. That was pretty good. There were some other things that were Good that I can't recall the exact flavors, but I think they had like different chocolate bars. So there was a sachio one, and then there was like other flavors that were pretty good as well. Yeah, they had like a mint one. I enjoyed that one too, because normally if you go to the typical stores, at least around us, you can get like the plain Hershey bar, which is just chocolate. You can get like an almond one, and, you know, a few like that, and obviously like Reese's pieces, Reese's peanut butter cups, all that is under the same category. So you have those, but these were like the chocolate, and they had a mix thing in it, maybe like Rice Krispies inside or the pistachios or the mints. Yeah, there's a hazelnut one that was good as well. So I guess we got actually quite a bit of chocolate based on how many different flavors we're describing. So yes, so we did get all the variety of chocolate and did our Hershey's chocolate world. And hot chocolate and related candies and everything like that. Did not do the amusement park. We have done an amusement park. Have you or only me done the amusement park? We, you and I did it once together. That's true, when we were newlyweds, correct. So none of the kids have done the amusement park. That we did not do this particular trip and is outside of the scope of our particular review, but it is there and it is close by, and it is something that's fun, but Chocolate the world is free, and I think that is what sets it apart as a particular venue that we appreciate. Right, but you could easily spend a lot of money. I suppose so, if you are taken in by all the variety of candy that they have or want to do the 3D show or make your own chocolate or whatever the case may be, yes. One year I did, when we were living out there, I did the with the relatives that were visiting, make your own chocolate. It was expensive, but it was good. You got to choose what chocolates you want to be put in your, or what candies or items you want to put in your chocolate, and it was, yeah, I enjoyed it. I didn't feel the need to do it again. That's true. So, overall, you would recommend Hershey's Chocolate world? Yeah, I mean, I've gone, especially cause it's free. If you're in the area, I wouldn't drive like 200 miles for it. But if you're in that area, definitely stop by. You could easily do it in like 2 hours and be satisfied. You could stay longer if you want, but if you have 2 hours and you're in the area, it's a free activity, that's worthwhile. That's true. Likewise, I would also say the same, that if you're in the area, it's a worthwhile thing that you can do, and it's not a long wait, typically, and you, while you're waiting in line, even can see different facts and figures about the history of Milton Hershey and Hershey's chocolate and the process by which they make the chocolate and things like that. And then there's the singing cows. I mean, -- you can't miss -- the singing cows. If you don't know what he's talking about, look it up. It is so iconic. Yes, there's the singing cows that teach you how chocolate's made. That's true. It is one of the iconic things about Hershey's chocolate world, the singing cows. And then you get free chocolate at the end as well, so can't miss that. Yeah, that's awesome. What was our word or phrase? Continuity, continuity, that's it. He Well, I've apparently I forgot, so I guess we'll have to edit that out so we have continuity or maybe we won't as sort of a jab at Stranger Things. There you go. Perhaps someday we'll do an episode on Stranger Things. Sure, you'll teach me everything or I can like retell it the way I think it is, and then you can tell me what continuity I got wrong. I suppose so, but you haven't even watched like episode one, right? Of this episode last season? Have you watched any episodes? Yeah, I watched some. OK, so you've watched like. The season one episodes. I know the concept, the concept, yes. OK, well, I'll retell it in one day and you can tell me if I'm right or wrong. OK. Or you, our listeners can tell us if you would like to hear more about Stranger Things or Other things like Gilmore Girls, I'd rather we talk about that -- or -- normal things. Otherwise, we'll just continue on our unknown number of episodes about. Various reviews and the things that we've done the last year or so. Sounds good. So from your friends at I Hate Talking, until next time, remember, it is only through talking that we begin the journey to understanding.