Hershey’s Great Candy Expedition is a 5D experience, where visitors go on a virtual train ride through six imaginary lands inspired by Hershey’s most well-known products. But there’s a twizzle: the spectators can decide the direction of the train themselves. This brought a unique challenge – how to make six distinct worlds, yet allow them to flow seamlessly between each other despite the constantly changing order. All this, while only the end always remains the same

Eureka! Work backwards. After composing the grand finale of the expedition, we synthesised the chorus, which would turn into a unifying element between all the diverse worlds of Hersheyland otherwise grounded in different genres. That’s not all – we meticulously sound-designed every detail of the attraction and the six lands, from the bass rumble of the train to the clanging of factory machinery, including the subsonic sounds to trigger seat vibration. To make it all happen, we worked with multiple singers, songwriters, voice actors, producers, and (drumroll, please…) a 50-piece orchestra in Budapest. Say what now? Yes, we travelled the real world to create an imaginary one.

We sonically invented six brand new worlds, inspired by Hershey’s candy lineup. Every single world alluded to different genres and atmospheres associated with them. Think about KitKat Timbers with a sprawling Appalachian orchestral score, Almond Joy/Mounds Cove with surf rock, and Reese’s Ridge with a blend of hip-hop and rock. Our goal was to set Hersheyland’s worlds alive, and with the power of sound, make it an unforgettable experience. According to the reported tears of joy at the attraction, it certainly looks like we’ve achieved exactly that.