Colonial Williamsburg - planning - need help!

[clb22]

Does anyone know of any good websites that I could use to help plan a trip to Colonial Williamsburg??
I have tried all the search engines and most of the websites are very difficult to use and/or do not have very good information (i.e. limited to just what they want you to see).
I am looking for something like "Mousesavers" or "Deb's unoffical website".
Or something close to it.

Can anyone help with website info?

Thanks in advance.

 

[snoopy]

I had a hard time uncovering information on the web about Williamsburg too....I know of no such website like mousesavers. But if you do a search here on the DIS you'll find a few different discussions -- I got better information here than I did anywhere else.

 

[Kay7979]

Well, I wish I could offer more, but you could start with:

http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/visit/planYourVisit/

 

[tar heel]

I got a good bit of information by asking right here on the DIS. What would you like to know?

 

[Tiggeroo]

I would just post your questions here. There are local residents who can recommend hotels. I love going to CW. Not alot of cost-saving you can do as the ticket price is set. You could look at their combo hotel/tix for several places packages they offer.

 

[Jennifer S]

I was just there in August. We did Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. We were VERY close to CW but did not do it. You used to ba able to park and walk around. Now they have a huge visitors center and that is the only place to park. You can either pay and get a bus ride and tour or do a 10 min. walk for free but access into buildings is limied.

Our kids are small and we did not want to pay and spend the time- we only were there for 3 days.

We stayed at The Four Points by Sheraton - literally a mile away drom CW.

Hope that helps. PM if you want.

 

[LoveWDW]

http://www.history.org/ is what I've been using. It looks like the same site as the one listed above. We are going in a couple weeks and staying at a bed and breakfast near the site. We found that the most expensive package is actually a savings if you go at least twice in a year. So we (and others I heard talking about it) went and then a week before the year was up went the second time. The savings was because the evening concerts were included and some other programs. But I am glad to help support the site, I think it is valuable for children and adults to see how people lived then and they way they thought and acted. We enjoyed eating at the taverns. We pretty much parked the car and just walked the rest of the time. There are restaurants nearby, and museums. There is plenty to do onsite, and even though we went down within a year, we did all different things the second time. We did drive to the Williamsburg Winery and to a plantation.

Hiwaygal is very knowledgeable and suggested Great Wolf Lodge which has a huge indoor water park. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=882140 is the thread where I asked for help.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

We are so spoiled by the DIS and the wealth of information available for planning trips to the Disney parks that there never seems to be content online for other destinations. I think I ordered the planning kit over the phone - mind you that was like twelve years ago. There used to be an "informercial" that aired about the time we were planning, kinda of telling us to go.

We stayed on Colonial Williamsburg property. I don't recall the name but it was a Days Inn type, two-three story hotel at the far end of the complex. We were walking distance to the historic area and stayed for 3 days/4 nights, spending one day at Busch Gardens.

Gosh, it's been a long time. We keep saying we should go back now that DD is older - she was just a toddler then, but we'd rather go to WDW.

 

[Madaboutthemouse]

My DH and I went the summer before last. Tickets are on the expensive side for what you are getting to do, but they do offer a substantial educator's discount (guess who forgot their teaching ID? Grrr) and a smaller discount for AAA. Hope this helps!

 

[antmaril]

We stayed at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg a couple of years ago. It is a great resort. Golf, tennis, bikes, indoor/outdoor pools, marina, spa, restaurants, etc. Very close to Busch Gardens. We had a one bedroom condo with a full kitchen. We were there for a week, so it was great. I really like Williamsburg, but we went in July and it was brutally hot and humid. My next trip to Williamsburg will definitely be in the spring or fall because I'm never doing summer again.

 

[nancycg56]

You used to ba able to park and walk around. Now they have a huge visitors center and that is the only place to park. You can either pay and get a bus ride and tour or do a 10 min. walk for free but access into buildings is limied.

There is a parking lot at the end of CW across from W&M (one street over from DOG street) that you can park in and pay by the hour ~ that's where we usually park. Also, if you are going just for the taverns, they each have parking areas.

If you are not going with kids, try staying right in CW in one of the colonial houses. DH and I stayed in one of the taverns for our anniversary a couple of years ago and it was great!

We live about 40 miles away so we get yearly passes ~ we always find something to do up there. Once the weather cools down, it is a joy walking around and drinking spiced cider

 

[LoveWDW]

My DH and I went the summer before last. Tickets are on the expensive side for what you are getting to do, but they do offer a substantial educator's discount (guess who forgot their teaching ID? Grrr) and a smaller discount for AAA. Hope this helps!

How much is the educator's discount? What kind of ID would I need- pay stub? Are this discount and the one for AAA discounts on the passes?

I agree about the heat. We went in May last year and I ended up having to hand wash my clothes since I hadn't brought enough for extra changes because of the heat. I'd have to do the same at WDW, I expect.

 

[Jennifer S]

There is a parking lot at the end of CW across from W&M (one street over from DOG street) that you can park in and pay by the hour ~ that's where we usually park. Also, if you are going just for the taverns, they each have parking areas.

Thanks for the parking info. Wish we would have known that in August

 

[Madaboutthemouse]

Yes, the educator's and AAA discounts are on the passes. I remember the educator's one being a fairly large discount. The AAA one wasn't as much. I can't remember the exact amount since it was two years ago. I would assume that either a pay stub or ID badge would suffice for ID. Sorry I'm not too much help!