OT How many days to do Williamsburg?

[MinnieForMe]

Hi:
Is a week long enough to do Busch Gardens, WaterCountry, Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown/Jamestown?

Thanks for any budget tips for this area. I'm a Disney pro but a 1st timer for Williamsburg.

Thanks.

Michelle

 

[emlisak]

We were there for a week last year and it was the perfect amount of time. We bought the Williamsburg/ Busch Gardens/ Water Country Bounce ticket. It gave us admission to a bunch of places for 7 consecutive days and saved us a TON of money. I think it was around $110 per adult and $80ish for kids. You could "park hop" as well.

 

[MinnieForMe]

Thanks. That was the ticket I was thinking of purchasing. Now, I will!

Is Water Country similar in size to any of the Disney water parks or Aquatica?

Michelle

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

You need at least one day for each, Col. Williamsburg and Busch Gardens you could use two days wach to see it all. We visited later in the year and had a toddler so we didn't go to Water Country, and it's been years since I visited Jamestown. Enjoy! It's a wonderful place to visit.

 

[BebopBaloo]

I love Williamsburg! A week should be perfect! You'll have plenty of time to take it at a leisurely pace. If you like BBQ, there's a great local place nearby called Pierce's. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's good stuff and it's a local legend.

Busch Garden's has a nice variety of places to eat (can you tell I have food on my mind?), but it is pricier than Disney World quick service for what you get...at least, in my experience. I would recommend the German food in Festhaus. They have some large platters that are good for sharing...and it's located in a large indoor hall, Festhaus, that features a show.

Also, you aren't allowed to bring food or drink into the park. Of course, once I forgot and had fruit snacks in my bag and they didn't say anything..so you're probably fine as long as you don't bring a cooler/lunch box..something obvious. They definitely want you to buy their food.

They do have picnic tables in the parking lots.

If you arrive to Busch Gardens and find that the front areas of the park are really busy...move to the back and work your way forward.

I've never been to Water Country...so I'm no help there.


Colonial Williamsburg is lovely! You definitely want to allow time to stroll around and just enjoy the ambiance of the place.

 

[GatorMama]

If you're really interested in the history, Jamestown will EASILY fill up a day and Colonial Williamsburg could easily fill two (they don't have all "attractions" open every day, so you'll want to look at their calendar of events ahead of time to decide what you'd like to do while you're there. I HIGHLY suggest the "Workin' the Soil, Healin' the Soul" but if nothing else, make sure you're there on a day the plantation is open. It's my favorite part. One of the carpenters there is quite entertaining and there are chickens and pigs out there... always a hit with my son. We also like to see what is being cooked up in the kitchen at the Governor's Palace, so we're sad on days it is closed. Lastly, I always find out ahead of time which "show" one of my friends is in and make sure to catch it while I'm there. I love seeing friends from college at work!

If you're much of a shopper, there are also great outlets nearby... and a HUGE Yankee Candle store. We were at the outlets and Yankee yesterday... and CW on Saturday.

 

[luvmy3]

We just got back from a 4 day trip and I didn't think it was enough. We took one day for Jamestown, a half day for Yorktown, one for BG. We took one and a half days for Williamsburg but since we stayed on site we did stroll through CW at night and did a Ghost walk (if you are going to do anything like that, or a carriage ride, get tix early, and I mean, by days!). I really wished we had another full day there, but I decided that when the kids are older, I'm moving down there, renting a residence in CW and working there too, so maybe its just because I fell in love with it

 

[Janet Hill]

Timeshares can be rented cheap in Williamsburg, so you might want to think of this instead of a hotel.

Water Country is similar in size to Aquatica, but doesn't have all the animals.

Pierces' BBQ is all the rage and everyone recomends it - well except for me. Their BBQ sauce is honey based and with a lot of honey. It's so sweet I couldn't eat it. Apparently though many people like this kind of sauce.

Don't know ages of kids if any, but a lot of kids and adults too enjoy a ferry ride. It's free and you get on it near Jamestown.

Look on Restarant.com for deals.

 

[nancycg56]

The Cheese Shop in Merchant's Square is a good place to get a sandwich ~ everything I've had there has been delicious.

 

[cvjw]

We stayed a week there a couple of years ago. We stayed at Great Wolf Lodge, so we spent a good amount of time doing the water park there. During the week, we went to BG twice, Water Country once, Williamsburg twice, Yorktown once and Jamestown once. We also spent a day at Kings Dominion. We honestly could have spent a couple more days there - we didn't feel like we saw as much historical stuff as the grown ups would have liked - the kids wanted to concentrate on the rides.

 

[MinnieForMe]

Thanks everyone! We are already confirmed for our Wyndham timeshare so I just need to make my game plan.

I'm hoping that by visiting the last week in August that some of the area schools might be back in session decreasing the crowd. At least, I can hope. Although, after returning today from 12 days in Florida, I can't imagine anything is as busy as Disney at Easter! LOL.

 

[Janet Hill]

Thanks everyone! We are already confirmed for our Wyndham timeshare so I just need to make my game plan.

I'm hoping that by visiting the last week in August that some of the area schools might be back in session decreasing the crowd. At least, I can hope. Although, after returning today from 12 days in Florida, I can't imagine anything is as busy as Disney at Easter! LOL.

In which Wyndham are you staying? All three are nice, but IMO Kingsgate is at the bottom of the list.

End of August slows down a lot, so if you're VIP you should be able to score a room with a good discount. Even if you are not VIP, Wyndham many times has a room discount during this time.

Most schools in VA don't go back till after Labor Day, so I think the locals are all "parked out" and are shopping and getting ready for school. This is a great time to go.

We go to Williamsburg about once a month.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[MinnieForMe]

In which Wyndham are you staying? All three are nice, but IMO Kingsgate is at the bottom of the list.

End of August slows down a lot, so if you're VIP you should be able to score a room with a good discount. Even if you are not VIP, Wyndham many times has a room discount during this time.

Most schools in VA don't go back till after Labor Day, so I think the locals are all "parked out" and are shopping and getting ready for school. This is a great time to go.

We go to Williamsburg about once a month.

Enjoy your trip.

Patriots Place. The reviews are all over the place but as long as it's clean, we will survive just fine!

Are there any boards like the DIS for Williamsburg? I just love the planning part of vacation!

 

[Janet Hill]

Patriots Place. The reviews are all over the place but as long as it's clean, we will survive just fine!

Are there any boards like the DIS for Williamsburg? I just love the planning part of vacation!

The reviews are all over the place because this is an old resort, but it just went through a major refurb, and while not a luxury resort it is now our favorite. The beds are the best of all the 3 Williamsburg resorts. The staff here is also very good and helpful. The resort is very laid back, because there's not a lot of onsite activity (just an outdoor pool), though you do have priviledges to use the facilities at Gov Green and Kingsgate which are close by. The most annoying thing at this resort is that you must pay for Wifi.

We stayed here Easter weekend and will be back for Memorial day weekend.

I don't know of any planning boards for Williamsburg.

Have a great trip.

 

[WVMomof3]

We just went Easter weekend. 4 days was almost enough for what we wanted to do, but if you add in the water park, you will definately need more time. We ended up doing almost 2 full days at Colonial Williamsburg. We arrived about 10:30 the first day and stayed thru the closing program about 5:15-5:30. The next day we did 9-3. We saw most of the open buildings, but not all. It was pretty busy, all the buildings had lines to get in. Would have liked to have had a little more time, and my daughter really wanted a carriage ride, but when we went about 10:30 they were already sold out for the day. We spent the rest of the evening at Busch Gardens. It was a little chilly and sprinkling so everyone was headed out as we went in, no lines for anything!
We spent all of Saturday at Jamestown and Yorktown. We bought the combo tickets for both. We were the one of the first ones at Jamestown when they opened. I would say we saw everything there, and were headed out by about noon. We then made a quick stop at Historic Jamestown. The NationalParks were free for the weekend, but we literally just stamped our Parks Passport and left here, did not see any of it. Went to Yorktown Victory Center and saw everything there, only takes a few hours. Then went to Yorktown Battlefield, also free for the weekend, and stamped our book. We did stay for the movie here and walked around a little. Probably spent about 30-45 minutes here.
Easter Sunday stayed all day at Busch Gardens. It was a great day to be there, again, no lines for anything. I think the most we waited for a ride was about 10-15 minutes.

 

[MikeP22]

We've been 7 or 8 times in the last 11+ years (usually 1 week at a time) and we still keep finding new stuff to do, as well as stuff that we table for the next time we go.

Sadly with the removal of the raceway and Big Bad Wolf, Busch Gardens has removed two rides I would go on; I like coasters but not the extreme ones like Apollo's Chariot, Griffon, and Alpengeist, and I would have loved to do the raceway with my 3 yo daughter but they took it out before she was old enough.

So it'll be WDW this year, followed by a Disney cruise next year, and maybe back to Williamsburg when she's old enough for some of the bigger rides.

Anyway, there is a lot of good food and shopping in the area. If they're still around try a pie from the Jamestown Pie Company.

There are also a lot of fun/interesting things to do in the area if you're willing to drive. There's a winery, lots of museums and plantations if you are into that, and other tours you might find interesting.

Plus, VA Beach is only about an hour away with all it has to offer.

Enjoy! It's not WDW but I don't think it tries to be; it's a place where there's lots to do but that can be done your own way.

 

[tink fan]

I have a question about the ghost tour at Williamburg.

Are they worthwhile? They had two listed--one was not appropriate for kids (you went inside on that one). My kids are 13, 11 and 9. Would they be scared by it.

Any other recommendations on a must do tour or event at Williamsburg?

We will only be in Williamburg for a long weekend--wish we could extend it. It sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[PA DISNEYLOVER]

I have been on both Ghost tours and in my opinion both are worth it. The one put on by Colonial Williamsburg takes you inside the buildings and they have chairs for you to sit while a character tells the story. My daughter was 8 when we went on it and she had no problem.

The Ghost of Williamsburg tour takes you on a walking tour outside of the buildings. It is still very good but standing all that time takes it toll on some people.

 

[mwatson011]

Thanks everyone! We are already confirmed for our Wyndham timeshare so I just need to make my game plan.

I'm hoping that by visiting the last week in August that some of the area schools might be back in session decreasing the crowd. At least, I can hope. Although, after returning today from 12 days in Florida, I can't imagine anything is as busy as Disney at Easter! LOL.

You are doing the exact trip we did in 2010! It will be really hot... hit the water park when it opens, do NOT pay for preferred parking here, it is all the same, and if you get there when they open, you will be at the door. Parking is included with your bounce pass, they charge $7 more to upgrade to preferred.

Stay until after lunch, you will be walking on rides all morning. Literally, we were exhausted from going up all of the steps for the slides so many times, our longest wait was about 7 minutes. We left the water park around 2 every day, and went back to the room to relax, change, and eat dinner (I cooked and froze meals beforehand in disposable trays so dinner was as simple as taking it out of the fridge/freezer and popping it in the oven and showering and relaxing until the buzzer went off).

After an early dinner, we would head out to Busch Gardens for the evening when it was cooler out. No crowds there either! We got to stay on many rides and ride over and over without getting out.

Really, it was too hot for us to attempt touring Colonial Williamsburg, but we did go back in the fall, and one day will do ya if you are not history buffs. If you are into history, you might want to allow 2-3 full days.

Have fun! We were going to repeat the VA trip this year, but we were having Disney withdrawl, so Disney in August, here we come!

 

[MinnieForMe]

Anyone know how far in advance I should book the Ghost Tours? My boys and husband are big Ghost Advenures fans and will love that Tour.

After a successful trip to Disney during Easter week due to arriving at Rope Drop, I will definitely do Busch Gardens/Water Country the same way. Thanks for the tip on parking!

Now, I can't wait! I love Busch Gardens in Tampa and I've heard even better reviews of Williamsburg. Believe it or not, I'm excited to go somewhere besides Disney!