Tell me about Busch Gardens Williamsburg

[twinnersmama]

We are going to the beach soon and plan to take a day for Busch Gardens. Any tips/tricks?
It looks like I need to buy my tickets online ahead of time to get any discount? $70 ?? seems a little pricey

The 2 park ticket for $80 seems like the best deal, but I don't think I want to waste 2 beach days at the park ... one should be enough.

Thanks

 

[djbleach]

The 2 park may be BG and water country. If so, I think that's the better deal. If you are staying in VA Beach and going to BG/WC the traffic can be terrible at certain times of the day. Sometimes you can make better time going way out your way to 664 and not fight the 64 tunnel traffic.

Parking is going to be on top of the gate fee. It's probably around $15.

The park is or was lovely. (they got bought out) last time we went earlier this year things looked the same.

In Italy there's a buffet that has pizza/pasta/drinks/snacks for a reasonable price.

Heat and long lines are the norm for summer. Wait times are similar to Disney. I'm not sure if they have a fast pass, it might be worth it if they do.

It might be good to try and do BG/WC and just get a hotel room on PL for the 1 night. This way you don't have the hour drive (at best) and can enjoy full days at both parks.

 

[cheerky]

BGW is a beautiful park! There are tons of rides for all ages, as well as shows. Crowds are considerably lower on weekdays (and on Sundays). I would avoid Friday night and Saturdays if you can, that is when lines are the longest. This summer, we have been able to walk on rides during the week!

The water rides are refreshing on hot summer days but I suggest bringing a change of clothes because you get soaked! There are inexpensive lockers available near the water rides to store your stuff.

For discount tickets: In NC, our credit union sells one day tickets for $51. Also, BG is running a bring a friend promo for platinum passholders. Tickets are $35 any weekday til Sept. 2 when accompanied by a passholder.

Have fun!!!! BGW is one on our favorites!!!

 

[GMU MOM]

Busch Gardens is still a beautiful park. We live 2 hours away in Northern VA so this year we purchased season passes and have already gone on 4 separate day trips.
For discounts, I believe Food Lion offers $12 off one day admission tickets.

If you get there early, you can get many rides done in the first 1 -1 1/2 hours. Also, we found that in the late afternoon to evening, the lines aren't that long. We arrived at 5pm two Saturdays ago and the longest line we saw was 15-20 minutes.
Also, make sure to stay for the fireworks every night at 9:30pm.
Our favorite place to eat is Trappers Smokehouse.

For drinks, we purchased one of the refillable cups and it only costs $0.99-1.29 for soft drink refills and $1.99 for frozen drink refills.