Tell me about Williamsburg VA

[mombrontrent]

I was thinking of going here for our next family vacation this spring. It is about a 13 hour drive from our house and I'd like to spend about 5 days. Anyone know of budget friendly ideas or great hotel? We are a family of 5 and would like a 2 bedroom suite ideally. I saw Embassy Suites had a 2 bedroom Suite with cook to order breakfast for $200/night, does that sound reasonable for Williamsburg? Anyone ever stay there or at an Embassy Suites as I have not. We would like to do Busch Gardens, Water Country, and Colonial Williamsburg for sure, could we cover these in one day each? What other attractions in the area should we hit? We will probably go in April, May or June, any time good or bad? Thanks to anyone who can give me some imput!

 

[ruley3]

I will follow this thread as well!!! Tips and suggestions.... We are headed there for week of Christmas and going to BuschGardens/Christmas Town

Bundle tickets seem cheaper than individual on the BG site!!

 

[bmraar]

Check the Busch Gardens/Water Country calendars-- they aren't open year round, so early spring may not be the best time. Both are very fun for a day, especially with kids. If you are interested in shopping, there are outlets to hit. We love the Yankee Candle store there-- Santa is set up year round, kids can make candles, you can eat at Mrs. Claus' bakery. There are some special events there too, so check their website. Of course there is also colonial Williamsburg. They sell tickets, but it isn't necessary to buy tickets to walk around, and you get to see plenty.

I think $200/night sounds expensive, but maybe not for a suite. We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites, had a 1 bedroom suite inclusive of breakfast, and I think we paid around $130/night.

We love Christmas Town at BG. Only some of the rides are open, but there are local craft vendors, delicious peppermint hot chocolate, and great shows. The line to see Santa is ridiculously long, but they have a buffet dinner with Santa where the kids get to see him without the wait. Well worth it, and the food was surprisingly good. Mrs. Claus serves cookies for dessert, and elves help out with the meal. It's adorable.

Have fun!
Kim

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I strongly recommend checking out Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center. We've been a couple times with a variety age of kids and they all love the hands-on history at those places.

FWIW, we had a hard time finding true hands on stuff in Williamsburg, it was alot more "looking". Others I know have had better experiences with interpreters, games, reinactments, etc- and I was actively searching those out. I don't know what was a low attendance week when we went or what. (It was 3rd week in April.)

 

[NCRedding]

You may want to check to see if you can rent a timeshare to give you lots of room. Look for Kingsgate, Powatan Plantation, etc.

I have stayed at an Embassy Suites in Williamsburg, though not in a two bedroom. Like most ES, it has the large central atrium where breakfast is served. I think it is about 7-9 stories high. The location is great for getting anywhere you want to get to fairly quickly.

I agree with checking out Yorktown and Jamestown (not the national park portion). My DD loved all the hands on stuff at Jamestown Settlement. We were fortunate when we went to Yorktown that they had a encampment reinactment, because that made it more alive for DD.

Weather can be unpredictable. We went one April over spring break, and froze...heavy sweatshirts, etc. On the other hand, summer can be sweltering.

What are the kids ages? I love Busch Gardens and could easily spend more than a day there, but my family loves roller coasters. etc.

I love Williamsburg.

 

[olwyngdh]

I can't tell you about hotels, but I lived in Hampton for 5 years and spent a lot of time in Williamsburg--it is DD9s favorite place in the world, and she is still angry that the Army moved us away from it!

Get at least the 2 day pass for Williamsburg, it will take that long or longer to see everything, and the Revolutionary City program is different on alternate days. Interact with the interpreters--they are wonderful. Wil is fantastic! DD9 adores him, and tried to give him money to buy his freedom when she was 6--he made it into a wonderful experience for her. If you are on facebook, there are a number of different Williamsburg pages where you can get information on what is going on with reconstruction, building, archeology that is being done. Try the chocolate--it does not taste like modern chocolate. It is dark and rich and spiced, and I have to order some on line for Santa to put in DD9's stocking--it is her very favorite. Make a reservation to eat at one of the historical taverns--Kings Arms is my favorite--the game pie is to kill for!

Yorktown and Jamestown both actually have 2 "parks" each. Yorktown has Yorktown Victory Center and Yorktown Battlefield which is a national park where your kids can earn a Jr Park Ranger patch. Jamestown has Historical Jamestown and Jamestown Settlement. One is the actual spot that was settled where there is constant archeological digs going on and where there is a museum containing interesting stuff they have dug up there. There is also the statue of Pocohantus and a reconstruction of the original church built on the original foundation, the other is more hands on with reconstructions of the ships, the fort, and a Powhatan villiage where you can see how the tribe lived and worked at the time Jamestown was settled.

Busch Gardens is a fun park with a number of shows that are worth seeing.

Other cool things to do in the area are the Transportation Museum at Ft Eustis, the Mariners Museum in Newport News, The Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, the Casement Museum at Ft Monroe in Hampton (where Jefferson Davies was imprisoned after the civil war). There are also a number of plantations where you can get an idea of what life was like in the colonial and civil war periods.

Have Fun!! We loved being stationed in the area--there is so much to see and do!

 

[mombrontrent]

Thanks for the reply so far. My son is 12 and my daughters are 9 and 5. They love waterparks and amusement parks so we definatly want at least one day at Busch Gardens and another at Water Country. Colonial Williamsburg I'm planning for another day. Are Jamestown and Yorktown a full day each or could we do both in one day? We are a family that likes our space even on vacation so that is why I want a 2 bedroom suite, so I will look into a vacation rental as well. I would like to check out some shopping as well. I love planning vacations and always want to try to see as much as possible but sometimes I push my family to much. They love spending time just chilling at the hotle pool and such and not rushing through thier vacation.

 

[WVMomof3]

I believe Watercountry does not open till the end of May, so if that is a must, I think that will dictate when you go. We went last year of Easter Weekend, I was worried about crowds, but Easter day at Busch Gardens was awesome! No lines for anything and I heard it was very crowded the day before. We bought one of the combo Williamburg/Yorktown/Jamestown passes. The kids liked Busch Gardens the best, but they did enjoy the others as well. My kids were 13/10 and 8 at the time. We stayed at Homewood Suites. I thought it was nice. I know I also looked at Embassy Suites, but don't remeber why I picked Homewood over them. Ours was a one bedroom with 2 queens and then a pull out sofa in the living room with a nice kitchen area.

 

[WVMomof3]

Sorry, forgot to add I think we did do Jamestown/Yorktown in one day. We were the first ones there for Jamestown and stayed a couple hours then did Yorktown. While they are not full day things, they do take several hours and they both close @5. They also happened to have free national park days when we were there and we litteraly went to the other 2 parks to get our National Park book stamped and left. Def not enough time to see all 4 parks in 1 day. We did do Williamsburg for 2 days. If you want to see inside all the buildings then I think you need at least 2 days. There were lines to get in them when we were there, so I think we saw most, but not all, and again, they all close @5. We went to Busch Gardens one night after for a couple hours, then all day on Easter Sunday. Plan for a lot of walking at all locations.

 

[olwyngdh]

Oh! I forgot--heading out to the the National Park part of Jamestown from the State park part, on your right will be the entrance for the Glassblower--they demonstrate blowing period pieces with period techniques using local materials. It is very close to where the original glassblower in America was located (from what I remember the shop moved a few times to be closer to the wood and sand they needed). It is really cool to see, there is a small gift shop with the stuff they make on site, and the craftspeople are very good about answering any questions. This is a pretty quick stop, and a must-see if at all possible.

 

[nchulka]

I'm in the middle of planning our summer vacation to Williamsburg also. I went as a child and loved it. I found combo Williamsurg/Busch Gardens/waterpark tickets online for 7 days for only 100 bucks a person so we're getting those. I think they were right on the Busch Gardens site. We're doing 2 days at Williamsburg, 1 at BG, 1 at the waterpark, 1 at the beach, 1 at Yorktown/Jamestown, 1 at Monticello (Thomas Jeffeson's home)/Mount Vernon (George Washington's home), and then 1 day at Washington DC. We'll actually leave our hotel one day do the two former president's home on the way to DC the next day. Then we'll just drive home from DC. With driving days it will end up being about 9 days but I just couldn't cut anything! I went to the president's homes when I was 7 and loved it, they were so interesting. Then by the time you're that close, you just have to do DC too!

 

[Disney On A Dime!]

Here's my tips for Water Country and Busch Gardens:


Water Country opens at the end of May with weekends and Fridays only...then in June they are open everyday of the week. I would plan Water Country for a weekday in either the first or second week of June (Preferably the first week.) All rides at WC that first week are practically walk-ons. Now once the schools let out in the area...the second and third weeks become more congested as far as lines. The weekends are very crowded due to locals coming to the park.


Busch Garden opens in early spring, and this is a great time to go! However; WC is not open. Again, I would stick with weekdays at Busch until the second or third weeks in June. If you have to visit BG on a weekend...Sunday's are the best...IMO.


By no means are these tested...but I have lived here all my life! Husband and I met while working at Busch!


Lastly, both Busch and Water Country are great parks! They do require a huge amount of walking. And BG does not have a fast-pass system...so lines in the summer can become quite long.


Have fun!
Crystal

 

[kthshh]

subbing for the info!!!

 

[Swimalie]

We went this past Aug. We stayed in the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotel. There are 3 of us and we got a package of hotel (with breakfast), free shuttle to the 3 parks and tickets to all 3 parks - Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown for $399 for 3 days/2 nights. It was a $100 total upgrade for the suite.

We arrived around 10 am and went to Yorktown. It took the entire rest of the day to do Yorktown Victory Center and walk around the downtown area. The free shuttle stops at 5:30 from there and it's too far to walk back to the hotels. We did Jamestown the last day and it took the rest of our time there, until 3pm to do the Jamestown Center. We did the glass blower but never got to the Settlement area. We spent about 6 hours there as well.

Williamsburg, we did from 9am until about 6:30 on the middle day. I would plan a day for each. The interactive areas can take a while and are well worth it.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

We just returned from Williamsburg last week! We had a great time even with our little kids.

I would definately recommend renting a timeshare week. There are internet sites where you can do that. A two bedroom timeshare would be sooo much better than the hotel suites. You'll even have your own washer/dryer. We were quite comfortable and usually ate breakfast in our unit. (Oatmeal or cereal and fruit for us, although you could certainly do eggs, toast, or whatever you want!)

I would recommend 2 days in Colonial Williamsburg. If you can afford it, eat at King's Arms Tavern (or one of the other ones) for lunch. It's a nice experience. Do the Kid's orientation walk and decide what they really want to see. Definately tour the Governor's Palace and the gaol (jail). The kids also like the stockades outside of the courthouse and the magazine (where they stored all the weapons.) The kids really liked the farms too (in Williamsburg and Jamestown.)

If you have time, go to Jamestown Settlement too! (There are tickets for the historic triangle that save you money too.)The recreation of the ships they came over in are awesome! You get to walk right on them and you'll hardly believe that they could have survived a nearly 6 month journey on those ships! There is a fort and an Indian village too. There are people inside the houses/huts and around the village talking about the place and answering questions. Just great!

We also found Yorktown quite interesting. The kids liked seeing the cannon "shoot." The museum and movie kept there interest better than I thought.

Busch Gardens is of course great! We had tickets for a second day free so we went twice.

There are a ton of advertisement magazines around the area offering $$ off of restaurants. Always grab those and check them out. MANY restaurants will have 10% or more savings.

For shopping/entertainment you may want to go to the Yankee Candle Flagship store (more than just candles--it was fun.) And many people recommend the Pottery Outlet. I haven't been there in 12 years personally.

Have a great time!

 

[Tistal]

The pottery isn't worth it anymore; it's not the place it was 10 years ago. It's pretty much dead.

OP what time of year are you going? A lot of things here are seasonal. It's hard to give you good advice without knowing when you're going.

 

[Swimalie]

Some one else's post reminded me. In Yorktown, go to the crafters store (located at the end of the main road) and they have a coupon card for the shops there. We ate lunch at the Carrot Tree Inn with the coupon. The lunch was so-so but the desert was amazing!

We also ate at the King's Arms Tavern for lunch. For 3 of us it was $40 (no desert) so there is some sticker shock. But the food was amazing!

 

[hereyago]

The pottery isn't worth it anymore; it's not the place it was 10 years ago. It's pretty much dead.

.

Now to be fair,yes it is somewhat dead, BUT, they are in a HUGE renovation/revitalization stage and the grand re opening of the new pottery will be in April of next year. The pottery is still open.
Williamsburg as well as other tourist places have taken a hit especially in winter time, I don't want other posters to read and think of planning a trip next year and not go to the pottery.

 

[Bete]

We stayed at Staybridge for a 2 BR suite this year. Price is going to vary; I would say you are looking at $170 to $190/night depending on the exact time you go for this place. The breakfast was good, but we really liked the free evening snack; it could be a lite supper. I think they served it Tuesday thru Thursday; so, it's not all week. On those days we were very satisfied to have a small lunch wherever we were going that day and that was it. Laundry is free, here. The pool is inside; so, it's all weather accessible. I felt the furnishings of the room to be more upscale; better than most resorts nearby. There are two bedrooms that locked doors. In the middle between the two bedrooms you have a kitchen and and a small living room.

Now, this place will take you a half hour each way to go to Busch Gardens or Williamsburg. I thought it was worth the commute for this place. You connect to the highway for it. For Yorktown and Jamestown this resort is ideally located. There's a movie house very close and a smaller shopping mall which includes a Kroger near by. Wal-Mart is not too far, either. You are close to about 100 restaurants. We were able to use some restaurant.com certificates, here within 4 miles. There are medical clinics close by, too. You are closer to Virginia Beach if you want to visit there.

You can probably get a time share for cheaper, but you will probably have to do a week's time, not 5 days to get a good rate. Also, you will have to do all your own meals with a timeshare.

Williamsburg is a lot of walking. It's divided into sections and you either drive to some sections or take their bus to get around to them. Some tours which are included can take a while to do like visiting the Capitol Building. Also, I can see kids getting tired of this place after 6 hours; unless, they are real history buffs. I would recommend 2 days to break up the activities there.

Busch Gardens is definitely a 2 day affair if you want to see some shows and not just do rides. Your kids will love this park.

Getting a combo ticket does save you money.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We are a family of 6 and stayed in a studio at Marriot Ford's Colony last year. No kitchen, but it had a mini-fridge and microwave. Our 6th was a newborn. The room was a good size for us and we obtained it on a $99 deal.

That being said--$200 seems pricy to me. I Would make sure to look around to make sure that is the best you can do. I think you could do better.

We enjoyed our trip. We were there for homeschool days and did so many things. We even ate at one of the taverns, but they don't seem as good as they used to be. (The sweet potato muffins taste like they were made from a mix instead of scratch. I make them fresh at home from one of their cookbook recipes and noticed on that trip they now sell mixes.)

When my kids were all "done" with history, we spent a day at BG. They really enjoyed it . But we forgot how hilly that place was!

I wish I had added Jamestown and Yorktown, but it felt too overwhelming when we were planning.