I'll try to cover everything, but ask more questions if I don't. Our family consists of me, dh, and ds20, ds16 and ds10. My dh took two family vacations to Colonial Williamsburg as a child and also did a weekend trip with his dad when he was in college. They stayed on site and ate in taverns, and he loved the place. I had spent two days there with my best friend from college -- we bought the cheapest tickets possible and stayed almost in Richmond! None of us had been to BG before.
We did two days at Busch Gardens. We had planned to spend the afternoon of the second day at Water Country, and it rained, so we did not do it. We visited Colonial Williamsburg four times total. We had two-day bounce passes for BG/WC and Freedom passes (an annual pass) for CW -- got all the passes at our local
AAA office at a discount.
It was VERY HOT (Disney hot) and rained every day except one. Except for July 4 at CW, which was VERY CROWDED, it was not crowded at all, but we were not there on any other weekend days.
We stayed at the Springhill Suites on Richmond Road. It took about 10 minutes to drive to CW and about 15 for Busch Gardens. Place was nice, had enough room (two queen beds and a sleep sofa) and a decent breakfast each morning. I had two reservations -- one for one night at $159 and one for five nights at $111. They charged us $111 for all six nights.
My dh really, really wanted the kids to see all of Colonial Williamsburg, and I think touring it in half-day (or less) increments was exactly the way to do it. The only day we were there longer than three-four hours was July 4 and that included a very impressive fireworks show. I would recommend seeing the movie at the Visitors Center -- it's a good introduction and quite well done. We did most of the guided building tours (capital, palace, powder magazine, etc.), went in a lot of the interpreted shops (blacksmith, shoemaker, printer, etc.), caught a few special shows (American musical roots -- very good, drum and fife music, black Revolutionary War soldiers). We had planned to do the ghosts and legends tour, but it was raining when the time came and no one wanted to leave the hotel. We also totally forgot about an afternoon tour we had signed up for. My kids thought most of it ranged from so-so to okay, quite frankly. The clear favorite was the blacksmith shop. The people who work there are not just interpreters -- they are real blacksmiths making the actual iron items used at CW.
I was surprised at how little of CW was hands-on, but I think there are some programs intended for younger children. Since I don't have anyone little, I didn't look too closely. I do think that renting a costume would make it more fun for a young child. For any age, though, especially when it is so hot, I would keep the days short before anyone gets out of sorts. We were able to keep our kids in good humor even though they were not just blown away by keeping our visits fairly short.
I also was surprised at how early everything closes. Except for the taverns, a couple stores and a museum, everything is locked at 5 p.m. The Visitors Center stays open longer, but I'm not sure how much longer. Also, the special events and many of the tours are scheduled only once a day (or less), so it would be very difficult to see everything. Transportation around the perimeter and to and from the Visitors Center was very good.
When my dh was in CW with his dad 30 years ago, he wrote his mother a letter with a quill pen and ink and wax seal. This time, he wrote a letter to both of his parents and my middle child did one to his girlfriend. They mailed them at the on-site post office, which has a special cancellation stamp.
The stores in the restored area have period items only and we had fun looking at some of the stuff. We bought several bags of rock candy, including some brown, a couple of prints and a tricorn hat, which my son enjoyed wearing but found hot. T-shirts and other logo items are not sold at these stores -- there's plenty at the Visitors Center, though.
We ate at three of the four taverns and also at the Williamsburg Lodge. Except for July 4, we had no trouble getting in. Here are my reviews:
King's Arms Tavern dinner -- This is apparently the most popular of the taverns and is described as a chophouse. We started with drinks in the grape arbor behind the building, which was fun. A costumed actress played music on old instruments. You could actually eat out there, too, but it was 90 degrees . . . The tavern is divided into several small rooms and decor is very plain. There are no lights in the dining rooms other than one large candle on each table. We started out upstairs at a tiny little table (there are 5 of us, only one a child). It was so hot that we were passing around the mister fan, so we asked to be moved. The second table downstairs was much nicer, although the air conditioning was not to the level I would have preferred. Our waiter was good and told us about colonial customs. Cloth napkins were a yard square -- a sign that you were rich since cloth had to be imported and was very expensive. The menu is beef, pork, lamb, etc. There is a kids' menu with burgers, nuggets, etc. We all had prime rib and the little one had a burger. DH and I split a half bottle of wine. The waiter served four appetizer relishes -- Smithfield ham, beans, corn and sourkraut. They were interesting and pretty good, but he served them on our bread plates and didn't bring more when he brought bread. There were two kinds of bread (Sally Lunn -- good; apple/cheese muffins -- dry). The meal came with a popover (a lot like Yorkshire pudding). The waiter also served two vegetables, creamed spinach and cauliflower with cheese. A costumed actor came to each room and led songs because he said that you went to a tavern as much to sing as to eat in the 18th century. Everything was good, but nothing stands out as particularly outstanding. It was expensive -- about $200 with tip.
Chownings lunch -- This tavern operates as a counter service restaurant at lunch time. Prices are about the same as a Disney counter service and the selection is pretty diverse. One DS had a turkey leg (roasted, not smoked as at Disney) and the rest of us had pork barbecue with chips. It was okay. The kids meal was a good value -- sandwich, chips and drink for $5 and came in a cute box shaped and decorated like the tavern. It was really hot, so we bought and shared two Williamsburg refillable mugs. We actually got our money's worth at that meal, so they were a good value although we found that there were not many places to refilled them. There is seating under a huge grape arbor, but you can also go into the nicely air conditioned tavern, which we did. During the meal, the proprietor visited and talked about things that had been going on there like he was in 1770 -- he was very good and we all enjoyed him. Bill was $58, which included two $10.99 mugs.
Shields Tavern lunch -- Two kids headed back to Chownings while DH, middle DS and I went to Shields for lunch. We noticed the napkins were not as big here, so it must have been a more middle class place! I had corn chowder with a Virginia ham biscuit -- tasty and unusual. DH had chicken and dumplings -- included dark meat and flaky dumplings and were not as good as mine. DS had barbecue which looked exactly like what was served at Chownings. Our server did not offer us dessert, which I had planned to get! Bill was about $35.
Bay Room, Williamsburg Lodge -- Our service at this restaurant was so awful that it's hard to even consider the food. My dh is a generous tipper and he left 10% and told the manager why. Our server was surly to the point of almost being rude and disappeared for as much as 20 minutes at a time. The meal took right at two hours, and this was not a two-hour meal kind of place. I had to ask about dessert and she told me two things they had. I told her I would like to see the tray that was being brought to other tables. DH had seabass and the rest of us had appetizers or sandwiches -- quesadillas, chicken wings, burger. I'm guessing that our ordering the small things may have made her mad since she had told dh their best things were the most expensive things on the menu. When I ordered, I fully intended to get dessert, though, which I probably would not have with an entree. We also got four desserts (apple pie, brownie sundae, homemade ice cream), which were the best part of the meal. Meal with the small tip was $100.
