Williamsburg questions -- The Woodlands, trip length, meal prices

[tar heel]

It looks like we really are going to skip Disney this year! We're looking at a Williamsburg trip. I know Williamsburg has been discussed before, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted on those threads. My questions:

How long should we plan to stay at Colonial Williamsburg? Or maybe I should say exactly how much will my older kids (16, immature 20)be willing to take? I already know they will complain of boredom, at least part of the time. Is three days about right?

Has anyone stayed at the Woodlands? Would you recommend it? Is it really close enough to walk to the colonial area. What kind of pool? Is it even worth staying "on-site" for that matter?

Just how expensive are the tavern meals? I know my dh well enough to know that we will have one each evening. Some of the travel sites rate a couple of them as "very expensive." We're used to Disney prices -- will this be more?

Are there any shows/restaurants that we should be sure to do?

Is two days the right amount of time at Busch Gardens? Would you stay somewhere else for that part of the trip?

Would you recommend other area attractions -- Jamestown, Yorktown, etc.?

How far to King's Dominion? Since we're not doing WDW
, we'll get Carowinds passes, which gives us free admission. Would it be worth the trouble?

Thanks!

 

[missypie]

We went to Williamsburg a few years ago. It's a great place to visit. Three days at Colonial Williamsburg would be about right, although you might pad that a bit if you are going at a crowded time. (We were there over Spring Break.) I reserved one special tavern meal far in advance, but we ended up having three (two w/o reservations). I don't recall the prices being shocking at all (esp. if Disney is your frame of reference.) The more you are all willing to ask questions of the "cast members", the more you will get out of it...all the guides are in character and it is lots of fun to talk to them. Make sure you drive out the the plantation.

We spent a day each at Yorktown and Jamestown. At each of those destinations there are two distinct areas to see: 1) The actual physical site where the events happened; and 2) the sites not too far away where they have reconstructed the homes, fortresses, camps, etc. That is why it takes a day to see each.

We happened to be at Busch Gardens for the opening day of the season. It seemed like one day was plenty of time.

I don't know if any of you are big shoppers, but there's a major outlet mall in Williamsburg, also.

We rented a very nice time share apartment from Sunterra. (We aren't time share members, but it was very affordable.) I believe that Sunterra has two nice properties in greater Williamsburg.

 

[GoodFairies]

I can only help with some of your questions.

I think 3 days to do the colonial part and 2 days at Busch Gardens sounds about right to see pretty much everything.

Kings Dominion is a good hour to hour and a half (depending on how you drive and traffic) north of Busch Gardens. I think in terms of thrill rides the two parks are pretty equal, but I like Busch Gardens a good deal more in terms of theming and scenery.
If your kids are interested, Water Country USA is in the same area and that was a pretty decent way to spend a day also.

 

[my3kids]

I've stayed at the Woodlands, but it was a couple of years ago and they have since fully renovated, so I'm afraid I can't be of much help. It is the least expensive of the properties owned by Colonial Williamsburg. I wouldn't really call it "on site" as it is a bus ride to the historic area. The Lodge, The Inn and the colonial homes you can stay in are right along the streets, but the Woodland was very close and we did enjoy our stay. They had a mni gold course on the property, but it may have disappeared in the construction. We had a suite, and it was perfectly fine...nothing fancy, but clean, and we enjoyed breakfasts at the restaurant onsite....The Cascades maybe?? There was a n outdoor pool, if I remember correctly, but we went over a spring break and it hadn't opened for the season yet.

Three days is probably more than enough time to view the historic area. Jamestown might be an interesting side trip also. Busch Gardens is great, although it has been many years since I've been. I've been to Kings Dominion more recently, but I really don't care for it that much.

The taverns were fairly expensive, if I remember correctly. There is also The Trellis, a nice place right in the area also. For a great lunch, try some of the deli/pizza places near the William & Mary campus for a stromboli. Yum!!

 

[Beast]

...sometimes, multiple times.

First, check out this link:
http://www.mywilliamsburgvacation.com/

We booked this year though this site and got a REALLY good deal.

Here's my suggestion. Book a package that allows you to do different things throughout the day. (Think: Disney Park Hopper Pass) We do something historical in the morning and then move on to Busch Gardens for the afternoon and/or evening.

As a rule, I don't like water parks, but "Water Country USA" is a great park.

We've spent as many as five days at Busch Gardens and not gotten bored. You can save money several places there, when eating, if you by the "Sample Platter" and split it. Be careful not to get suckered into the "extras" at each meal. (Deserts, etc.)

We live seven hours away but have spent over seventy (70) days vacationing in the Williamsburg area.

You can PM me if you want. No problem.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

I think three days to do the Colonial part is a couple days too long! We only go one day...and we're both adults in our 40's and it gets boring. We took our kids and they didn't last the entire day, but they were younger teenagers. Busch Gardens we do two days and Water Country USA is a day. We took a ride to Jamestown, one year, and that was good for a few hours. We also took a ride to Carver's Plantation (I think that's what it was) and that killed another half day. Go to their web site. I'm pretty sure they still offer packages. Have fun!

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

1.5 hours from Williamsburg to Kings Dominion sounds about right. KD has some pretty cool rollercoasters, but GoodFairies is right about Busch Gardens having the better theming.

Don't know what time of year you're going, but depending on traffic, you could be down to Virginia Beach from Williamsburg in about 45 minutes.

 

[tar heel]

Thanks for the replies -- keep them coming!

Beast -- what a great website. As a Disney vet, I'm usually wary of packages, but those prices look good. Do you have a particular hotel you would recommend?

my3kids -- The Woodlands is not actually the cheapest -- that's the Governor's Inn. The website claim is that you can walk through the woods from the Woodlands -- problem is no one says how long the walk is. I know about the really on-site places -- my dh has stayed at both the Williamsburg Inn and in one of the colonal homes with his family -- but I'm not interested in spending that kind of $.

missypie -- Thanks for all the great info. We'll probably pass on shopping unless we do the pottery place. We live 5 minutes from an outlet mall that is North Carolina's #1 tourist attraction.

GoodFairies -- Thanks for the Kings Dominion info. The only reason I was even considering it is b/c we wouldn't have to pay admission.

Dopey Sharon -- I'm afraid my older kids and possibly even my 9-year-old will share your sentiments exactly. DH and I really like museums and historic sites, so it would take awhile for us to get bored.

 

[tar heel]

Obi-Wan Pinobi -- Didn't mean to leave you out -- you posted while I was writing. I didn't realize Virginia Beach was that close -- that might be a great way to end the trip!

 

[Jeafl]

We're going to Williamsburg this summer as well, we have 4 days set aside for Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens and Water Country. We'll probably do the touring in the morning, the water park in the afternoons (we're getting that Williamsburg hopper-type pass).

We are staying at the Fairfield Williamsburg Patriot's Place. It's on most of the travel websites for around $229/night for the 1-bedroom condo. I found it for $89 on hotels.com! It's gotten excellent ratings from what I've seen, has a pool(s), kids activities, and a lot of other extras. The only drawback to booking on hotels.com is that you have to pay in full when you book, and if you cancel, you pay a $25 cancellation fee. I figured the $25 risk was worth it to save the amount we're saving.

 

[my3kids]

Come to think about it, we may have walked once to the historic area. Our kids were young, so it couldn't have been too far! The Woodlands sits behind the main visitor center. At least it did...I know they demolished some areas of The Woodlands and renovated others and maybe even built completely new buildings. Our suite was set up like this...it was inside a building with interior corridors. We entered the unit and strait ahead was a room with a sleeper sofa and maybe a single bed(?). Just to the right after entering the door was a separate bedroom with a king bed. The bathroom was on the left upon entering the door. It worked just fine.

 

[ValerieK]

If you are going in the summer, it gets very hot and humid. I think it is worse than WDW. We have been in August and July 4th. We will never do that again.

The Kings Arm Tavern is great. We eat there everytime we go. The Trellis has the most wonderful desserts.

 

[Snoozan's twin]

I have made the Williamsburg trip 2x with my family and it was better when the kids were younger than as teenagers. My 2 DDs were very bored the 2nd trip and stayed at the hotel while my DH and I went on evening strolls thru the Main streets. 2-3 days is the max there and then definitely do Busch Gardens and the waterpark - lots more fun and exciting. (though I am a history buff, the rest of the family isn't!) We stayed at the Governor's Inn, modest accommodations but within a short walk to everything, which was really handy in the evenings.

 

[jimmytammy]

We have been to Williamsburg several times. Woodlands is a very nice, quite place. The visitor center to CW is on the same grounds. You would probably want to take a bus to CW though.

Talk up the historical stuff surrounding CW, Jamestown and Yorktown. Much of our American history and its begginings lies within a 20 mile span of each other in that area. You might spark some interest. Many of our founding fathers including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson spent a lot of time in those areas.

Busch Gardens is a nice park. Its theming is wonderful. If you find you need another day in the park, get next day passes for less before you head out of the park. BG isnt WDW but it ranks 2nd in our book as far as amusement parks are concerned, especially on its atmosphere. Great rollercoasters!!

Have fun!!

 

[stevenpensacola]

We attended the "Grand Medley of Entertainments" at the Willaimsburg Inn. It was not the hoop-de-do review but we all enjoyed it.
http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/visit/eventsAndExhibits/colonialPerformances/

The Inn is a very beautiful place just to visit and unwind. We ate dinner here before seeing the Grand Medley.

If you like mini-golf, be sure to check out the course next to the Wendy's in Williamsburg. http://www.minigolfamerica.com/

 

[snoopy]

We were in Williamsburg this past weekend. We stayed at Fairfield Kingsgate, which was a nice timeshare resort that we booked on hotelkingdom.com - very spacious and clean 2 bedroom villas with an indoor and outdoor pool and all sorts of activities during the day, as well as an activities office in which to buy tickets to Busch Gardens and Williamsburg.

We had dinner in Coloniel Williamsburg but did not do the tour, as we knew it would not be feasible to see the whole thing in 1 day, which is all we would have been able to devote to it. Plus, it was raining cats and dogs. They do sell what is called the "Freedom Pass", like WDW APs, and they seem most cost effective if you plan to spend 2 days or more touring. We had dinner at the Trellis, which was wonderful and very reasonably priced by our standards. For my family of 4 to have dinner, with 1 cocktail each for DH and I, it was $70. Our children are young, ages 9 and 5, and they did not have a children's menu but they were able to split a meal. I would say that the Trellis is probably more geared toward adults and older children, but my kids are used to fine dining and did fine in the restaurant. Its very small and close inside, but the food is very wonderful as is the service.

We also did one day of Busch Gardens. Unfortunately the weather was not great, but we really liked this park. First of all the landscaping is lovely - the park is so well maintained! We liked the concept of each "land" being a different country - and they had plenty of rides for people of all ages. We decided to go ahead and get an annual pass since we live relatively close to Williamsburg - 3 hours - and like the park so much more than Kings Dominion, which is closer to us but nowhere near the caliber of Busch Gardens.

 

[Jeafl]

Snoopy. Fairfield Kingsgate has the same address as our accomodations, Fairfield Patriots Place. Did you see Patriot's Place at all? Did it look nice? I know we are allowed to use the facilities at Kingsgate as well. Any info you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Tinks]

We stayed at the Fairfield place almost three years ago on our trip to Williamsburg. Please forgive me, I can't remember if it was Kingsgate or Patriot place...but I'm thinking Patriot's Place. The accomodations were very nice. We had a two bedroom townhouse type thing with its own kitchen. There was a whirlpool tub in the master bedroom. The furniture was beautiful and everything was clean. There was an indoor and outdoor pool, which was crowded, but we didn't mind too much as we didn't spend much time there!

We went in early August. Ugh! Hot! We liked Busch Gardens (not Disney, mind you, but it was fun). We really, really enjoyed Water Country. I could've gone back there for another day. We ate at Chownings Tavern and it was good. We also found a great pub for lunch on the beach at Yorktown...I think it was called the Yorktown Pub (imagine that!). We only went for lunch because we had two small boys with us at the time. (Now we have three )

Ummm, we liked Jamestown and Yorktown. Everything is a close drive so do as much as you feel like. Have fun!

 

[Cruise04]

My vote for Busch Gardens OVER Kings Dominion.

With the exception of this past Christmas, every time I have been to Williamsburg (about 35 times) we have stayed in Norfolk (have family there) and just drive to what we want to do, which is doable. Not only is there Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown - there are so many other things to see and do that people don't think about. There is the Mariners Museum in Newport News/Hampton (I believe, I don't think it's in Norfolk); Virginia Beach which you can kill a whole day just walking up and down "The Strip" with all the trinket shops (it's cool just to go in them and see the "junk" they have); in between Virginia Beach and Norfolk there is the Forbes Taffy factory - great salt water taffy (best in the US I think) and they do tours - I believe it's off Lynnhaven Pkwy; in Williamsburg there is the Pottery Factory shops, 2 outlet shopping areas, the Candle Factory and shop/restaurant (good food and very inexpensive). There is so much to see and do....

One thing you might want to do and the kids might be interested in is the Haunted Ghost Tour of Colonial Williamsburg. We thought that was great and enjoyed that. I think 2 days is the max you may want to spend. The shopping area is great though.

As far as restaurants, I believe my husband said the taverns were expensive but I did hear someone say the food was awesome!!!! So one meal might be worth it. Some other places to eat - Captain George's is this HUGE seafood buffet (expensive - $24.95 per adult) but it is loaded - and great if you love seafood; Friendly's - if you don't live near one it's great food and awesome ice cream concoctions; then the regular restaurants up and down this whole strip - Richmond Road.

Watch for two addictions - The Peanut Shop in the shopping square at Colonial Williamsburg and Wyatt Candy Shop also at the shopping square in Colonial Williamsburg.

 

[my3kids]

I just got a postcard from Colonial Williamsburg. It says between April 1 and June 19, to ask for the Glorious Gardens Package. Package includes nightly accomodations, a LOS admission ticket, 50% off evening Colonial performance, Daily breakfast at your selected hotel, Copy of book "From a Colonial Garden."

PP/PN:
Governor's Inn $51
Woodlands $71
Lodge $118
Houses $136
Providence Hall Wings $173
Inn $251

Hope this helps.