Williamsburg VA in March. Will it be fun?

[Trixiezzz]

I have two kids, 11 and 8, and it looks like we may be traveling to Williamsburg area over spring break.

I know absolutely nothing about this area. Will there be enough for the kids to do there? Is everything open this time of year?

Help. I need to book soon & decide if the kids should go with us.

TIA!

 

[MinMouse]

Colonial Williamsburg has children's programs that are great. We found that when we were there the family activities that happened on the weekend were terrific . . . not as many children's related activities on weekdays. Busch Gardens opens on March 21st . . . it is not open all weekdays. Check out there schedule http://www.buschgardens.com/bgw/_downloads/2008_operatingSchedule.pdf to see if it suits your schedule. Jamestown is not far away either if they'd be interested in that.

 

[gillenkl]

Do your children enjoy history? if so there is plenty to keep their interest. There are tours and different children's workshops - look at their website www.history.org. It would be helpful if they had some background of the time period before you arrive so they know what to expect. Weather might be my only concern - could be chilly and rainy in March.

 

[Melissa_E]

There is a hotel called the Great Wolf Lodge near Williamsburg. It is an indoor waterpark facility open year-round. I've had friends stay there and love it. If you want the historical stuff, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown are both great. Plus there is a place called President's Park. All around the park there are busts of each president of the USA. Near each bust is a sign that gives details about the president and what happened during his administration. It is interesting, but it is overpriced IMHO. If you can find a discount somehow, I'd recommend it. We went after President Ford died and got free admission.

MinMouse- thanks for posting the Busch Gardens link, I didn't realize they were opening so early this year!

 

[ajk912]

I have heard GREAT things about Great Wolf Lodge, we have never been there ourselves though! As for Busch Gardens, they are actually opening late this year, believe it or not! Last year they opened on March 17th which was St Patricks Day- it was a lot of fun and they were giving out free stuff in Ireland. Oh yeah, and it was SNOWING!!! So crazy!!!! BTW, watch out for VA in March- you don't know if it will be 80 or 40! But it's still fun!

There is a hotel called the Great Wolf Lodge near Williamsburg. It is an indoor waterpark facility open year-round. I've had friends stay there and love it. If you want the historical stuff, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown are both great. Plus there is a place called President's Park. All around the park there are busts of each president of the USA. Near each bust is a sign that gives details about the president and what happened during his administration. It is interesting, but it is overpriced IMHO. If you can find a discount somehow, I'd recommend it. We went after President Ford died and got free admission.

MinMouse- thanks for posting the Busch Gardens link, I didn't realize they were opening so early this year!

 

[MinMouse]

MinMouse- thanks for posting the Busch Gardens link, I didn't realize they were opening so early this year!

No problem. I was surprised they would be open so early!

 

[swilshire]

We went one year in March for Spring break. It wasn't one of our better ideas. The weather was wet and pretty cold. Busch Gardens was only open on the weekends, and it poured on Saturday.

One of our reasons for going was to get the 2yr Busch all park passes. They are cheaper at Williamsburg than anywhere else for some reason. We enjoyed the passes, but never did get back to Williamsburg, so we were only there about 3 hours.

We had some fun at Colonial Williamsburg, but I wish we had gone in warmer weather.

Sheila

 

[sbpuckett]

There is a hotel called the Great Wolf Lodge near Williamsburg. It is an indoor waterpark facility open year-round. I've had friends stay there and love it. If you want the historical stuff, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown are both great. Plus there is a place called President's Park. All around the park there are busts of each president of the USA. Near each bust is a sign that gives details about the president and what happened during his administration. It is interesting, but it is overpriced IMHO. If you can find a discount somehow, I'd recommend it. We went after President Ford died and got free admission.

MinMouse- thanks for posting the Busch Gardens link, I didn't realize they were opening so early this year!

This is pretty neat - it's right across from Water Country, which is not open until later Spring. As for Williamsburg, there are the outlets and a lot of people have told me that the Yankee Candle outlet is pretty neat for kids?? The good thing about this area is that there are a lot of things here that are relatively close together without driving long distances. Busch is definitely a lot of fun in the Spring and Fall but the weather can really be tricky but bearable... if you head over to my neck of the woods, there is a nice little museum called the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News... it's almost like an indoor zoo with places for the kids to pet animals and such... there's also the Norfolk Zoo over by the Navy base but you have to go across the dreaded bridge tunnel... there is a museum on the Ft Eustis Army base and I think you can get passes to get on base to visit... it's a transportation museum so most kids like it... we love Yorktown Beach... hmmm.... I could probably think of some other things but it would be helpful to know the kids ages and interests... You can PM me if you want.

 

[pepperw23]

http://www.visitwilliamsburg.com/williamsburg-attractions/index.aspx

It is a pretty neat place. My children always liked it. It is very touristy though.

If you get a chance you should come on down to the beach, maybe 45 minutes to an hour drive. Lots to do as the above poster mentions.

And as another poster mentioned, you gotta look out for Virginia Weather, it is somewhat unpredictable during season changes haha. For example here we are in mid december and it has felt like May the past week (I hear that is all about to change though).

 

[princesspwrhr]

Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown (aka Colonial Historical Triangle) are really places where you get out of it what you put in. If you go to those places and just walk around and look at stuff you'll be bored and wonder what you spent your money on other than to say you've been there. A similar effect to walking around the World Shocase without ever leaving the main path and exploring.

If you go and you talk to the interpreters, ask questions, touch things, listen to the programs that go on, perhaps eat in the taverns, rent the kids a costume to wear for the day etc then you'll really enjoy yourselves.

As mentioned weather in March is unpredictable. March 07 we were at Colonial Williamsburg for homeschool days, one day it was 'wintery' with damp overcast skies and a high of *maybe* 45. Very next day was 'springy' clear blue skies, dry bright sun and a high around 75. Roflol - sounds like our weather this week also! It's nice here though, and we enjoy going to these places repeatedly.

The others that were mentioned - Busch Gardens, water country & Great Wolfe hold no appeal right now due to my younger kids ages and heights. They can't do much, if anything, which puts a damper on what my oldest can do. Plus there's no fast pass and I'm so over waiting 2 hours for a 30 second ride!

 

[nanadeb]

The Mariners Museum in Newport News has all kinds of ship related exhibits, plus and area for the kids to play at being pirates. They also have a special Monitor exhibit, with some of the pieces of the ship that have been restored. (They sunk the ship in the Chesapeake Bay). Newport News Park has a great playground, and there are also walking trails. The park also has camp sites for rent. Go across the Chesapeake Bay and visit Nauticus, the Chrysler Museum (no cars there!), or the Virginia Aquarium.
Williamsburg is a less than 3 hour drive to Washington, D.C. or over to the Shenandoah National Park. Visit history at the lee Hall mansion in Newport News, Mt. Vernon up north, or Montecello on the way to the Shenandoah Valley. There is the Yorktown Battlefield (Revolutionary War), Jamestown (way before the Revolutionary War), and areas that are part of the Civil War trail. Don't forget to watch Pocahontas before you come, since the action took place in the general area you will be staying in.
The weather will be variable, so bring rain gear and at least some light jackets.
If you own a timeshare, you might even want to exchange for a week at one in Williamsburg or Virginia Beach. Rentals are also available.
It's a fun place to live, and a fun place to visit.

 

[sbpuckett]

Oh... I remembered something too... in Newport News we have one of the nicest parks I've ever been to. It's called Fantasy Farm and it has an area for the big kids and one for the little ones. There are also lots of picnic shelters and a bike/skate/walking trail/track that goes all the way around it. That time of year you'll also see a lot of the kids with kites. If you head over to VA Beach there is the Aquarium as mentioned above - very very cool! And you can go Dolphin watching or whale watching and it's not very expensive. Again, the weather will play a huge part here so it's good to do some research and have a list of things to do in either type of weather. We also have the Imax over in Hampton I believe... We've lived here for seven years, moved away for four and came back last June to stay... We still haven't done it all so there is definitely plenty to do!!

As for Busch... I'd love if they came out with some type of Fast passes, but if you go on a cooler day when the weather is not expected to be wonderful and the official tourist season has not started, the lines aren't bad at all usually. I say buy some ponchos to carry with you (Busch's are expensive) and go for it... we went last year during WV's Spring Break which is different from ours here and there was a huge storm coming through... we did get some rain but the crowds were minimal and the kids got to ride everything they wanted with no real waits. The good thing about Busch is that unless your kids ride coasters, the rest of the rides have short wait times during off season.

 

[disneydance]

We went this summer and didnt even go to bush gardens and i'm a teen ager so hear are my two cents we enjoyed williamsburg very much there is so much to do there and we saw many children there. I personnally didnt really enjoy Jamestown that much to me the museum there was very boring but the outside with the boats and the indian time thing was pretty interesting. Yorktown was extremely interesting we seemed to really enjoy it there i know now that school has started back up weve been learning about these place and i have got edges on test and classwork in social since weve been learning about that area for about 3 months now. I very much reccomend taking the kids since they will most likely have a great time and a edge in US History class

 

[grlpwrd]

Great ideas already posted. I want to add:

* There is Newport News Park which is on Jefferson Blvd and very near Williamsburg. Check out http://www.nngov.com/parks-and-recreation/parkspage. Click onto big green rectangle icon labeled as "Newport News Park map." There is a lot to do there.

* There's also a Ripley's Believe It or Not in Williamsburg: http://www.williamsburgripleys.com . It is located on Richmond Road and according to the website is 2 miles east of Prime Outlets.

* Don't forget to eat at a CW restaurant/tavern. Some require reservations.

Have fun!!!

 

[dvcnewgirl]

We also have a great park in Williamsburg called Upper County Park. I think kids would have a great time at Busch Gardens, CW, Jamestown, the parks. We have also have a bunch of new stores in the area. I think Great Wolf Lodge would be great for your stay!

 

[HeatherC]

Dh and I went for a week by ourselves this past November. It was our first time there and we enjoyed ourselves.

That being said, we have 3 kids ages 11, 9 and 6 and we both thought that unless Busch Gardens and Water Country were open they would be bored very quickly. (They would probably love Great Wolf Lodge, however. But we didn't stay there anyway.)

We went to Yorktown, looked around and were like what's the big deal? We really liked Jamestown and I actually thought there was more to see there than in Williamsburg. I thought Williamsburg and Jamestown were good for an afternoon outing...not a whole week.

But if the theme parks were open, that's a different story.

The area itself, however, is really beautiful and we loved driving the Colonial Parkway. What a wonderful area.

We will probably take the kids back there, but when the weather is warmer and the parks are open.

Hope this helps you.

Heather

 

[nanadeb]

The IMAX is in the Air and Space Museum in Hampton.
There are some good outlet malls in Wiliamsburg, and the Prime Outlets Mall is scheduled to have a Disney Outlet Store open this spring. Don't forget the Williamsburg Pottery Factory, which is neither a pottery factory nor in Williamsburg. It's been there for decades in Lightfoot on the Richmond Road, where all of the outlet malls and many of the restaurants and hotels are located. The alternate name for Richmond Road is Rt. 60. There are several small outlet stores at the Pottery Factory as well as specialty shops, baskets, gourmet food items, and other imported goods. The prices are really good and are ususally better than the outlet malls.

 

[lovetoscrap]

FYI, I would suggest you call President's Park to make sure they are still open. The last I read in the paper they were closing down and looking to sell off the statues! Their website is still up, so I don't know when they said they were going to close.

I only skimmed through so want to add in case they were missed: The Yankee Candle Flagship store in Williamsburg. It is a lot more than just smelly candles! My kids love it. Santa is there year round and there is a little puppet type show and a toy store and a place to color their own candles and more.

Also there is the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News that is good for a few hours of exploration. Lots of animals.

Williamsburg is also not really that far from Virgina Beach if you want to drive down there for a day.

Also a good day trip from there is to the Nauticus Museum in Norfolk where you can see a lot of Naval History and there is a lot of interactive things for the kids and you can actually walk on and tour the Battleship Wisconsin.

We have an indoor ice skating rink in Yorktown if your kids would like to do that.

 

[NancyIL]

I don't know where you're coming from, but Washington, D.C. is only ~ 3 hours from Williamsburg. We visited both D.C. and Wiliamsburg when my kids were 6, 9, and 12 - and they enjoyed it very much.

 

[KarenAylwood]

FYI, I would suggest you call President's Park to make sure they are still open. The last I read in the paper they were closing down and looking to sell off the statues! Their website is still up, so I don't know when they said they were going to close.

I only skimmed through so want to add in case they were missed: The Yankee Candle Flagship store in Williamsburg. It is a lot more than just smelly candles! My kids love it. Santa is there year round and there is a little puppet type show and a toy store and a place to color their own candles and more.

Also there is the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News that is good for a few hours of exploration. Lots of animals.

Williamsburg is also not really that far from Virgina Beach if you want to drive down there for a day.

Also a good day trip from there is to the Nauticus Museum in Norfolk where you can see a lot of Naval History and there is a lot of interactive things for the kids and you can actually walk on and tour the Battleship Wisconsin.

We have an indoor ice skating rink in Yorktown if your kids would like to do that.

And since it is the budget board, I thought I'd post that the Battleship Wisconsin and part of Nauticus are free We live within walking distance of it and I always take my parents for a nice walk there when they come down to visit. We also have the Virginia Zoo close by and it's very reasonable. It's open all year round and tends to be very uncrowded in the winter and spring. We went in October once when it was POURING out and still had a good time!

The Virginia aquarium in Va Beach is nice like others have mentioned.

There are tons of restaurants on Restaurant.com in this area as well, and there's a current 60% off code (HOLIDAY).

Someone mentioned earlier that Richmond Road is also Rte 60. I just wanted to clarify since it's easy to get lost in the burg. Rte 60 is also Richmond Road out by the outlets and the Pottery, along with the stretch that Yankee Candle and most of the restaurants are located on. At the intersection of Bypass and Richmond Road, 60 turns into Bypass. Richmond Road continues (not as 60) to go past the College and to CW. People have gotten lost trying to stay on 60 going towards CW and end up behind the CW area and miss the College completely.

If you're lucky enough to have the same spring break as W&M, you'll end up with a very empty week.