Williamsburg, Va

[4theloveofdisney]

I don't know where else to post this so I thought I would try here. Does anyone have any opinions of Williamsburg? We are traveling to Virginia this summer and spending 5 nights. We want to do Busch Gardens for one or two days and also Water Country another day. We are staying at King's Creek Plantation and they have pools, tennis and things onsight but other than that we don't know what else to do. Our kids are 3, 6 and 8. Do you think they would be bored with Williamsburg or Jamestown? What is there to do at these places? Are there any hands on activites??

TIA!!

 

[KarenAylwood]

I feel like I've answered a MILLION "what to do in Williamsburg" posts- many on the Budget board and many here. This is the right place to post it!

I went to William & Mary for undergrad and grad school so I lived there for a little over 5 years, and with parents visiting we of course had to find lots of things to do! I also got free entry to all of CW and a pretty big discount for family members.

The kids will probably like CW (Colonial Williamsburg)- there's a lot to do for kids there- they have activities, hands on things and of course they love buying those little bonnets and fake guns Most kids take to it so you should be fine.

When you're in CW on the main street- DoG street (Duke of Glouchester), there's a sandwich shop called the Cheese Shop- it will be packed but it's so worth it!! Make sure to get the house dressing- it's to die for!

I actually haven't been to Jamestown because the one time we were going to go something came up. I've heard there's a lot of hands on stuff and it is fun for kids. Most of the people who visit CW and Jamestown have kids anyway!

I LOVE Yorktown. My DBF and I still drive up there sometimes from here (Norfolk) to have dinner at the Yorktown Pub and walk around. I love the place. They have a beach there as well, and last Memorial day they opened the brand new area by the water- shops, a restaurant, a ben and Jerry's and an area with bathrooms and showers for the beach!

If you want to get part of a day away from the kids (or hey, I don't know- maybe they like to shop) there's some GREAT shopping in Williamsburg. There are the Prime Outlets that have been greatly added onto in the past two years (I worked at an outlet there for about 2 years or so) and the Williamsburg Pottery is also down the road. Although try to stay away from the Prime Outlets on the weekends- the weekdays are bad enough!!

Also the 2nd biggest Yankee Candle is on the way to the outlets too if you're into that (it doesn't compare to the Deerfield Flagship store, but is still really nice all the same).

Also I remember seeing a billboard saying that they are opening a Ripley's Believe it Or Not soon. Not sure where it will be.

You could definitely do Busch Gardens for 2 days if you've never been. DBF and I got season passes one summer and went ALL the time. It's definitely not Disney but second best in the theme park world (ok, maybe 3rd after the BG in Tampa). Water Country is a 1 day thing.

Oh and be prepared for the humidity down here!! I think it's worse than Disney (the burg is a swamp if you didn't know ).

If I think of anything else, I'll post again- also if you want to know restaurant info I could give you some good places to go/not go, but that's what I've got so far! I'm sure you'll have a blast.

 

[ckay87]

First of all - LOVE Williamsburg and the whole area. You will really enjoy Busch Gardens. It is a very clean, beautiful, high-end (I don't know a better word) theme park. You won't have any problem spending 2 days there, IMO. Water Country is also worth a visit.

My thinking on Williamsburg, the historic district, is that it's kind of expensive for what it is. If it were just me and DH, I'd do it. But a visit to Jamestown and/or Yorktown will get you lots of history for less time and money. Ok, actually we haven't done Jamestown, but my boys loved Yorktown. And I hear Jamestown is even better.

Virginia Beach is only an hour away. We really love that beach. You can feasibly stay in the Williamsburg area and do the beach also. We do that every time. You won't have trouble killing 5 days - especially with staying where you are.

Oh, and I know this isn't fun for the kids, but I really like the Williamsburg Pottery Factory. Very cool!

Have fun!

 

[ckay87]

You could definitely do Busch Gardens for 2 days if you've never been. DBF and I got season passes one summer and went ALL the time. It's definitely not Disney but second best in the theme park world (ok, maybe 3rd after the BG in Tampa). Water Country is a 1 day thing.

I almost said that about it being second best to Disney! It's really "up there" as far as being a comfortable, clean, and professionally-done park.

I would have but BG Tampa after it, in fact, but it's close! Tampa has the coasters - do they ever!

 

[tkd lisa]

We've done some version of all of these, and I have kids, so I'll give you my take on it.

Jamestown was fairly good interactive history. They have a settlers section and a native american section, plus reproductions of 2 or 3 ships. My kids were 5 1/2 and 7 when we went there (I think, it's been a while), and it was a full day event for them.

We did Williamsburg as a family in the fall of 05. Our timing was pretty bad, because we did this the weekend Hurricane Charley came through, and it was NASTY weather! By this time, the kids were 11 and 12. A lot of activities were closed because of the weather, but they did really enjoy what we saw. There was a lot more walking than there was in Jamestown, but there were more things to see as well. Something we didn't do, but should have was gotten tickets for one of the evening events. They were doing a mock trail, but they were sold out. If the weather was good, I'd say this would be worth the money.

My DS visited Yorktown with his Boy Scout troop a couple of years ago, and he enjoyed it. But they did this in combination with a tour of a carrier, so it must not have been a full day activity. I wasn't with him, so I don't have a lot of personal knowledge, and he talked about the carrier much more than the battlefield.

And finally, Busch Garden/Water Country. On that same Williamsburg trip, we did water country, just before Charley hit. Very low crowds that day (weather related), but it was a nice water park. It doesn't compare to a Disney water park, but it was still nice. They did have cubby areas at the ride entrance/exits for shoes and towels, which was nice. I did Busch Gardens with a group from work, and agree with what people have said. It's a nice theme park. They have more shows than a Six Flags, but they have great roller coasters too.

And I agree with Karen about the weather. Think FL hot and humid, and you'll be prepared.

Have a great time!

 

[NCRedding]

For your kids age, I would recommend Jamestown settlement, (not the national park) and Yorktown over Colonial Williamsburg.

 

[Jeafl]

We spent 5 days in the Williamsburg area last summer. We bought the 4-day hopper pass thing which worked out well.

To be perfectly honest with you, my kids were bored stiff at Colonial Williamsburg after about 2 hours. It was incredibly hot which didn't help, and for some reason a lot of the buildings weren't open. They were 15, 12 and 9 at the time, and I really thought they would enjoy it but I was dead wrong. They kept asking when we were going to leave.

I have to agree with whoever suggested having lunch at the Cheese Shop. It was very good, we all enjoyed it.

Since we had the hopper pass we went to Busch Gardens every morning until about lunch time, then spent the hottest hours of the afternoons at Water country. It worked out great for us. The early morning hours were the least crowded at Busch Gardens so we were able to see a lot in a short amount of time. It is truly a beautiful park, but a lot of walking uphill. We never seemed to be walking downhill for some reason

Water Country was nice, but their version of a wave pool is completely different than Typhoon Lagoon. At Water Country it is constant, very rough bobbing waves, and just about everyone wears a life vest (which they provide). My kids are all good swimmers, but the water is very rough and the waves are very high so they wore vests anyway. It is fun though.

Also, their lazy river goes much faster than the ones at Disney. There are no innertubes to float on, so most people grabbed the lifevests and floated around on those.

I must say that the food at both BG and WC was really good. Much better than your typical theme park food. Since BG is themed much like World Showcase at Epcot, there are a lot of ethnic options. The corned beef sandwich in the Ireland section is wonderful (and huge!).

All in all, we really enjoyed Williamsburg, but if we went back we would probably skip Colonial Williamsburg and spend more time at BG and WC.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

I feel like I've answered a MILLION "what to do in Williamsburg" posts- many on the Budget board and many here. This is the right place to post it!

I went to William & Mary for undergrad and grad school so I lived there for a little over 5 years, and with parents visiting we of course had to find lots of things to do! I also got free entry to all of CW and a pretty big discount for family members.

The kids will probably like CW (Colonial Williamsburg)- there's a lot to do for kids there- they have activities, hands on things and of course they love buying those little bonnets and fake guns Most kids take to it so you should be fine.

When you're in CW on the main street- DoG street (Duke of Glouchester), there's a sandwich shop called the Cheese Shop- it will be packed but it's so worth it!! Make sure to get the house dressing- it's to die for!

I actually haven't been to Jamestown because the one time we were going to go something came up. I've heard there's a lot of hands on stuff and it is fun for kids. Most of the people who visit CW and Jamestown have kids anyway!

I LOVE Yorktown. My DBF and I still drive up there sometimes from here (Norfolk) to have dinner at the Yorktown Pub and walk around. I love the place. They have a beach there as well, and last Memorial day they opened the brand new area by the water- shops, a restaurant, a ben and Jerry's and an area with bathrooms and showers for the beach!

If you want to get part of a day away from the kids (or hey, I don't know- maybe they like to shop) there's some GREAT shopping in Williamsburg. There are the Prime Outlets that have been greatly added onto in the past two years (I worked at an outlet there for about 2 years or so) and the Williamsburg Pottery is also down the road. Although try to stay away from the Prime Outlets on the weekends- the weekdays are bad enough!!

Also the 2nd biggest Yankee Candle is on the way to the outlets too if you're into that (it doesn't compare to the Deerfield Flagship store, but is still really nice all the same).

Also I remember seeing a billboard saying that they are opening a Ripley's Believe it Or Not soon. Not sure where it will be.

You could definitely do Busch Gardens for 2 days if you've never been. DBF and I got season passes one summer and went ALL the time. It's definitely not Disney but second best in the theme park world (ok, maybe 3rd after the BG in Tampa). Water Country is a 1 day thing.

Oh and be prepared for the humidity down here!! I think it's worse than Disney (the burg is a swamp if you didn't know ).

If I think of anything else, I'll post again- also if you want to know restaurant info I could give you some good places to go/not go, but that's what I've got so far! I'm sure you'll have a blast.

Wow! Thanks so much for the info. I jotted it all down in my folder!!

 

[4theloveofdisney]

First of all - LOVE Williamsburg and the whole area. You will really enjoy Busch Gardens. It is a very clean, beautiful, high-end (I don't know a better word) theme park. You won't have any problem spending 2 days there, IMO. Water Country is also worth a visit.

My thinking on Williamsburg, the historic district, is that it's kind of expensive for what it is. If it were just me and DH, I'd do it. But a visit to Jamestown and/or Yorktown will get you lots of history for less time and money. Ok, actually we haven't done Jamestown, but my boys loved Yorktown. And I hear Jamestown is even better.

Virginia Beach is only an hour away. We really love that beach. You can feasibly stay in the Williamsburg area and do the beach also. We do that every time. You won't have trouble killing 5 days - especially with staying where you are.

Oh, and I know this isn't fun for the kids, but I really like the Williamsburg Pottery Factory. Very cool!

Have fun!

Great to know. Maybe we will add a beach trip for one day! Thanks for the tips!!

 

[4theloveofdisney]

We've done some version of all of these, and I have kids, so I'll give you my take on it.

Jamestown was fairly good interactive history. They have a settlers section and a native american section, plus reproductions of 2 or 3 ships. My kids were 5 1/2 and 7 when we went there (I think, it's been a while), and it was a full day event for them.

We did Williamsburg as a family in the fall of 05. Our timing was pretty bad, because we did this the weekend Hurricane Charley came through, and it was NASTY weather! By this time, the kids were 11 and 12. A lot of activities were closed because of the weather, but they did really enjoy what we saw. There was a lot more walking than there was in Jamestown, but there were more things to see as well. Something we didn't do, but should have was gotten tickets for one of the evening events. They were doing a mock trail, but they were sold out. If the weather was good, I'd say this would be worth the money.

My DS visited Yorktown with his Boy Scout troop a couple of years ago, and he enjoyed it. But they did this in combination with a tour of a carrier, so it must not have been a full day activity. I wasn't with him, so I don't have a lot of personal knowledge, and he talked about the carrier much more than the battlefield.

And finally, Busch Garden/Water Country. On that same Williamsburg trip, we did water country, just before Charley hit. Very low crowds that day (weather related), but it was a nice water park. It doesn't compare to a Disney water park, but it was still nice. They did have cubby areas at the ride entrance/exits for shoes and towels, which was nice. I did Busch Gardens with a group from work, and agree with what people have said. It's a nice theme park. They have more shows than a Six Flags, but they have great roller coasters too.

And I agree with Karen about the weather. Think FL hot and humid, and you'll be prepared.

Have a great time!

Thanks as well for the info. We were hoping the weather wouldn't be as bad a Florida though - Yuk!!!

 

[4theloveofdisney]

For your kids age, I would recommend Jamestown settlement, (not the national park) and Yorktown over Colonial Williamsburg.

Thanks. It seems like that is what I am getting from everyone! I think we might just skip Colonial Willamsburg this time around.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

We spent 5 days in the Williamsburg area last summer. We bought the 4-day hopper pass thing which worked out well.

To be perfectly honest with you, my kids were bored stiff at Colonial Williamsburg after about 2 hours. It was incredibly hot which didn't help, and for some reason a lot of the buildings weren't open. They were 15, 12 and 9 at the time, and I really thought they would enjoy it but I was dead wrong. They kept asking when we were going to leave.

I have to agree with whoever suggested having lunch at the Cheese Shop. It was very good, we all enjoyed it.

Since we had the hopper pass we went to Busch Gardens every morning until about lunch time, then spent the hottest hours of the afternoons at Water country. It worked out great for us. The early morning hours were the least crowded at Busch Gardens so we were able to see a lot in a short amount of time. It is truly a beautiful park, but a lot of walking uphill. We never seemed to be walking downhill for some reason

Water Country was nice, but their version of a wave pool is completely different than Typhoon Lagoon. At Water Country it is constant, very rough bobbing waves, and just about everyone wears a life vest (which they provide). My kids are all good swimmers, but the water is very rough and the waves are very high so they wore vests anyway. It is fun though.

Also, their lazy river goes much faster than the ones at Disney. There are no innertubes to float on, so most people grabbed the lifevests and floated around on those.

I must say that the food at both BG and WC was really good. Much better than your typical theme park food. Since BG is themed much like World Showcase at Epcot, there are a lot of ethnic options. The corned beef sandwich in the Ireland section is wonderful (and huge!).

All in all, we really enjoyed Williamsburg, but if we went back we would probably skip Colonial Williamsburg and spend more time at BG and WC.

Thanks to you also for your input. I have the Cheese Shop on my "must do" list and I like your strategy of doing B.G. in the morning and WC in the afternoon. I think this will work well for my little one too.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Thanks again to everyone! I think we will be sticking to BG, WC, Yorktown or Jamestown and one beach day - maybe we'll check out the Yorktown Beach that was mentioned. Sounds like a fun place and I can't wait.

 

[motherhen17404]

I just wanted to add that we stayed at King's Creek Plantation 2 years ago and we loved it. We had a 2 bedroom "townhouse" that was bigger then my first apartment. Have a great trip!

 

[Shugardrawers]

The Virginia Living Museum here in Newport News is about 30 minutes away and well worth it! Lots of hands on activities for the kiddos and plenty to keep the adults entertained too. Right now they are doing an exhibit called "The Scoop on Poop" based on the book Everybody Poops. Dh and I are going to check it out this weekend just out of scatalogical curiosity

 

[4theloveofdisney]

I just wanted to add that we stayed at King's Creek Plantation 2 years ago and we loved it. We had a 2 bedroom "townhouse" that was bigger then my first apartment. Have a great trip!

Great to hear! Thanks!!

 

[4theloveofdisney]

The Virginia Living Museum here in Newport News is about 30 minutes away and well worth it! Lots of hands on activities for the kiddos and plenty to keep the adults entertained too. Right now they are doing an exhibit called "The Scoop on Poop" based on the book Everybody Poops. Dh and I are going to check it out this weekend just out of scatalogical curiosity

Okay...this made me laugh out loud. I *think I'll keep it in mind - lol! It sounds...interesting!

(Seriously - thanks!!)

 

[PlutoPony]

If you do go to Williamsburg, there are a couple of things in the restored area that are very good for kids your ages.... Go to the Powell House (by Christiana Campbell's) - they have activities specifically for kids. My son played with a hoop and stick in the back yard, make a couple of Colonial crafts, helped serve the main meal, wrote with a quill pen, etc. Sounds just OK but it's really fun, interactive stuff for the kids. Also, at the Magazine they do a drill every afternoon (see a schedule) where they "teach" kids to be soldiers, how to line up, fire a gun, etc. I'm not a gun person, but it keeps in character with the times and kids have a really good time! Most of the craftsmen are very good about talking with kids when they come in and answering their questions.
We found Jamestown Festival Park much better than Yorktowne. The replicas of the 3 ships was interesting. There's really not much to actually see at the Yorketown battlefields, but it is a good place to let kids run around.
HTH!

 

[Shugardrawers]

Okay...this made me laugh out loud. I *think I'll keep it in mind - lol! It sounds...interesting!

(Seriously - thanks!!)

I'm not sure if the "Scoop on Poop" exhibit is hands on. I'll let you know

Seriously, what grade school boy isn't fascinated with poop??

 

[Pedler]

Hi all,

We are going to Williamsburg this summer and I had some questions about Water Country USA. We have never been to a water park so this may seem to be a simple question but here goes.

What do you do with your stuff when you are in the water park? Things like car keys, wallet and such? Do they have lockers for rent at a reasonable rate? Do they provide towels or do you bring your own and how safe is it to leave them around while going on the rides?

I know, simple questions but just wondering what the logistics are.

One last one does anyone know how much it is to park at Busch Gardens or Water Country?

Thanks in advance.