Busch Gardens Williamsburg?

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04-20-2010, 07:49 PM
Kathy Jetson

Busch Gardens Williamsburg?

Hi all! I am going to Busch gardens in Williamsburg in June. Can anyone who has been there give me any info or tips on it? Like do they have anything like a fastpass? Anything a 6yr old should not miss? Any tips for things I can look for around the park that are not advertised? I am also looking for a place to stay very close nothing fancey we are on a budget but maybe with a cont. breakfast?

Thankyou for any help you can give me. We will be there for 2 days is that enough time to do everything without being rushed or should I make it 3 days?
04-20-2010, 08:01 PM
Touchdown

We usually stay at the Hampton Inn when we are in Williamsburg (has free breakfast.)

There is a pay to cut program at BGW but no free program like Fastpass.

Colonial Williamsburg, Water Country USA and Busch Gardens offer a (I think its still called this) "Revolutionary Fun Pass" for around $99 you can get a 7 day free parking unlimited park hopper, this pays for itself with one visit to each park.

Do not miss rides at BGW:

-All of their roller coasters are amazing but he will probably not meet the height limit for Apollo's Chariot, Griffon or Alpengeist.

-They have a new Sesame Street Section in England that is supposed to be amazing

-If he can deal with this ride, Escape from Darkastle is a very amazing ride. It has a ride system like IOA's Spiderman (its a 4-D Simulator Drop (simulated) ride.)

-Dont miss the Oktoberfest show in Germany, its a lot of fun.

-Escape from Pompeii-Is a Shoot the Chutes ride with an pyro filled upper section which simulates you escaping from Pompeii as Vesuvius erupts, its really fun.

If you can afford it try to stay some more days there is a lot to see in Williamsburg, we usually stay for 5 days.
04-20-2010, 11:53 PM
Kathy Jetson

Thankyou so much. I will check out the Hampton Inn and look into the $99 pass that sounds like a great deal I think we will stay 3 days. I'm sure ds will want to go on everything he is tall enough to ride. I can't wait!
04-20-2010, 11:54 PM
Kathy Jetson

I heard they had a character breakfast there. Do you know anything about it?
04-20-2010, 11:57 PM
Touchdown

While I came really close to going last summer (had done all the research and was ready to book) I ended up not being able to go. I haven't been since they put in Big Bird and Pals.
04-21-2010, 12:14 AM
Kathy Jetson

Thankyou for the info!:mickey:
04-21-2010, 08:43 AM
yjgirl32

There are so many different things in the WIlliamsburg area. The beach is about a half hour away along with the Aquarium- which is really nice. 20 minutes away is the Living Things Museum- very nice.

Busch Gardens has a lot of shows- the bird show is very nice. Plus there are other animals like the bald eagles, Wolfs, and Clydesdales.

Water COuntry USA is also very nice- you will have a great time- but with only 3 days you will feel rushed. Have a great time.
04-21-2010, 02:36 PM
Kathy Jetson

Thankyou! We will only be doing Busch Gardens do you think we can do it all in 2 or 3 days in the park without being rushed?
04-21-2010, 04:17 PM
NJGIRL

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathy Jetson

Thankyou! We will only be doing Busch Gardens do you think we can do it all in 2 or 3 days in the park without being rushed?

If you are only doing Busch Gardens two days will be enough time. If you have three days I highly recommend Water County USA. IMO it's as much fun as Disney's water parks.

I know you are not going but my son loved Colonial Williamsburg at that age.
04-21-2010, 04:25 PM
Kathy Jetson

We thought about going to Colonial Williamsburg on our last day before we head for home. Can you tell me what its like? What would a 6yr old like?
04-21-2010, 04:52 PM
Touchdown

They have plenty of arts and crafts for the kids, and you can also get him a full revolutionary war outfit to wear around (or more conservatively just get him a tri-corner hat.)

Colonial Williamsburg's Fife and Drum Corp are amazing to watch they usually preform 1-2 times a week around 5. You and him would defiantly enjoy seeing them. They publish a schedule of what to expect on what days (every day is a different time period between the 1760-1780) The nice thing about that pass is that you can spend a few hours in each park so he doesnt get burned out on history.
04-21-2010, 05:20 PM
Kathy Jetson

Thankyou so much for all your help!

I have another question I know they have the sesamee street breakfast but do they have characters out in the park like disney does?
04-21-2010, 06:58 PM
disney obsessed

Hi.
I live in Virginia Beach and go to BG quite often. I have never seen a character in the parks. Until now they have not had any characters except at halloween with Jack.
two days will be plenty of time. It will be hit and miss with the crowds. Sometimes we go and you have to wait an hour and a half for appolos chariot and other days it is a walk on. There really does not seem to be a rhyme or reason for it. If there are rides you want to deffinately do, try to get to them first of the day and at the end of the night. Go right instead of left and wait to get on the sky ride in New France. The wolves and the aviary are really cool. sometimes behind the aviary they will have assorted animals out for the kids, like 15 ft pythons and owls and the like. In Dragon land I have always felt comfortable letting the kids run around in the net-slide-bridge-treehouse area. You can see them really well from a comfy seat in the shade.
You'll have a great time. It is a beautifull park and lots of fun.
04-22-2010, 12:37 PM
Kathy Jetson

Thankyou for the tips!:mickey:
05-02-2010, 04:08 PM
Kathy Jetson

I have another question. Are there any childrens themed resteraunts in the area? Not in the park but in the area around the park?
05-05-2010, 02:26 PM
Kathy Jetson

Bump
05-06-2010, 07:30 AM
NJGIRL

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathy Jetson

I have another question. Are there any childrens themed resteraunts in the area? Not in the park but in the area around the park?

Not that I remember, but the last time we were there was about 3 years ago so maybe something has been built since then.

If I remember correctly a "pub" in Colonial Williamsburg had a dinner show but we didn't go but maybe that's something you could look into.
05-06-2010, 02:25 PM
Kathy Jetson

Thankyou for the info:mickey:
06-07-2010, 02:23 PM
mommylovespoly

If it is not too late....

I am going back this Saturday for the day with my 7 year old-- so I will scope stuff for you! Ask me anything!

Yes-- they DO have Sesame St characters in the park, but only at the meal and in the Sesame Land area. That area gets very crowded very fast. We always go there first thing so that my daughter can ride everything once or twice and we can get out of there before it gets really crowded. There is a great splash zone play area there, too-- and she likes to do that after riding, so she can "walk off" being wet! That area also has a really nice family restroom, but it is not very big.

There is a Dragon themed kids area as well but the rides skew younger. A brave 6 might not like them-- and the water area is definitely smaller. We don't spend much time there since DD turned 6 and got taller. It does have a fun tree-top playrgound to check out.

My daughter LOVES the Oktoberfest for lunch, because they sell hot dogs AND pizza there (I personally hate their pizza, but DD likes it.) AND they have a crowd participation show with dancing and traditional Oktoberfest stuff. Its fun and the AC is super cold in there.

You *can* bring in bottled water. Here is what we do: pack a lunch bag-sized cooler with small frozen water bottles and stuff it in a backpack. Bag check has always allowed us thru with this despite the no cooler rule.

We noticed that the food and beverage prices seem about 10-20% higher this season. With our passholder discount (10%) lunch for 3 is around $30 before beer. Yes: they sell beer, and it is awesome: always really really cold!

We have not done the character meal so I can't say much about it, but in general their food is pretty good. Except for the pizza, which has always been nasty in our opinions (really really sweet sauce and grainy cheese!) Everything else has always been quite good, and we really like the Smokehouse, Grogan's, and Oktoberfest the best. Any time there is a turkey sandwich on the menu it is nice thick roast turkey breast meat-- not deli meat! There is an awesome ice cream place in France BUT if the line is out the door: skip it. A line out the door there = at least 30 minutes. Not worth it even though it is awesome hand scooped ice cream with awesome fresh strawberry topping available...

As to Colonial Williamsburg-- my daughter likes the general ambiance of the place, and she has enjoyed meeting "characters"-- costumed intrepreters who will talk to you in character as a resident of Williamsburg of the 1770s. We ate in Shield's Tavern and she absolutely loved it-- the basement was dark and cool and felt exciting and old fashioned to her, and they had great intrepreters there discussing tavern life (yes: age appropriate!) We have also eaten in Christiana Campbell's Tavern when she was smaller and she REALLY loved that because the innkeeper (Christiana Campbell herself) was there and spent a lot of time talking to her.

In Merchant's Square, a contemporary shopping area adjacent to the Colonial Area, there is a famous restaurant called The Trellis. Trellis is famous for chocolate desserts, the "Death by Chocolate" dessert was invented by the chef there. In the afternoons they have a "dessert and champagne" menu and we ALWAYS do that for a break from the colonial action-- I have a glass of champagne, she has some milk, and we split a BIG awesome dessert sitting on their lovely terrace.

There is also a candy shop, a toy store, a book store, and a Baskin Robbins there in Merchant's Square.

One don't miss is the Bruton Parish Church-- it is gorgeous and has a really interesting graveyard. My daughter finds the interesting gravestones fascinating.

Also must-see is the Governor's Palace-- the lobby is "decorated" with the Governor's guards' weapons: very impressive. And the gardens are extensive and very kid friendly to run around.

have fun!
06-12-2010, 02:24 PM
Kathy Jetson

Hi! We just got back from Busch gardens thankyou all for the help. We had a great time. We did 3 days at Busch Gardens and 1 day at Water Country USA. I have to say how clean BG was there were cms coming out of nowhere all over the park with brooms picking up trash as soon as someone droped some. The ONLY trash I saw the whole time we were there was when they were sweeping it up! ALL of the cms were very friendly and seemed to like thier jobs. Water Country USA was beautiful and also spotless! I would recommend these parks to anyone!:thumbsup:
06-13-2010, 12:04 PM
NJGIRL

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathy Jetson

Hi! We just got back from Busch gardens thankyou all for the help. We had a great time. We did 3 days at Busch Gardens and 1 day at Water Country USA. I have to say how clean BG was there were cms coming out of nowhere all over the park with brooms picking up trash as soon as someone droped some. The ONLY trash I saw the whole time we were there was when they were sweeping it up! ALL of the cms were very friendly and seemed to like thier jobs. Water Country USA was beautiful and also spotless! I would recommend these parks to anyone!:thumbsup:

Glad you had a good time. If I remember correctly Busch Gardens in Williamsburg has been voted "Most Beautiful Theme Park" for many years (can't remember the exact number, maybe 10??) in a row.