brownie Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 I am planning our upcoming trip to Colonial Williamsburg. It's so confusing! Some things require extra tickets, but most don't list a charge or say if they're free! Do I need to get those tix ahead of time or is that morning ok? Which things are "must" do with boys 7,9 and 11? Was anything a disappointment /dull with the kids that you would avoid? Is the witch trial really that upsetting to children? Thanks! Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Will you be there during Homeschool Days? And for how long? If you'll only be there for a couple of days, then I might not bother getting tickets to any of the special programs as there is plenty to do. If you'll be there more than two days, then yes, I might reserve something ahead of time - the homeschool programs filled up, I think, so I would reserve and maybe do one or two. We liked the art museum more than I expected and we enjoyed the tour and project that we had there a lot. Also, the tour of the mansion is a bit of a wait, but good. And if they're doing RevQuest again, we really loved that. ETA: Oh, and if you'll be there for more than a couple of days, you should consider a side trip to Jamestown. We enjoyed that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 3 full days and not during homeschool week....we're going next week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 You'll need to buy a pass. I like to spend three days at Williamsburg, so...whatever that would be. :-) You usually have to buy extra tickets for the Governor's Mansion. Do that. It's worth it. When I was homeschooling, Homeschool Days hadn't yet been invented, so I don't know anything about those. I just know that we like to spend three days in Williamsburg, casually strolling from place to place, staying as long as anyone wants to stay, not forcing anyone to do anything to make it more "educational" ::rolls eyes::. We always go to the Visitors' Center and see the movie there. And each day there are scheduled events, usually outside where everyone can watch, so you can plan to be wherever they are happening. We also like to do one meal at the Old Chickahominy House; they only do breakfast and lunch, so we do breakfast on our first morning there. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 I haven't done the Colonial Williamsburg package, but Jamestown is very enjoyable. My kids all loved it. Busch Gardens is a hit and one of my favorite amusement parks -- very green, with lots of trees, so it doesn't feel like a concrete jungle like most amusement parks. If you get a fun card, you can go multiple times for the price of single day admission. If you're going before August 19th, they have fireworks every night at 9:30pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickerplum Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 I agree with Jamestown and Busch Gardens (don't know your views, but it is sponsored by the beer ocmpany...). Yorktown is pretty good, too. And there are pancake houses on almost any corner. :) There was a great playhouse where you interacted with the actors during the play - I can't remember the name, but it was a hoot! Have fun!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cshell Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) :bigear: Any more ideas for a great place to eat with kiddos?? in the Historic Triangle? Edited August 6, 2012 by cshell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 Has anyone done the apprenticeships at Williamsburg with their kids? I called today and it's $15 a kid for maybe 1.5 hrs! That's steep but I want the kids to have a good time. If it's the most fun to be had there I will pay for it. This is our summer vacation. Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CupOCoffee Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I agree with Jamestown and Busch Gardens (don't know your views, but it is sponsored by the beer ocmpany...). Yorktown is pretty good, too. And there are pancake houses on almost any corner. :) There was a great playhouse where you interacted with the actors during the play - I can't remember the name, but it was a hoot! Have fun!! One minor correction: Busch Gardens is no longer owned and operated by the Busch (family) & Brewery. Busch Beer was sold off a few years ago (it's now owned by a European brewery) and the amusement park is now run by an entertainment/theme park company from England. They do still serve the beer though. I wanted to add that since you mentioned about the OP's views. I figured that to mean that if the OP was against going to a place operated by a beer company... We do tend to stick to Busch, as we are huge amusement park fans :) and we don't feel the $$$ is worth it for the tickets in Colonial Williamburg. But that's just us. Busch is a super beautiful park, the food is awesome and reasonably priced. They've made some serious changes this year to the Ocktoberfest, which many are unhappy with, but really, it's been voted the best theme park in the USA for many years in a row now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 We've been to Williamsburg several times. I've never done the extra-ticket events in the evening because our kids are pretty little, but there is so much to see and do without those. When you get there, immediately pick up the "This Week in Colonial Williamsburg" schedule and look for any of the scheduled events that catch your family's interest. We have particularly enjoyed the various short plays. One thing that may not be clear is that any time it says "tour of such-and-such house" the tour will be given by a costumed interpreter who is in character as a person of that time, so it's almost like a little play. Pick out some events and have them in mind, but the main thing to do at Colonial Williamsburg is just to walk up and down visiting shops and areas that seem interesting, watching what the people there are doing, and getting into conversations with them when possible. (We always go in the off-season, so we have lots of opportunities to chat with the interpreters.) You don't need to have a full slate of scheduled events to have plenty to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratford Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 We did a 3 day trip to Williamsburg last year. We spent the first morning at Jamestown and the rest of our trip at Williamsburg. We bought the "multi-day ticket", essentially a 3 day pass to Williamsburg, and bought tickets to Jamestown separately. Prior to the trip, I felt that the ticket price was steep, however, after the trip I felt we had our money's worth. Our kids were 7, 4, and 1....the older two enjoyed EVERYTHING. Literally, everything we saw, both in Jamestown and Williamsburg. We went through the Governor's mansion I don't know how many times just to see the swords on the walls. I can't imagine not buying a pass....we would have missed out on a lot of our favorite tours and events (like a really great concert we happened to run across.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Oh, one thing we did do that costs extra, but was really fun: on one of our visit days we rented a costume for our daughter. The costume came with a letter from a "relative" that assigned her a bunch of "duties" - go here and do this, go there and ask for that. At each place she got to have a bit of personalized, in-character interaction with the interpreters working there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 If you're boys are game, do try the dancing lessons that are offered (in Colonial Williamsburg) during the day. So much fun. Who knows what nice old ladies they might get paired with ;). We enjoyed the Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestowne (they are very near each other). We also went to the glass blowing place (between the two Jamestowns) and enjoyed walking along the river. If you are trying to keep things to a budget, find a grocery store and pick up some easy picnic supplies - soft dinner rolls, string cheese, fruit, carrot sticks, water bottles, etc. The Yorktown Victory Center does not have a cafe/food available, so plan around that. We didn't realize it and ended up buying pop tarts out of the vending machine to help tide over hungry tummies til we could get some decent food. :tongue_smilie: We bought historic triangle tickets that included Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown Victory Center, Yorktown Battlefield, Jamestown Settlement, and Historic Jamestowne - it was definitely worth the purchase. We spent 4 days in the area and it really wasn't enough time :). We didn't buy ahead of time - they are available I think at all these places, so since the Jamestown Settlement was the first place we visited, that's where we bought our combo tickets. The folks there were very, very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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