The Tourists Are Coming (Williamsburg)

Member Name: Shadowtwinchaos

Product:	Williamsburg
Date:	04/01/02 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lot's to do, Great for all ages, Loads of history

Disadvantages: Can be crowded, Weather in summer is hot and muggy, Can be expensive

Williamsburg, Virginia started as a very small town. And in a way, it still is a small town. It has a distinction for being the earliest settlement in America, which in American terms make it old. To the rest of the world, it must seem pretty young. However, old or young, it holds a lot of history. Our founding fathers lived, worked and went to school here. Pocahontas was from here. Anheiser Busch makes most of their beer here. So for a small town, there is a lot going on there.

If you are considering coming to visit Williamsburg, there is a wide variety of things to do while you are there. There is Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Water Country USA and Busch Gardens. Let me tell you a little bit about each of these main attractions.

Colonial Williamsburg is what the area is most known for. This is a small section of town that is blocked from vehicular traffic. It is one mile long and about one mile across. You can visit this section of town at no charge, walk along the main road, read the signs on the houses, visit the shops, eat at the Inns. This is an enjoyable stroll. Or you can purchase passes that will gain you entrance into the larger buildings, such as the Governor’s Palace and The State House. A one day pass will cost about $25.00 American dollars. Children’s passes are less. With this pass, you can actually enter the building and see how the Colonial Americans actually lived and worked. I find the pass a very good idea for visitors. Everywhere you go in Colonial Williamsburg, you will find costumed characters going about life as they would have back then. They are more than willing to stop and chat with you about the Colonial days. Some of the other activities are candlelit tours. The tours usually start around dusk and are on a variety of topics from pirates to ghost tours. The cost usually runs from $15.00 to $20.00 American dollars and are very interesting. Re-enactments of battles and trials are held thr
oughout the summer months. A stop at the visitor’s center before starting out is an excellent idea. They have plenty of information and pamphlets for planning your visit.

Jamestown is another site you can visit. This is known for being the very first settlement in Virginia. The cost to enter is $18.00 American dollars for adults. Once inside you will enter a small museum. There are a few displays and lots of information about the settlement. Inside the museum is a small theater that shows short films about the life and times of the settlers. Exiting the other side of the museum, you go outside and right to the Indian Encampment. There you will find several costumed characters leading the life of the Early American Indian’s. You can see the tools they used, the food they ate and the teepees that they lived in. After passing through there, you will come to the Jamestown fort proper. Inside you can join up with a tour or wander freely around. The buildings are all replicated in authentic style. The characters will amaze you with their ability to show exactly how things were done in that day and age. It is very authentic, down to the heat, the bugs and the smell. After leaving the Fort, you stroll down to the river, where three boats await you. These are replicas of the ships that brought the first settlers. You can board the boats and wander around, feeling the waves beneath you as you explore. Jamestown is one of my favorite haunts in this town and can fill an afternoon.

Yorktown is another settlement that you should visit. The cost is about the same as Jamestown. You once again enter into a museum. However this museum is much more expansive and contains animatronics displays, along with interactive activities. Upon leaving the museum, you take a stroll through time in the Walking Time Line. As you stroll along, you can read the billboards that take you from the start of the settlement until current time. From there you can
visit a middle class farm and see how they survived during that era. With a house, a barn, a cook house and more, you find out what herbs they used to cure themselves, how they slept and ate. You will also see how they made their living off of the main crop of the area, tobacco. When you tire of that, you can stroll over to the military camp and find out about the life of the Colonial soldiers. See their tents, their uniforms, their weapons. You even get a chance to fire a musket off. Find out how they punished the prisoners of war and disciplined the soldiers. Another afternoon can be sent in Yorktown.

Busch Gardens is an amusement park with rides, shows and more. It is split up into European countries, such as Ireland, Italy, Germany and England. Each country has at least one show and several shops and eateries. There are at least 4 or 5 rides in each country as well. I find this park to be a nice visit, but there are some problems with getting around. The layout and maps are confusing. The variety of shows that they have is good. They have a 4D movie theater that is fun. They have musicals which are good. The shows are not timed well though, as it is hard to get from one to the other without missing parts of one show or another. The rides are good enough for what they have. The roller coasters are my favorite, boasting 5 of them. However, I often found that at least one or two of them were closed for one reason or another, which can be disappointing. The park is located right by the Anheiser Busch Brewery. They use to have tours of the brewery from the park, however, they have discontinued the tours, which is a big loss. The cost to get into the park is rather steep too. Around $35.00 American dollars for an adult and a little less for children. So, while I think that Busch Gardens is fun, for the cost, I think it could be better.

Water Country USA is, surprise, a water park. Upon entering the park, you will hear the tunes of the
‘50’s beach music playing everywhere. There are changing rooms and lockers available. The lockers cost $1.00 to use. You must bring your own towels, as the park does not supply any. When you are ready to swim, there is a wide variety of places to choose from. For the little ones, there are splashing pools with small slides and other amusements. For the more daring, there is a large variety of large water slides. For the wild at heart, there is the Wave Pool, where every 10 minutes or so the wave maker kicks in and you are tossed about on the large waves it provides. For the more sedate there is the Rambling River. This is a large doughnut shaped river that goes around in a circle. The current keeps you smoothly drifting along. Most of it is in the shade and they provide large, comfortable inner tubes to ride on. This is my favorite part and I could drift along relaxing for hours. The thing that I like the most about this park is that they provide life jackets all over the park in all sizes, from a small child to a large adult. They do not charge for the use of the jackets. I find this very convenient and a nice touch. So, if you are into the water, this is the park to see. The cost for entry is around $27.00 American Dollars for a one day pass.

Depending on how long you intend to stay in Williamsburg, there are some ways you can save money getting combination passes. Such as a Jamestown/Yorktown pass. Or a Three Day Busch Gardens/Water Country pass. You can purchase one day, two day or seasonal passes to most of the parks. It really depends on what you want to do and how much of it you want to do.

When you are not visiting one of these sites, there are still things you can do. There is a great deal of shopping malls, outlet stores and small stores located all over for the shopaholics. There are also some very interesting dinner theaters, with themes such as the medieval show at Rosy Rump’s Regale Dump. Or the Myste
ry Dinner Theater. There are movie theaters, miniature golf courses, bowling alleys and many more things to do if you wish. One thing I would recommend is renting a car. While during the summer months they do offer a limited shuttle service, the only other way to get around is to walk or by taxi cab, which can be expensive. So I would say that a car is almost necessary to do and see everything there is. The hotels in the area are of a wide variety of price ranges. From the very nice Hilton, down to some rather questionable privately owned motels. Another tip, especially if traveling during the summer months, be sure and confirm any hotel reservations you may have. If you are arriving after 10pm, be sure to call and let the hotel know you are coming, or they very well may rent your room out to someone else. Most hotels after 8pm will consider you as a no show.

Well, there you have it. Williamsburg is a very good place to visit with lots of interesting history and fun things to see and do. I think it is one of the best places to visit if you are able to. I should know, I lived there for 15 years. In terms of cost, it is less expensive than many of the other tourist towns that we have in our country. In terms of excitement, it is a very historical area, so if you are interested in history, this is the place to see. There is plenty to keep you busy and entertain the kids with. All in all, a great family vacation.

Summary: