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Busch Gardens Europe/Williamsburg Trip Advice


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After conducting a search through the forums, I didn't find a match to this, so hopefully a new topic is ok. If there's another forum I should direct this to, please let me know.

 

I figured I'd come to the community of experts when it comes to trip advice. My wife and I are in the process of planning our summer trip, a week-long journey to North Carolina to visit some of the wife's family. A visit to Carowinds has already been confirmed while we are there, and on the way down, we have decided to hit up the Williamsburg area for about 3 days. We'll be leaving July 17th (a Saturday) and heading to Williamsburg, where we will stay Sunday through Tuesday. Neither of us have ever been to Williamsburg, and anyone on here knows that a visit there would not be complete without a day or more at Busch Gardens Europe!

 

As we've started our initial planning, I had a couple questions.

 

  • 1. We're planning on going to Colonial Williamsburg along with Busch Gardens. On the BG website, we noticed a "Williamsburg Bounce Ticket" for a rather reasonable $98.80 each. It says with the ticket you get unlimited visits for up to 7 days at BG, the waterpark, and Colonial Williamsburg. Considering a ticket to BG alone is about $62, we're thinking this would be our best bet. What all is included in the Colonial Williamsburg part though? Is it all the museums/historic homes/shows? If so, then this ticket is a no-brainer, especially since it allows more than one visit to BG. Is parking included with this ticket, or is that always a separate fee?
     
    2. Has anyone here tried the "Quick Queue" system they have? The first option is a very reasonable $15, including one front-of-line pass to each of the major rides, plus one "bonus" ride of choice. The other option, for "unlimited" access is $40. Since we'll likely be at the park on a weekday (Monday or Tuesday), is the first option (the $15 one) sufficient, or would neither be necessary? (typically, that is. I know nobody can predict what crowds may be like on any given day)

 

Other than those couple questions, I'm looking for general tips/advice on all Busch Gardens has to offer. Any great restaurants we shouldn't miss? Any shows worthy of viewing? Would a full day plus an evening be enough time to experience most of the park? Post away, and any info you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated! Many thanks in advance, everyone!

Edited by PhantomNick
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First of all, When coming to WIlliamsburg to visit, Colonial WIlliamsburg is a must. You will never find another exprience like it. I also Recommend going to the Jamestown Settlement which is 20 minutes down the road from CW. Also worth it!

 

Second, Busch Gardens is not a large park. It doesn't not have alot of attractions though its quality is near that of Disney. it is recommended to take an entire day to go to the park. Not a few hours, in the middle of the summ you will need most f the day to get the full exprience. I usually go to the park around 1am though there will be alot of traffic at the parking gate. start with Scotland and rotate around toward France and continue in that direction. Go to all the shows, they are all worth it. By that rate you should be close to the Festhaus by 2 to 3pm. This is a great place to have lunch. Best in the park (though I love eating in San Marco). continue until back in england. There should be a few hours before park closure (10pm) and will give you time to head back to your favorite coasters before evenings end. For night rides, I recommend Aplinegeist and Loch Ness Monster. Griffon and Apollo are too brightly lite for my taste.

 

The quick queue is nice when there are unbearable lines... Don't buy them until you have gone on a few rides and deemed that you wish to have them. They only give front row rides on Griffon, a choice of the litter on Loch Ness, and second row rides on Aplie and Apollo. It all depends on the crowd. I've always found it fun when I had a quick queue to wait in line first, ride then go back to the exit for a quick queue ride. Pretty nice.

 

For other attractions around Williamsburg there are a few, Water Country is nice but nothing next to Blizzard Beach, Yorktown Victory Center is ok. Not much to look at. The President's Park is for "presidental fans" really (just a bunch of busts) The Outlets of WIlliamsburg have great shopping as does Merchant's Square (if you got the moola). And then on the outskirts of town is Go Kart Plus (it has it's own credit!)

 

Hope this helps. KDCM

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I usually go to the park around 1am.

 

Boy, you like to get there early.

 

The Bounce Pass is a good deal and includes Jamestown and Yorktown, as well. I'm pretty sure that the pass will get you admission to all the buildings at Colonial Williamsburg, but you might want to look more closely to make sure. CW used to sell (probably still does) a ticket that includes most of the historic area except for the Governor's Palace and the Colonial Capitol (the two main buildings you should see). So, make sure about what you're getting on the Bounce Pass. Some shows at CW are part of admission, but special programs, usually in the evening, require a separate ticket. CW's "Revolutionary City" program (think street theatre about Williamsburg's role in the Revolutionary War) should be going on, too (it's just part of your admission).

 

I doubt that you'll need BGW's Quick Queue on a weekday. Crowds should be quite manageable. The park opens different sections in phases, which should be spelled out on your park map. Have a great time!

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Thanks for the quick replies guys! We ended up calling a number listed for questions on the BG website, and based on the reply here and what we were told, it's definitely the Williamsburg Bounce ticket for us! I'm honestly surprised how much you get for such a reasonable (in fact, downright cheap!) price, not to mention it apparently also includes BG parking. We're thinking of leaving early enough on that Saturday so we can process the Bounce tickets at BG, then enjoy the afternoon/evening there.....then have a full day there again on Monday. We are definitely getting excited about this trip!

 

Glad to hear that we may not even have to use the Quick Queue. Also glad to hear that we don't really have to get there at 1 am!

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  • 4 months later...

Well, the time has come! This Friday we're heading down to Virginia, and after a visit with some family until noon-ish on Saturday, we are heading to Williamsburg! We are both very excited for this trip! It should be tons of fun. As of now, our "plan of attack" is.....

 

Sat. afternoon/evening - Head to Busch Gardens Europe, get our bounce tickets, and enjoy the park that evening.

Sunday - Colonial Williamsburg

Monday - Busch Gardens Europe

Tuesday - Colonial Williamsburg in the morning before departing for NC

 

We ended up getting a package deal through Busch Gardens that included the bounce tickets, a dining pass, and our hotel for 3 nights. Great deal too....we were stoked about that.

 

So, as we get set to head to the park, I thought I'd bump this thread back up to see if anyone had any last minute tips or recommendations? Is there any pattern that should be used for tackling the park? (like what countries to hit up first?) Looks like it will be a scorcher while we're there, but we're okay with that. We're hoping going on a Monday will lead to reasonable crowds.

 

Any food places that are can't miss? We're thinking the BBQ place in France and the one sit-down place in Italy look like sure bets. One question though, does the England area open up earlier than the rest of the park? I only ask because one of the places included in the dining pass (in England) says they serve breakfast. We were just wondering if we could head there earlier than 10.

 

Other than that, we're ready to relax and have a fantastic time! Thanks in advance for any other tips/advice!

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^^Festhaus sounds and looks really cool, but neither my wife or myself are big fans of German food. Can you go there for just a show without eating? Or, for that matter, do they have food that isn't of the German variety?

 

^Okay, that makes sense then....looks like we'll have a late breakfast on Monday!

 

Also, a quick queue question - I know you can buy them in advance online, but are they sold at the park as well? It'd be nice if they were, so you could evaluate the crowds before pulling the trigger on one.

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The wife and I went to BGW last week. During the week the crowds should be light. The only coaster we waited longer than 10 minutes for was Loch Ness. The wait for the Dark Castle ride was also long and it was a pretty decent dark ride. We ate at the bbq place in France. It was pretty good for theme park food. It is a very well themed park and like others have said go to all the shows you can.

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^^They serve pizza and ribs at the Festhaus, too--and you can get a sandwich in the Festhaus Kaffe shop. You can buy Quick Queue in some of the gift shops, such as the main one in England (across from the Old Globe Theatre).

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I hope you have a great time on your trip, and I'm sure you will.

 

On a semi-unrelated note, have any of you guys heard BGW's commercials talking about "Carolina?" They could not be more annoying. First of all, stop calling it Carolina. I assume they are using this same commercial to market in North Carolina and South Carolina, but no one says "Carolina does X." Carolina is at best an adjective, not noun when used alone. I could live with "The Carolinas go to Williamsburg." Also annoying are the "interviews" with people in line for the rides. "OMG I love Griffon, my mommy let me ride it twice." I'd expect such nonsense in Myrtle Beach but c'mon BGW.

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Crowds at BGW are really inconsistent. I've gone to the park on weekends where I can hit all the major rides in under two hours and I've gone midweek and the park is extremely packed.

 

On weekends, the park should be fairly busy, but manageable; however, I highly recommend preparing for the worst. Try hitting all the major rides/attractions (coasters/water rides) earlier in the day when crowds are light (follow the openings of the different lands) so that when the crowds pick up, you can do rerides for all the big stuff and check out the shows/attractions/smaller rides.

 

You can get all the info you need on the park map.

 

I posted this in someone else's BGW help thread. Hope this helps you.

 

As for places to eat, there is a good restaurant in the San Marco area (near the bridge that connects San Marco to Oktoberfest) that also comes with a pretty nice show if you'd like some entertainment with your meal.

 

As for Quick Queue... I've never had to use it personally because I normally hit the park at a dead time or I ride everything early. Crowds shouldn't be too bad early in the day though (crowds may pick up later when the locals get off work and Illuminights takes place).

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I myself am reading this because I am going in just over a month to BGE & KD. I wish that I could get down to the Carolinas myself.... but that is one too many items for me for the month of August! (We are also hitting up Hershey, Cedar Point and more than likely Dorney Park too) When you get back, post a report! I will intently be looking to hear how your trip was!

 

Have fun!

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