A few months ago, Mark told me that since he was a kid, he’d always wanted to visit Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. Growing up in Tampa, his family would go to the Tampa Busch Gardens a lot. Mark even worked there as a ride operator when he was a teenager. Growing up, he wanted to design roller coasters, but that dream shifted to animation after he saw a rendering of a new roller coaster. For years, he worked as an animator at one of the world’s largest engineering companies before shifting to web development.
“You know Williamsburg is only a few hours away. We could just go.”, I said.
And so we did.
We visited Williamsburg after the 4th of July weekend, which couldn’t have been better timing. There were hardly any crowds since everybody took their vacations the week before. The theme park was dead and we were able to walk onto all of the rides. We also were able to score a 50% off coupon for admission on their website. The ticket prices vary depending on a lot of factors and they always seem to have a deal going on. We recommend buying tickets in advance so you can skip the line to get in and potentially save lots of money!
The iconic Loch Ness Monster roller coaster.
There weren’t a ton of people in Colonial Williamsburg either, so we were able to hop around and take tours without having to wait very long. We were able to talk to the tour guides, ask questions, and get a more personal experience. If you can, we always recommend going to places during the off-season and even better, during the week, to avoid the crowds.
In terms of weather though, the timing couldn’t have been worse. Pretty much the entire United States was experiencing a heat wave. The temperatures were well in the 90s and on top of that, the high humidity made going outside pretty miserable. We powered through though, slathering on sunblock and downing as much water as we could. I truly don’t know how we lived in Florida for as long as we did. Despite the horrible weather, we still managed to have a good time.
Very sweaty, very hot.
We got a single day ticket to Colonial Williamsburg, which costs between $28 – $50. There are several options for tickets, and they offer discounts for military and teachers, so check the website for more information. You could easily spend 2 days in Colonial Williamsburg if you wanted to visit all of the attractions. Something to keep in mind is that a lot of the places are closed on Mondays, so if you’re planning to visit, that might not be the best day. We went to Busch Gardens on a Monday and Colonial Williamsburg on a Tuesday, which worked out great for us.
Helping to pick radish seeds.
The inside of Governor’s Palace has guns and swords on the walls.
We ended the trip with beers at Strangeways Brewing. I got the Barbie beer. It had edible glitter in it!
While we enjoyed Williamsburg, it’s not a place we plan on returning to anytime soon. We really liked the main attractions, but now that we’ve been to them, we don’t feel the need to return. If you’ve never been there, we highly recommend checking it out. It’s a fun place for people of all ages.
