While my parents were in town visiting, Busch Gardens Williamsburg was one of the places that was mandatory for us to go to. They liked to visit the park and Matt and I had no objections. We weren't buying and it sounded like fun.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is located just off of Interstate 64 at the 243A exit. Since my parents weren't staying far from there it didn't take us but ten minutes to get there. From Virginia Beach it was about an hour. Being as school was still in session it also wasn't very busy.

Upon reaching the park we came to a toll shack. You have to pay for parking. How much, you ask? Well, how far do you want to walk? It ranges from $7 - $10 per car. My Dad was buying, so we got to walk. If it were up to me I would have paid the extra $3 for the closer parking, but no one asked my opinion and we were in the car behind them.

Once we were parked, the lot in the boonies was fairly empty, we headed for the main entrance. It wasn't overly clear which way we needed to go until we got to the end of the parking lot. We had just headed in the general direction of the park, you could see a rollercoaster in the background, and found the entrance without too many problems.

Ticket prices. Ahhh. Which one do you choose? They have MANY different prices, and also group rates listed. It all depends on how many visits you plan to make to the park as to which pass you should buy. We went with the 3 Day "Bounce" Pass. This lets you "bounce" back and forth between Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA (Epinion to follow) visiting either park up to three times. We had planned on going to Water Country USA twice and Busch Gardens Williamsburg once. My parents favor the water park. At the time they were running a special for $59.95 per person. Oh, and get this, kids are people, too. There is no discount for children. That burned my butt. My 3 1/2 year old son was the same price as my husband, even though he was far to short to ride most of the rides.

When the passes are purchased, at least for the "Bounce" passes, they take your picture and put it on your pass like a mini-ID card. In theory only you can use your pass. The pictures are rather fuzzy, though. When you go to the next gate they run your pass thru a scanner marking off one day for you electronically. They also check to make sure that you are no carrying in any outside food or beverages and checked your bags for weapons and whatnot.

Honestly they were seriously lacking in this area. The lady had me unzip my son's diaper bag, she stuck a dowel rod in the bag until it reached the bottom and handed it back. I could have hidden anything in the diapers and in the outside pockets and she would have never known. She didn't check that close. There was a uniformed officer standing behind them, but he was jacking his jaws with someone.

Of course, like at every other theme park you go to, there are 3-4 annoyingly happy people with digital cameras waiting to pounce on you as you enter the park. They want to take your group's photo and put the park name on it as a souvenir and charge you a mint for it. We opted not to do this. My mother and I both hate to have our photos taken, so I wasn't heartbroken.

Upon entering the park and getting past security we went to the restroom. I highly recommend this. They are right by the entrance, so don't pass them up. It never fails. You'll get to a ride and you'll have to go and the nearest restroom is 1/2 mile back the way you just came. If you see a restroom and you sort of have to go - DO IT! Same yourself a headache later. Anyway, we picked up a map at the fountain by the entrance and headed off.

The park itself is divided up into "countries". They have Banbury Cross as you come in the main gate. Not far up the "street" you will come to Big Ben. This is mostly shops and shows. The Globe Theatre is here, but we didn't stop for shows.

Next you will find Heatherdowns. In this area you will find a beautiful pasture with one or two of the famous Busch Clydesdales. From what I understood this was their "vacation" home. There are at least two teams that tour and they trade them out so that they can rest from parades and such. We got lucky and one of them came over to the fence so we could pet him. One of the workers commented that they had never seen them come to the fence before. You can also go thru the barn and see some of them in their stalls.

Heatherdowns is also the home of The Lock Ness Monster, one of four rollercoasters in the park. I, myself, am a wuss. I do NOT "do" rollercoasters, neither does my mother, so we waited while my father and husband rode. My nephew was not happy because he couldn't ride it. He is 4 1/2 years old, but he wasn't quite tall enough.

From Heatherdowns you can go to either San Marco or Ireland. We'll head for Ireland, which is their newest "country". Here you will find Corkscrew Hill which is a 3-D adventure ride. Since there was no one working, and no sign telling us if their was a height requirement or not, my mother and I stayed outside with my nephew and son while my father and husband rode this. They thought it was ok, but weren't to impressed. They said it was rather jerky. There was a puppet show (a leprechaun) going on right outside the entrance and exit to that ride, so we watched it instead. You can also find a beer making school. It started every hour on the hour, but we didn't make it back in time to go.

Off in the back was Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve. We didn't hang around for any of the shows, but the Bald Eagle exhibit was excellent. They must have had at least 5 wild eagles that could no longer fly in the exhibit. They also had one on a perch almost within arms reach for closer viewing. They also had an owl out next to it. Each bird had a handler with it so no one could mess with them. They were behind a short, wooden fence. There was also an aviary, but we didn't go thru that, either.

The next stop on our tour around the world was Aquitaine. Here we found Go-Carts. It is expensive, though, and you have to be a certain height to drive. Children are allowed to ride with an adult driver, though. My nephew wanted to drive so badly, but wasn't allowed. They also have the Le Palais Royal Theatre, but once again we didn't go to any shows.

The next "country" is New France. This is the home of Alpengeist, another of the rollercoasters that this park features. My mother and I once again waited on my father and husband to go ride and come back. They liked this rollercoaster.

Next you come to Rhinefeld. This "country" has a lot of kiddie rides. Actually it has my son's new love (next to The Wiggles,of course) which was the carousel. We must have rode that thing 5 times. Each time we got off he got upset. I didn't think he would like it, but in fact he loved it! My mother, nephew, son and myself stayed and rode the carousel while my father and husband went on to Oktoberfest, which is the home of The Big, Bad Wolf, the third 'coaster. They weren't as impressed with this ride as they had hoped to have been.

After that we headed across the Rhine River, which does have a boat wide and TONS of turtles that come up to the bridge and beg for food, and came to Festa Italia. Here you will find Apollo's Chariot, which I believe was my husband and father's favorite or the four 'coasters. They also have Escape from Pompeii, my mother's favorite ride and the reason she wanted to come. It is a water ride thru the city of Pompeii as it burns. The ride was broken down when we went thru, though. She wanted to go on it last because you get drenched.

Besides the rollercoasters there are a slew of other rides. They have your basic swinging ship and also a scrambler type ride. There are rides for almost anyone, except younger kids. The only ride that was really for children my son's age was the carousel. They had some other "baby" type rides, but they were still a little to old for him. He enjoyed the ride in the stroller, but you need to make sure if you take a younger child that you take along a wuss, like me, to baby-sit while the non-chicken types tackle the rides.

If you have the time and energy, they have shops in every "country" with the theme of the country you are in. They also have various shows going on at different time thru-out the day, so you can always plan and come back for as showing. There is also a train that will take you from "country" to "country" if you want to take a break from walking or just enjoy the ride. If you are brave, there is also a skytram you can ride that will take you around the center of the park. There are three stations you can choose from.

The park itself was very clean and the employees were, for the most part, friendly and courteous. We did purchase a couple of drinks at almost $2 each, so try to plan on eating before or after you go. We also had a cooler in the truck with soda so we had something cold when we got to the car. Or you can picnic in the parking lot if you pay a little extra for a closer parking place. You can get your hand stamped so you can get back into the park if you need to go to your car.

The park is open from March 23 until October 27. The hours and days change depending on the season, so you will want to check in advance as to if the park will be open and at what times during your trip. They open the gates at 10am, regardless of what day it is. When they close, though, depends on the season. The latest they stay open is 11pm.

If you are planning a trip to Williamsburg, I recommend spending at least one day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Go early and spend the day. Depending on the time of year the wait for rides could be long. When we went most rides didn't have a line. We went in the middle of the week as it is usually less crowded. Take some sun screen and have a good time. While the park does have shade trees around, there is a lot of walking, so sun will happen.

It's a good family place to go, as long as your family is at least 42" tall, which is the usual requirement for most of the rides. Some require them to be taller, but that is a good start height. Most of the rides are marked with a sign, but not a marker, so know your child's height before you go in.

Have a safe trip!

www.buschgardens.com




Other places to visit while in Williamsburg:

Chowning's Tavern
http://www.epinions.com/content_67771272836

Water Country USA
http://www.epinions.com/content_68279045764












Recommended: Yes