Busch Gardens Christmas Town in Williamsburg, VA

Date of Visit: 5.22.19, Wednesday, Arrival 10:30 AM, Weather 75 degrees Overall Experience: Beautiful weather, awesome wait times, disappointed by ride closures. Traffic: Great - no problems Prices: Standard bottle of water $3.50, Funnel Cake $8.50, Pretzel (bland) - $5.50 Photo Packages: The first time you get a photo, you get a card, then everyone is supposed to load their photos onto one card, instead each place handed us a new card almost automatically. And apparently, they get some sort of credit if you come back to their stand to complete your transaction. It all feels gross. I believe it starts at $10 each for the first two photos and the third and thereafter is an additional $5 each. Tollgate for parking (when slow season): One person at each toll works two lanes of traffic. So the person helps one side then helps the next side. You get a receipt, but nothing to put in your window. You need that receipt to get back into the park so you don't want to put it in your window or it will most likely turn black from the heat. Read that receipt! If it's busy, you don't get back in! Restrooms: Available prior to actually entering the park in the ticketing area. The women's room is oddly nondescript compared to the men's. You could mistake it for a mechanical closet door. Maybe five stalls so the line backs up. If you have to go, go then. The line entering the park moved quickly but was backed up really far. Also, this walk is going to be an incline when you leave the park. Parking: So close everyone parking walked, no trams at the time Entering the actual Park: Confusing. Could use better signage, as in ONE large sign with arrows directing people instead of just labeling the "zones" (A, B, C, D). I may have missed this, but hey, that's the point. Believe there is a zone for buying tickets or picking them up at kiosks; then there is buying them at the entrance; finally, if you have printed tickets from home, you walk down a bit of a way further and line up to present your ticket (Zone D). It is scanned and you walk through a metal detector. If you set it off you are "wanded" and off you go. Pros of early season: - The weather is breezy and not stifling hot (As a native Floridian, I know what a miserable park day is) - The lines are INCREDIBLY short - as in, we rode Le Scoot 3 times without getting off the ride, among a few others. Our longest wait was for the train to ride (15 minutes). Cons of early season: - We were supposed to go the week before and at the last minute, we saw the park was closed mid-week, for the past two weeks... - Closures: concession stands, fair-type games, many storefronts, and at LEAST four major rides (Roman Rapids - really upset about this one, Skyride, Tempesto, and The Flying Machine) Most games seem to start at $5. - Quite a few rides insist on no bags, etc. Understandable, but lockers start at $2 for 2 hours. When it is slow, you don't need this much time. When it is busy, and you go to different areas, these storage fees will add up. - Maybe we are old school, but we did not bring any food or drink into the park, only to find families everywhere with water bottles and snacks and one family even had a block of cheese. Rides: - Sesame Street's water area is better than the one at Land of the Dragons - Escape from Pompeii is an incredibly short ride for what it is and you really don't get all that wet. I would have been disappointed if I waited in line for that anywhere over 10 minutes. - Train ride = views of back alleys. There are no animals, etc. to look at. And frankly, by the time we boarded, we could have walked and saved some time. - Parents are expected to help their kids on and off rides. This is our first theme park for our kid and it all felt awkward. I get that it helps to prevent meltdowns (and lawsuits) but it creates a weird environment. - Courtney running the battering rams could learn the value of silence. While she was trying to engage the riders, it felt more like a cacophony of verbal harassment. Learn to read the crowd. - The trek to the Rhine River Cruise is insanely steep and just as brutal coming back. There are back stairs too, but ya know, be prepared to regret that walk. Here or Florida: Florida Busch Gardens hands down. Now, it's been a long time since we have been there, but as native Floridians, the Florida park just seems to have had more time invested in its production value and the rides seemed longer. And let's not forget that both parks have many of the same main rides with different names. Florida has barely three months of cool weather: January - March. The rest of the year is Summer.

We really love Busch Gardens and have been many times over the years...on 5/25 though we took 2 of our grand kids, ages 12 and 10...they had a ball enjoyed all the rides that they road...their favorite was the roaring rapids...my favorite and the one ride I could not wait for them to ride was Escape from Pompeii...and wouldn't you know it...it was down all day...they were disappointed cause I had really built it up for them...telling them they would like it the best...I was by far very disappointed!!!...Had I known they had Pompeii closed for the day...we would have planned to go another time...next time i will call to see if Pompeii is up and running...once I saw it was down, I was done...ready to go...

Very family friendly warm atmosphere. loved the rides. have been at Halloween much fun & christmasnis very magical for my grandson loved it

My family, (my daughter, my mom, my brother and myself) visited Busch Gardens yesterday. It was a Sunday and was pleased that we did not have to wait in any lines to get on the rides. I am a season pass member and my 5 year old daughter is a pre-k pass member. I love that Busch Gardens offers the free Pre-K pass. There are many things for children to do at Busch Gardens. The food and drink choices were fantastic, although I did not particularly enjoy the paper straws. The paper straws were not sturdy and softened and broke off in several of my drinks. It happened to my other family members as well. I was also disappointed to hear that the Dark Castle was closed for good. That was one of my favorites.

I would give the park 4.5 stars if I could. Since half stars aren't available, I averaged up. The reason for the half star deduction would have to do with Finnegan's Flyer. Mechanical issues for new (and some old) rides are bound to happen and cause delays. While in line for this ride this past Friday (5/10), there were two issues that caused significant delays. The second delay occurred after my party boarded the ride, only to be told to move back to the waiting area behind the cage. Without an idea as to how long it would be before the ride would be back online, it would've been nice if the ride attendant had given us a one time quick pass to get back to our same spot in line later in the day. With a 4 year old and 6 year old chomping at the bit while waiting for their dad and older siblings to finish the ride so that we could hit Sesame Street, it was a bit much to ask them wait for an undefined amount of time. Also, the queue right before boarding should be updated to something similar to the Mach Tower. While my group (consisting of mostly kids) was up front and together, we got pushed aside by a group behind us and ended up scattered working our way to the ride. It would be nice if they had some sort of square markings on the ground noting the side/seat number of the ride within the large pen behind the gate. It could be something simple, like spray painted squares with numbers. This would allow for people to have a predetermined place to sit. This past trip was our 4th day at the park this season as my wife and I purchased season passes as Christmas gifts for the kids. We're looking forward to our next visit sometime in June. Overall, my family of 8 enjoyed our time. The blend of rides for the younger and older kids is great. The family atmosphere is outstanding! We can't wait to see if the rumors are true about the new coaster coming in 2020.