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Macaroni Road Trip: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

A Theme Park with Two Kids Under Seven - A Parenting Victory

July 23, 2014
As part of our epic journey south this summer, we spent a day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We were so excited to revisit this park as adults and to share it with our kids. We hoped they would have great memories from the day, and we were hoping it would be suitable for kids in their age range. It turned out to be perfect with plenty for everyone to do. We opened and nearly closed the park, managed to squeeze a toddler nap in there and caught fireworks just before we left! We were practically high fiving each other the whole ride home; it was kind of a parenting victory. 
There were plenty of rides for all ages, and definitely something for the thrill-seeker in your group. Picture a 90 degree plunge while your feet dangle. Let’s just say we enjoyed this ride very much - from a distance. Actually the kids really did get a kick out of watching the roller coasters drop and spin while all the riders squealed and screamed. We knew there were lots of great older kid rides and attractions and were very excited that there was so much for the younger set as well.

The kids had plenty to enjoy, and Busch Gardens has several attractions labeled as KIDsiderate (designed for kids ages 9 and younger). We rode them all I think - multiple times! We also enjoyed the fun-for-all-ages rides like the steam train that loops the park, the Skyride and the Merry-Go-Round. We used the train and Skyride to travel throughout the park as well as to sight-see. We had a plan to hop on the train right when we arrived to get the lay of the land, but it turned out to be a little bit of a wait as it wasn’t running right when the park opened. It was still a great ride and a good start to the day, but the waiting was tough with two excited little ones (ok two excited big ones too!).

We spent a good amount of time in the Sesame Street Forest of Fun. It was great because our older one enjoyed some of the bigger rides there like the Oscar's Whirly Worms and Prince Elmo’s Spire. Our little one liked seeing Elmo and Big Bird and just generally enjoyed being with all his Sesame “friends” and the little toddler-friendly rides. We were excited that character sightings were pretty easy. The characters we spotted (Elmo and Big Bird) were just behind the castle and water play area. When we arrived there was no line and we got some great photos.

One of the best tips I can offer for the Forest of Fun is that when it comes time for the Sunny Days Celebration you can grab a nice shaded seat. The show is held just above where the water play area is located (bring suits and a towel). The water gets turned off and the show is held right there. There are several canopies just across from there with seats in the shade! We sat directly across from the show and enjoyed it all while staying cool! In general, we found that there were plenty of shaded areas to escape the heat all around the park. There were many canopies, coverings or tree-lined areas to keep the sun and heat to a minimum. There are even a few spots that have misting stations to help keep you cool!

As I mentioned briefly regarding the water play area in the Sesame Street Forest of Fun, bring a suit and towel, or at least a change of clothes. The water play area is very fun and enticing, especially on a hot summer day. There is another area just like it near Germany and the Land of the Dragons. We didn’t play in this water area, but did ride some of the Kidsiderate rides there.  

Our meal experiences were pretty good as well. We had lunch in the Trapper’s Smokehouse and dinner at Festhaus. We didn’t necessarily plan to be there in time for a show, but it worked out perfectly. We arrived around 7:00 PM, ordered our food, found seats and mid-meal the German Festhaus singing and dancing began. The kids enjoyed this and were interacting with and dancing to the songs. Then when our two year old proclaimed he was DONE! and wanted to GET DOWN! the music and entertainment drowned out his cries - Win!

We did a few more rides before wrapping it up for the day, and finished with the Skyride back to England. We planned our exit so that we could catch the awesome Star Spangled Fireworks right before we pulled out. They were really good and worth staying up a little late and pushing our toddler luck. 

Overall, our experience was great and the kids LOVED the park. The littlest one generally doesn’t like amusement rides, but he did enjoy the train and Skyride and a few of the toddler-sized rides like the Clydesdales and Bert’s Boat Ride. After an informal family poll about “what was your favorite ride” here are the results: 
  • Der Autobahn (Bumper Cars) and Sesame Street Forest of Fun Waterpark 
  • Skyride (two votes - one by me and one from our 2 yr old!! – maybe next time I hit the big coaster?)
  • Grover's Alpine Express (rollercoaster)
When you plan your trip to Busch Gardens, be sure to buy your parking and park tickets online. We were able to find a coupon code that helped with savings. The one we used is no longer available but give a quick search before you go. Every little bit helps. Maybe you can use your savings to buy yourself an extra turkey leg!

Happy Traveling!

We received two complimentary passes for the purpose of this Road Trip review. All opinions expressed are those of myself and my family.