Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Loading area for the Rhine River Cruise with two world class rollercoasters in the background at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Virgina.

If you read my Legoland post, you know I am a huge fan of season passes to theme parks/amusement parks. We live about an hour from Sesame Place Philadelphia and have had season passes to that park since my oldest was a year old. There is usually a sale in September that makes the Platinum Pass about $200. I highly recommend buying at this time. That price cannot be beat. Sesame and Busch Gardens are owned by Seaworld, so besides the Sesame specific benefits, the Platinum Pass includes admission to all Seaworld parks and waterparks in the US, free premium parking and discounts on food and merchandise.

There is no question why Busch Gardens, Williamsburg is named the most beautiful park in the world. Unlike many amusement parks that are flat, concrete slabs, BGW is nestled on rolling hills, with a river running through the center of the park and lush landscaping throughout. Each section is themed after a different European country, with food, shows and decor to compliment the theme.

With two small kids, our coaster time is limited, but my oldest is just getting tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides and is obsessed with Loch Ness Monster and Verbolten. Even when visiting on Memorial Day Weekend, we found lines to be incredibly reasonable, and when they were not, we always found something close by to do instead.

In a park known for its coasters, rest assured there are plenty of family friendly rides and shows. I also appreciate the fact that children’s rides are in several different areas of the park instead of contained to one section. This allowed my older son to ride some of the bigger rides, while his little brother and I were able to find something nearby to enjoy. The Sesame Street Forest of Fun is down the hill, to your left after you enter the park. This area houses several Sesame themed rides, including a small raft ride and a kids coaster. If the weather is warm, pack a swim suit or a change of clothes so your kids can cool off in the splash pad. The water is turned off several times throughout the day, as the stage behind the splash pad features various Sesame Street shows. The water is turned back on a few minutes after the show concludes and the area clears of any guests that were there to watch, but had not necessarily bargained for a wet down.

Land of the Dragons is located on the opposite end of the park and features several flat rides and the largest cargo net play area I have ever seen. Swinging bridges high above the ground connect the centerpiece tree trunk to the adjacent structures that return you to ground level. My oldest could spend hours here, while his younger brother bounces between the boat ride, the lady bugs and the flying dragons. In addition to the two sections I just mentioned, there are some additional kiddie rides scattered throughout the park and marked with a blue “K” on the park map.

I am going to link the Busch Gardens park map here, so you can get an idea of the size of the park. It is huge, and traveling from one land to the next will have you going up and down hills, some of them very steep. Fortunately, Busch Gardens provides two fun, beautiful, and relaxing ways to travel through the park, the train and the sky ride. We utilize both during every visit. The train runs around the exterior of the park stopping in New France, Scotland and Festa Italia. Theme park trains have been my top pick for in-park naps since I had my first son. When they are really little, pop them in that baby carrier, climb aboard and ride round and round for as long as needed. Since mine are a little bigger now, this is how the youngest and I kill some time while big brother and dad tackle some of the larger coasters. The sky ride covers a smaller area of the park, with stops in Germany, France and England. The sky ride is a particularly good way to travel from Land of Dragons to Sesame Street Forest of Fun.

It seems as though the park has struggled with food offerings in the past few years. I don’t know if it’s budget cuts or lack of adequate staffing, but I remember the food being more available and just generally better in 2019. With that being said, despite decline elsewhere, we have consistently enjoyed Festhaus in the Germany section of the park. Be sure to time your visit just ahead of one of their shows. It’s a great opportunity to sit down, enjoy some AC or heat (depending on the season), fill your bellies and be entertained all at the same time. For those who like a beer with their brats (who doesn’t?), to the left of the cafeteria area is a small pub that offers craft brews. I suggest a seat mid-stage, as close as you can get, especially if your kids like to feel like they are part of the show. The cast is wonderful and do a great job interacting with the audience.

If you have any animal lovers in your group don’t forget to stop and see the Clydesdales in the Scotland section of the park. You can view these beauties in the barn or in their pasture located just behind the barn. I have also seen them bring one out so visitors could pet them and take photos with them. Someone at the barn can tell you if that is available on the day of your visit. There are Scottish Highland Cattle in a pasture as you head from Scotland down the hill toward Sesame Street Forest of Fun. And on the opposite side of Ireland, are the bald eagles and the wolves.

If planning a trip to Busch Gardens I would plan for at least 2 days, ideally 3 if you plan to visit Water County USA as well. We usually visit over a long weekend. If we get into town early enough, we head to Busch Gardens for some night rides on the day of arrival. If the weather cooperates, we we spend the rest of the weekend visiting Water Country USA in the morning, leaving right around lunch, when the crowds are usually reaching peak. We like to head back to our cabin, have lunch and let our little one nap while our oldest usually hits the campground pool. Once everyone has had time to relax, we will have dinner at the cabin or stop somewhere on our way back to Busch Gardens for the evening. As I mentioned above, the theme park food offerings have been lackluster recently, so eating outside the park saves us time and money, while we get to eat something we actually enjoy. Our Platinum Pass allows us to take both parks at a much more relaxed pace, never spending more than a few hours at either. Prior to kids, I was a rope drop to fireworks kind of girl (yes, that was a clear Disney reference in a post about Busch Gardens and I make no apologies for it) but theme parks with kids, especially little ones, absolutely require frequent breaks, rest, fuel and hydration. I don’t consider the way we tour now to be a preference, but a necessity.

There are tons of lodging options in the Williamsburg area and many of them are very reasonably priced. Previously we have enjoyed Hampton Inn and Suites, Williamsburg-Central. We found it to be clean and conveniently located. However, if you are visiting the area exclusively for Busch Gardens I recommend staying as close to the park as possible to avoid traffic in the area. We like to utilize our Thousand Trails Cabin Pass, and stay at Williamsburg RV Campground. The amenities in this park are dated, but well maintained and the staff is kind and accommodating. The cabins are newer, and very clean and comfortable. Between our Sesame Place Platinum Pass granting us access to Busch Gardens and Water Country USA, as well as free premium parking and discounts on food and merchandise, and using our Thousand Trails Cabin Pass for accommodations, this is a very budget friendly long weekend getaway for our family.

I hope this inspired you to make your next theme park visit to Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. Be sure to follow us on social media for more pictures and videos about this trip and many others. I’ll leave you with my final tips below.

Budget Tip: If you have a popcorn bucket and/or refillable drink cup from any other SeaWorld Entertainment Park, you can bring it to Busch Gardens for discounted refills. We have been able to use our 2018 Sesame Place cup and popcorn bucket at Busch Gardens and SeaWorld.

Mom Hack: Our platinum pass is from Sesame Place where we receive a 25% merchandise discount. Our merchandise discount at Busch Gardens is 50% (I still don’t understand this), so unless we are given Sesame Cash, we do all of our souvenir shopping, Sesame items included, at Busch Gardens or Sea World.