Historical Sites on the cheap and with young kids!

I%26#39;ve been looking around on the web and wondering what the best course of action is for visiting the historical sites with three small kids all girls (9, 6, and 1 yr). They are pretty good travelers, but can get whiny if things aren%26#39;t moving along. I don%26#39;t really want to spend a ton of money on something they really aren%26#39;t going to appreciate. I guess I%26#39;m looking for good advice for cheap/discount experience, but I%26#39;m willing to splurge on one fun show or expereience. Any help? Also, If none of my kids will ride roller coasters is Busch Gardens even worth it?

Historical Sites on the cheap and with young kids!

Are you talking about visiting Colonial Williamsburg in addition to BG? When my son was young (he visited there with us from the time he was 6 until he was 18), and he never really liked CW. Are your kids interested in historical things? If not, I would not spend the money to visit CW with them. (And I really love CW). However, we were there in October, and I talked with a family who had 6 girls and one infant son. The girls were all dressed in colonial costumes, and they were having a wonderful time. They were happy to see all the houses connected with Felicity Merriman, one of dolls in the American Girls collection. (I think that%26#39;s what it is called.)

Historical Sites on the cheap and with young kids!

You can get a feel for Colonial Williamsburg without paying the high admission to get into the buildings. The streets are open to everyone and you can walk through the town and see what%26#39;s going on. You can look into the paddocks and see the farm animals. You can go into the shops and your girls might enjoy going into the bakery for a gingerbread cookie. You can stop and take pictures of the kids (or the parents) with their heads in the stocks. You can go inside the Bruton Parish church. You could arrange to have lunch or dinner in one of the colonial restaurants, but the food may not appeal to your kids (or to your wallet). Unless your girls are big history fans, this might be the way to see CW.

There is a children%26#39;s section at Busch Gardens with a variety of rides for smaller kids. There are also a couple of shows which might appeal to young kids. The regular price for 1-day tickets for children 4 - 9 is $50, so you need to decide if that%26#39;s how you want to splurge. You might want to check out the Busch Gardens website for more info on their kiddie rides, shows, etc.

If your children enjoy swimming, you might want to consider a visit to Water Country USA in lieu of Busch Gardens. However, I don%26#39;t know how many water attractions are geared towards children, so you%26#39;d need to check into that. Rates for kids 4 - 9 are about $33 for a one-day, regularly-priced ticket.

If the girls like history and would enjoy seeing colonial buildings, blacksmith %26amp; other trades at work, people dressed in authentic attire (you can talk with them %26amp; they often tell interesting stories); then CW is the place...if not, they may not enjoy it. Some sections of Williamsburg will give you a flavor of the colonial times without admission and the visitors center has great information, but the CW area requires tickets (you can check the website for prices). I would think the 9 %26amp; 6 yr olds would like Busch Gardens, there is plenty to do even if you don%26#39;t like coasters and the park setting %26amp; atmosphere is very nice. Also, check out the ';things to do'; section for Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown to see if something interests you.

I lived in Williamsburg with my daughter when she was young, so I totally appreciate your question! When you go to visit Colonial Williamsburg, you can buy admission tickets to go into the houses (under-5 is free, I think). The advantage of the tickets is that you can go into the houses and buildings, talk to the costumed interpreters, and see some of the characters acting out scenes. They might enjoy this, particularly if they dress up too and pretend to be someone from the time period. (Definately check out the Felicity books in the American Girls series---if you read them in advance, I think they%26#39;ll appreciate the visit.)

On the other hand, there%26#39;s plenty that you can do independently of buying a ticket. If you%26#39;d like to, you can simply stroll up and down the street and see the sights, enter the colonial stores, play in the stocks, and enjoy some of the gardens, the College of William and Mary, and Bruton Parish church. You can also rent the costumes independent of admission. Another idea is to buy tickets for the horse and carriage ride. The carriage rides can take you through the streets of Williamsburg, just as they did in the 1700s.

You might want to check out Jamestowne Settlement. It has the 3 ships, native american village, James Fort. There are demonstrations, and people in character. There is a wonderful new gallery with very interesting exhibits. There is a cafe/cafeteria there, also. In case you get hungry. Also nice gift shoppe. Your girls might want to read about Pocahontas before their visit. A ';real'; story, not the fairy tales. When I go there, I always see the young children, boys and girls, having a wonderful time. I go there with my grown daughter, and WE have a wonderful time!!!