Any family trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, would not be complete if you didn’t stop in at Busch Gardens.  While there’s plenty to do outside of the European-themed park, such as plantation and ghost tours and Colonial Williamsburg; however, when people book their hotels in Williamsburg, they often have Busch Gardens as the primary destination in mind, the same way that on the West Coast people come to Anaheim strictly for Disneyland and California Adventure or Knotts Berry Farm.  The locals in California have devised numerous schemes for handling these famous, popular parks — from where to park, what to pay for admission, and in what order to see the attractions.  Similarly, people have also come up with the best insider tips on navigating Busch Gardens.  Here’s a few of those suggestions:

Arrive early.  In some ways, this is counterintuitive, because you may encounter long lines at the park entrance, but it’ll be worth it once you’re inside the park.  To avoid two lines, purchase tickets in advance.  If you must buy at the park, just know that you will be in a pretty long line.

Once inside the park, the crowd seems to head for Italy first.  Instead, head in the opposite direction and find your way to Ireland, or even head for the roller coaster, the Loch Ness Monster.  In Ireland, you can see the show, Emerald Beat, a kind of Lord of the Dance, Riverdance, sort of experience.   If your family likes that type of dancing, you’ll love this.  There’s just one word of caution here, and that’s line up early, about a half hour or so.  The doors open at that time, too, so you may be able to go right in.  If you have time beforehand, or immediately afterwards, do Corkscrew Hill, a 4-D simulation ride about Ireland.  There sometimes is a wait, but the ride is air-conditioned; so if you’ve gone when it’s hot, that’s definitely a place to get away from the heat.  Afterwards, your best bet is France, where there’s some pretty good restaurants.  I’d recommend the Smokehouse, which has chicken and BBQ ribs.  The only drawback there is that you have to eat outside.

Tickets at these theme parks can be pretty pricey.  If you’re able to come back more than once a year, say three or four times, then the year’s pass, even thought it’s over a hundred dollars, seems like a better deal; anyone with kids in the California area always seems to have a few of these kinds of passes for Disneyland and that works out pretty well.

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