We're so glad we've learned over the years that Williamsburg, Virginia, is a wonderful place for Christmastide. Colonial Williamsburg follows a traditional "12 Days of Christmas" calendar, drawing the celebration through to Epiphany on January 6, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg's ChristmasTown lasts until December 31. From this has evolved several great years of "after" Christmas celebration for our family, a group of notorious holiday people. It's a simple enough trip to arrange: we hit Hotwire for a hotel, spend an afternoon and evening in ChristmasTown, and spend a day walking Colonial Williamsburg.
We were truly blessed at this year's ChristmasTown. The weather was so warm that Gwen took her coat off without our protest and everyone else, including the employees, seemed to think major rainstorms were imminent, resulting in the park operating with about 10% of the visitors it can handle. Keeping in mind that ChristmasTown, like Howl-o-Scream in the fall, sometimes closes due to capacity, this made for an amazingly low-crowd trip. If you go, we'd share these tips:
* Visit the penguins close to park close when the lines and crowds are the most limited.
* One coaster is usually running, weather permitting. If you really want to ride, ride early--if the temperature dips below a certain point, staff do not run the coaster.
* Yes, you can take your own pictures with Santa (see above).
* Holiday Hills in the Festa Italia section of the park is far and away our favorite area. As our late Granny Helen wonderfully put it, "It looks like it is really Christmas." There are lots of blow mold Christmas decorations, colorful lights, and retro Coca-Cola ads--what a nostalgic 1950s atmosphere. Holiday Hills is also a great place to eat dinner--Rudolph's Diner is a buffet and one of the best deals in the park.
* We hear great things about all the shows, but usually, we just do the show in the Globe Theatre as we enter the park and spend the evening enjoying the outdoor lights. This year welcomed Scrooge No More!, a succinctly-adapted version of the Dickens classic. Justin is a Christmas Carol expert, and he approved.
* Elijah recommends the sky cars Flight of Lights, what he formerly called "the buckets." Gwen recommends the kiddie hot air balloon ride.
Our vote is that Colonial Williamsburg at Christmas is well-enjoyed simply walking through it, especially if you do not have time for a multi-day visit. Justin and Kim have enjoyed their "holiday package" of admission, accommodations, and decoration walking tour before, and we'd recommend it to couples. The decorations tour nicely explains Christmas traditions in Williamsburg historically and in today's Colonial Williamsburg, giving you tips you can use for years to come in scouting out your favorite decorations. Don't forget to also walk the village at night--and walk in to the Williamsburg Inn if you can--and stop in Bruton Parish Episcopal Church to smell the wonderful greenery. A few of our favorite decorations from this year appear below. Merry Christmas!
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