Busch Garden does not return items and cell phones that have fallen on rides. They say they do via policy, but have no promised timeline for release. Customer service about this is not cared about. We know the phone is their via pinging it but they will simply not return it. read more

Eli at Apollo's Chariot is by far the rudest person I have encountered at a theme park! I very politely asked a question and he replied by yelling and embarrassing me in front of everyone at that ride when all he had to do was politely respond back with an answer. His response was uncalled for and very unprofessional! I will be leaving several reviews and complaints on as many platforms as possible because that is not how you respond to polite customers nor represent any company for that matter! read more

A virginia institution! And its age is showing ! Love the idea of Christmas town! The entertainment was excellent ! Security good ! Parking is disastrous ! We parked in Germany 24 ! My wife has serious issues walking! It became so what dangerous on the way back ! The tram was trying to make light of the situation ! They closed that tram station down because of the bridge ! Still it's an issue! I certainly didn't feel helped. ! I noticed that this place has lost some of its glamour ! The bbq was good! The staff serving the food was rude! The check out was good! read more

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Whether or not you enjoy riding coasters (note: I do not), Busch Gardens is a lovely amusement park full of options for fun. I enjoy visiting for their special events, and I've attended both Howl-o-Scream and Christmastown. I'd say Halloween is the best time of year to visit as the temperatures aren't insane one extreme or another generally and the park is lively and exciting. I love their performances and haunted houses, especially. And you can't miss a ride on the teacups! (Yes, that is my thrill limit.) read more

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THE BEST THEME PARK EVER!! The rides are fun and thrilling and plus animals to see and lots of fun and so many kinds of food to eat and plus you get unlimited free drinks when you buy an bush gardens cup and the rides are super awesome and they have best themes for all holidays and i appreciate all hard work the staff does at bush gardens I been coming here for years absolutely remarkable place and theme park and so awesome. The food is very expensive and definitely become a member you can get discounts and etc and staff and the train is so much fun and plus the different countries are so cool and wonderful definitely come extremely early to get good parking and etc and make sure you go home early if you have kiddos or toddlers or babies parents and keep close eye on all ur kids and teenagers. Give the staff extra tips and credit for all their hard work they work externally hard 7 days week from early morning until they close and be patient and respectful and smile and say thank you to all of them and the staff decorates all park all holidays it is OUTSTANDING GORGEOUS!!! I love coming here so much I wish they would add more rides and more new items of food etc plus water parks at their water park every few years. HAPPY FALL EVERYONE!! From Lauren read more

I enjoyed our visit. Nice themed places to visit and food tasting. The rides were also fun. Definitely recommended when in Williamsburg. read more

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The park is absolutely beautiful. I could see why they say it's the most beautiful theme park since everything is so vibrant and beautifully decorated. It is similar to other parks with all its themes and such. There are plenty of rides and they really stress on the roller coasters. For a first time visitor, it can be truly overwhelming without having done some research and planning on how to tackle all the lands in the park. Everything in the park besides the rides and shows are extra $$$ and not cheap. To start, general parking starts at $32 with taking a tram to the park entrance while preferred is a short walk to the entrance and VIP must be much closer. The food also costs more than it's worth. Sad part is, you can't bring your own. You could if you have dietary sensitivities and even before then, the park must be contacted for approval prior to bringing anything in. You can go back to your vehicle to eat your food though. So this goes back to properly planning if you're really deep into the park around meal times. We arrived shortly before noon and stayed till 9p. Had we arrived at park opening, we may not have missed out on England. Though maybe had we planned better, we could have made do with 10 hours. There's some waiting periods though not too long. Unless I had a season pass and without little kids, I may have gone back again. It's a one time visit for me and I think that's enough. read more

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Do not buy your tickets in advance especially if traveling out of state. Today March 13,2026myself and many other families showed up at 10am because that is what their website said prior to them changing it to 3pm-9pm at some point. When google, and Trip Advisor who I purchased my tickets in advance stated that hours would be 10-9. There was no weather conditions to have changed park hours that day. Now not only myself, but many other families were deceived in paying a full day and only getting to attend 3-9pm. So, in that do not buy in advance or you may get ripped off like I did! read more

First time here. Food and wine festival is definitely a rip off. The punch card system is a joke. The portions are pathetic. The quality is bad. Too many teens working at these stalls. Rude. Disrespectful. The only thing worth getting is the Virginia crab cake from a price point perspective. The park is difficult to navigate. The app is so not user friendly. I used Google maps to find my way around better than their built in directions. There is never enough seating and the cell service is awful. The roman rapids has varying hours and you really dont get wet. Pompei is also a thrilling disappointment in that department. read more

I went to Busch garden for the first time and it was a lot of fun. I am not a fan of roller coasters and big rides but I felt like it was shameful that I've lived in northern va/Richmond for 14 years and never been to Busch gardens so I had to go. It is a nice theme park with a lot of things to do. I enjoyed looking at the birds and visiting the different countries. I went on a Tuesday in July and it was really hot in the 90s. I was sweating until the sunset. I was there from 11am to 10pm, watched the fireworks for 4th of July before I left. I went on 2 rides. 1 ride, I waited 20 mins and the other one, waited 35 mins. This was a weekday so imagine weekends. The environment is clean, friends and families just hanging out having a good time. A lot of places to eat, snacks and drinks. I did the all day dinning deal, I paid $60. With this deal, you can eat at any of the cafeteria every 90 minutes. It wasn't a bad deal but I don't think it was worth it to me. The lines were long to get food and you only get an entree, 1 side and a drink. The person I went with was a little upset, 2 of the rides he really wanted to go on were down and other things he was hoping for were no longer there so kind of disappointing but still a lot of fun. Overall, it was a good experience. We got the season pass for about $140 to be able to go 6 different times in a year with a guest. I think that's a good deal and you get preferred parking. Also you can go to water country with this pass. I enjoyed the environment, I plan on going back during Halloween and Christmas times. read more

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Busch Gardens is a great place for family fun. Since the pandemic, the cleanliness of the bathrooms and food quality has been dismal and substandard. read more

It's always fun returning to Busch Gardens year after year to see how the park expands and upgrades. My favorite time of the year to come is during Howl-o-Scream. I feel like the employees really get into character and the park invests a lot of time and detail into the decor. I enjoy all of the rides and mazes and think it's cool how they add new rides pretty often. My favorite part of the trip was seeing a show located in Ireland. It was very funny and had a lot of pop culture jokes. My least favorite part of the trip was not being able to tell where the "safe zones" were after dark. I thought an area lit in green meant there would be no scares and people in costume but that wasn't consistent throughout the park. I'm super grateful for the military tickets I got to use with my family. Overall I had a great time and can't wait to go back next year! read more

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I was really excited to go to this theme park but I was kind of let down. While it's a pretty big park, I do think there could be room for a little more thrill rides. The ones we went on were great though. Two of the major ones were down which sucked but it is what it is. We had fast passes so we went through lines quick so no complaints there. Food is expensive in the park but where isn't it? Overall the park is ok but not my top. read more

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Amusement Parks Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

Busch Gardens is huge! They divide their sections by countries so for instance there is Italy, France, England, etc. I love their all day dining pass where you can eat every 90 minutes. Having the different countries you can try different foods to share and it was much better than normal amusement park foods. They have a wonderful Christmas train ride around the holidays. read more

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Amusement Parks Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

I've been visiting Busch Gardens since I was a child and have always had great experiences--until this most recent visit. Unfortunately, it was quite disappointing. The bathrooms were extremely dirty and had a strong, unpleasant odor. Many of the staff members seemed unmotivated, with slow service and unprofessional attitudes. After waiting in a long line for food, we were served a meal that was mediocre at best--and unfortunately, several people in our group became sick afterward. The prices have become outrageous, while the quality has sharply declined. Charging $16.99 for a single shot of Jameson is not just unreasonable--it feels downright insulting. It's frustrating to be prompted for tips at every checkout while it's clear that staff wages need to be improved. The overall attitude and disengagement from staff seem to reflect deeper issues with upper management. This is a direct reflection of upper management failure. Even basic amenities were poorly maintained--several soda machines had no CO2, and the syrup was so watered down it clearly needed replacing. From our experience, it's painfully obvious that the executive team is more focused on maximizing profit than on delivering the kind of meaningful and memorable experience guests once came to expect. read more

We went to BG for Christmas town. It was cold so bundle up but it was very nice. Very nicely decorated. Lots of rides are still open (they will turn them off if below 42 degrees). They have a few restaurants (almost all the same food at each one). We got the meal plan which was great and it was nice not having to worry about buying food at the park. read more

I have been a resident of Virginia for 38 years. I have been going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg since I was a child. Here's the thing about Busch Gardens Williamsburg (and this is not unique to this giant company): I have been a yearly pass holder for years now. This past Saturday the weather was great, so my girlfriend and I decided to go have some fun at Busch Gardens! Now, Friday, while planning our little trip, I checked out the Quick Queue pass (at this time it was $99 per person) but did not purchase it at this time. Saturday, we get to Busch Gardens and realize priority parking is full, and we will have to park in the auxiliary. At this point we knew it was going to be craaaazy busy and a bad experience (with the lines we'd be lucky if we got on a couple of roller coasters). With this in mind, I scrambled to purchase the Quick Queue Passes (which were not $130.00*******). So, not only did we pay $130.00 a piece for the Quick Queue Passes but they add some type of processing fee of $25. The total for the passes ended up being $300******. This is on top of the price I already pay for a yearly Gold Pass. QUICK QUEUE PASSESS (READ THE FINE PRINT) Flash forward to inside the park. We are enjoying our day. The Quick Queue Pass is fairly effective (Quick Queue lines are still kind of long but nothing like NOT having the Quick Queue Pass). BUT it wasn't until we made our way to Invadr that we realized the reality of Busch Gardens pricing practices. And this is why I say read the fine print. We paid $300**** for Quick Queue Passes to find out that CERTAIN rides require an UPGRADED pass called Quick Queue Unlimited Plus** (which would have been roughly an extra $100 and would have put us at $400 for the passes). So, if you don't have the upgraded pass then you paid $300 to stand in the regular rider line (So awesome right?!) I say all this to say that more than anything I am disappointed in this company of my childhood. It's my opinion that they have PREDATORY pricing and intentional PRICE GOUGING (without providing any considerable increase in quality or value). When you go to Busch Gardens, if you've gone as long as I have, you understand that the most value they offer is good thrill rides. The rest of the experience (bathrooms, dining, drinks, shopping, etc. is subpar). I say this to say that I could maybe justify the prices if the value and customer service I was receiving was comparable. Anyways, sorry to rant. I just believe in value for my money and great customer service. If you're looking for good thrill rides in this area and not much else, this is one of your only options. Not to be a curmudgeon (I'm only 38), but this company is just another example of out-of-control greedy capitalism. read more

This place is awesome. Parking is easy. No need to get the more expensive parking. Even the far parking lots are no more than 10 minute walk. And trams are convenient. Roller Coasters are awesome. They have some nice mega coasters. Apolos Chariot and Verbolten being my favorite ones. Just note that some of the mega.coasters don't run year round. Food is better than most theme parks. Maybe with the exception of Disney resorts. We get the all day dining option and it works out really great for a family of 4. The parking even at its busiest never seems over whelming. It's a pretty compact park so during the day you can easily circle the park a few times without a problem. Great value! In the era where Disney charges $180 bucks just for a one day ticket, we managed to get 2 days of park fees and all day dining for $400 bucks. That's just $50 per person per day. Which is awesome. One of our absolute favorite theme parks! read more

This was a very disappointing day in April 2026. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why you would open the park at 10 AM when the rides and food locations are still closed. If you are hoping to grab a quick snack and then hop on a on a ride at 10AM, this park is not for you. If you say you are open at 10AM, everything should be ready for guests at that time. I love visiting theme parks, and I have never had so much trouble trying to find food options. Most parks have food carts throughout the park where you can grab a snack, on the go, along with a myriad of food locations to choose from. This park had a surprising lack of food options available, further complicated by our party's dietary restrictions, which made it hard to enjoy the day. If you want Dip 'n Dots or sweets you're covered but if you actually need to eat, especially for medical reasons, I would pack your own food! As for the rides, I was floored by the lack of employees on the platforms. Most parks I have visited have attendants directing the lines on the platforms like a well-oiled machine. Each ride at this park was like a "cattle call" which just made the wait times longer and left several empty seats on each run. I grew up going to Cedar Point so, comparably, the coasters at this park are not worth all of this hassle when other parks have gotten the basics figured out. read more

I love this amusement park It is absolutely gorgeous and has so much to see and do whether you are a thrill seeker or foodie or love live shows and animals It is equipped with two excellent kids areas and has several coasters as well as cliche carnival style rides the park is kept very clean and the Staff are kind and helpful Hot tip keep an eye out for sales around Black Friday they have very affordable passes that include parking read more

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My review is based off a first-timer's experience at Howl-O-Scream and Busch Gardens in general. We visited mainly for Howl-O-Scream. There is no additional ticket for Howl-O-Scream. You can spend all day in the park until in transforms. We parked in the England lot (VIP & preferred) which is right in front of the main entrance. I was visiting from California where I do all the local spooky activities like Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights and Knotts Scary Farm every single year. I didn't know what to expect, but I was impressed with Howl-O-Scream! The scare actors, decor inside and out of the haunted houses are up to par with my local haunted houses! My personal favorite was Nevermore with the Edgar Alan Poe theme. I was an easy scare for them as I was walking around admiring the interior. The Witch of the Woods seemed to be lacking but it may have been an off night. Scare actors were roaming around all the "terror-tories" to keep you on your toes. There were so many fun Halloween photo ops all around the park - tons of real and fake pumpkins scattered throughout, bales of hay, scarecrows, skeletons, and a live pumpkin character! We visited on a Sunday in September so the lines were short for all the haunted houses and the 2 roller coasters we went on (Pantheon & Apollo's Chariot). Don't forget that the rules say not to have your phone in your pocket for the rides! Although not entirely secure, there's a basket to keep your stuff. A couple held up the ride as they argued with staff. Everyone cheered as they were kicked off. read more

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We have attended Busch Gardens Hallo-Scream multiple in past years. I'm not much of a ride rider but I really appreciate all the decorations they do for the holiday. That's why I was so surprised this year at how mediocre the park was. They used to have decorations like a full size horse drawn hearse. They've gone from that to what appear to be store-bought Halloween decorations that you would have at your house. I suppose it wouldn't have been as bad except that we know how great it's been in the past. The park is still clean and well kept but it is now just like any other theme park. There's nothing to differentiate it from a dozen others. If you're into rides, I suppose is still your place. But for those of us who go for the experience, Busch Gardens has completely thrown that advantage away. read more

Please please look into helping kids with food allergies. We try to call ahead and be prepared, they tell us to just ask at the food stands. The poor employees there have to walk away for 15 min while we hold up a line and they find someone with a binder. The binder has partial information and they tell us sorry, they used a substitute today that is manufactured with nuts. (If you have food allergies, you now realize even if the item was safe, they use the same containers for the not safe stuff). 90% if the time we are turned away because no one really knows what is ok. Would it be so hard to source hot chocolate in a designated place for kids with nut allergies? I'm so sad always walking around while my son asks for pretzels and drinks that everyone else is enjoying, and for him it is always a no, because there is not enough information. read more

We came here on December 30th for our four year old to see the Christmas Village and ride some rides. There were four adults and our son. First, I would imagine during the summer the park is beautiful, there seems to be a lot of landscaping that would really add to the experience. That potential is probably why I am rating the park higher than I should based on our experience. It's an amusement park and therefore I fully expect everything to cost more than you would think. Tickets: $60 each, parking $35 or $70 like we did for VIP parking, then of course there are a ton of add ons for meal plans, skipping the lines, etc. I'm glad we didn't opt for any of those as it really would've been a rough experience. We found our way in after walking from the fairly convenient VIP lot. There is a recording that explains you should go to "this line if you have your tickets (we did)" or "go through these lines if you don't have your tickets". The problem was the lines were numbered and the recording referenced letters. Once someone yelled that we could enter through the exit we got in quickly. We walked into an area (I think it was England) and it was nice. Christmas music playing, decorations everywhere and plenty of shops. We wanted to find some small rides for our son so we made our way to the Sesame Street section. As we're walking I started to notice that everything seemed a bit run down, I thought this was only because this was the kids section. There were a few rides for young kids which our son did, the lines were long yet as they had just opened about 30 minutes before. We did the rides and since it was lunch time decided to grab a quick snack and a few drinks somewhere. We found on the map there wasn't a lot of options for food, so we eventually ventured to their "Irish Pub" and walked to the counter and ordered a beer for each adult and two pretzels.....$96. The beer was higher than I thought, with a 20 oz coming in at $14.99, but the pretzels were $10 each! Aside from the pretzel salt they were flavorless and served with a runny and strange tasting cheese. But, we were able to warm up for a minute and have a beer. On we went. We walked through many different "countries", hoped on a few more kids rides and I realized as we were waiting, the kids rides weren't the only ones that were old. The large roller coasters looked out of date and while they seemed to operate fine they just looked old and dingy. Also, I'm not sure if it was by design but it took a long time in between rides. I would like to say it was people taking too long to get off while the new riders were taking too long to get on, but that wasn't it, the employees were taking long. Some of the rides were not working for whatever reason and while you can see on the app the wait time at certain rides, this information was not publicized. We walked from one side of the park to the other only to find the ride we wanted didn't open until night time. Our walking had made us hungry (and thirsty) again. Nearby there was an option for BBQ or German. I had a feeling the BBQ was going to be a complete disaster so we opted for the German food. I mean how hard is it to cook some sausages. We walked into a massive hall with tables to find shoved on one side a depressing looking cafeteria line. But since we were hungry we ordered several items: Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, a pizza, cheese sticks (yes, this was a German food hall) and then the three different sausages they had that were resting in a bath of grease and who knows what else. About $100 later (and we hadn't gotten beers yet), we bit into what we expected, seriously bad food. Everything was tasteless and barely warm. The sausage was the show stopper but only because everything else was so bad. One employee started raising their voice that "you have to get sides" only to have us explain "we don't want any and certainly are buying any". It was bizarre and something I felt bad subjecting my friends and son to. We stayed a few hours later, it started getting very cold and crowded. We started to leave only to find out there isn't much for lighting as you exit. But being as we left at 6:30pm the traffic wasn't bad getting out. If the tickets were free, I may go again. If it was summer I may go again. But I would certainly never travel here or recommend it. read more

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - This is what is passed off in the German Food hall. Tasteless and overpriced food. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

I am writing to express my deep concern and disappointment regarding the treatment my son received during our recent visit to Busch Gardens on Saturday, November 22nd, 2025. My son, who is a double amputee, was subjected to an upsetting and unnecessary experience that left him feeling distressed, embarrassed, and singled out in front of other children. While attempting to enjoy one of the attractions, Li'l Clydes, my son was publicly told that he was not allowed to ride due to his disability. This interaction did not occur privately or with sensitivity. Instead, it took place in full view of other guests, including his peers, causing him significant emotional distress. Not only was he asked to leave the ride after already being seated, but the manner in which it was handled lacked compassion, dignity, and understanding. I fully appreciate that safety guidelines must be followed, and I respect policies put in place for the well-being of all guests. However, the way these policies are communicated and enforced is equally important. The staff member involved did not offer any explanation with discretion, nor did they attempt to assist us in finding alternative options or understand the situation in a respectful way. My son was made to feel different and excluded, which is entirely unacceptable. I requested that this incident be reviewed by Busch Gardens and that the staff receive appropriate training on how to properly and respectfully communicate with guests who have disabilities. Policies should be applied fairly, but also with sensitivity and awareness. Additionally, I asked for a written response outlining how they intend to address this issue so that no other child has to experience such distress. We visited your park with the hope of creating positive memories, but this situation has left a lasting negative impact. I hope that you will take this matter seriously and work to ensure a more inclusive and compassionate environment for all families. After attempts to communicate with the staff at Busch Gardens, they told me there was no phone number I could call and then discontinued responding to my emails. I expected more. read more

We absolutely loved bush garden. It was on my bucket list and I'm so glad I got to experience with my husband and children. We got the meal plan as well for all of us which absolutely helped so much every 90 min you get a appreciate or dessert , an entree and a drink for 4 people it could add up so that meal plan was worth it . We loved there was so much for all of us to do and we were never bored . My 5 year old lasted 7 hours I was shocked . I would recommend this part to anyone atleast once in their life it's definitely worth the trip. read more

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Waste of money, great rides bad people working. Workers have no idea what's going throughout the park. If you've come for the German experience I hope you like Marzen Spaten bc that's the only German thing in the building read more

Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens was a a lot of fun. It was my first time at the park and I didn't know what to expect. But I must say that they did a real great job transforming the park in to haunted park. I don't want to give too much away without spoiling it, but the actors/actresses were great, the haunted houses were excellent, and ride roller coasters at night is a must!!! read more

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Customer service outside the gate was extremely rude but friendly once inside the park. The guest relations booth just before entering is staffed by some of the grumpiest and most poorly trained personnel in the park. Nonetheless, the park itself is a decent value particularly if you can find discounted tickets online - combining rides appropriate for both the youngest children and thrill seeking adults alike. Many, if not all of the children's rides are able to be ridden by adults as well do you can enjoy the moment with your child instead of watching from afar. The park is clean and the decorum of the patrons and employees is acceptable for people of all ages. There is no distinctly enforced dress code, however. The food inside the park is inspired by various European countries with some Asian flair in the Italian section under the guise of it being Marco Polo's travels. None of it is a good value for the price and the park charges and obnoxious 5% surcharge on all transactions inside the park. Parking is $30, a 17% increase from a two years ago. Will likely continue to go back as long as there are discount tickets. read more

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Bald Eagle in their preserve inside the park. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

Terrible, terrible, terrible! If I could give 0 stars, I would. I never thought I'd want to rate any restaurant, hotel, or attraction so low, but I have so many reasons for doing so. First, the only good thing about coming here on the first weekend of Christmas Time was the free parking. That is where the good ended. Lines were unreasonably long regardless of ride or food option. And, getting the food was a chore despite having the 90 minute food pass. When I got the spaghetti and meatballs in Italy, I felt like Henry Hill from Goodfellas at the end getting egg noodles and ketchup. Just gross overall. Next, the rides kept breaking down. We'd get to the front - especially on Darkcoaster - only to find out it was delayed for the second time in 2 hours. The time gets eaten up and so does your wallet. We had the Fast Pass which wasn't applicable to almost any rides. Not sure why they were even sold. To add to it all, it was freezing cold and hot coffee and cocoa were limited at the end despite the park still being open. Definitely not coming here again. read more

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - The entrance on opening weekend to Christmas Time - Amusement Parks Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

what a rip off. went to christmas town. no christmas spirit. staff were rude and disrespectful. long lines. small park area. maybe 3 rides were open. didn't use full meal package because lines too long. food overpriced $26 for 2 pieces of ribs for ex. cost $60 each enter, $30 meal pkg, $40 park and $65 for sweatshirt. ridiculous. not worth the costs. dining eating ares filthy. no one cleaning. freezing out. no one selling hot chocolate or hot cider. no clear directional signs. had to pay $5 for a map. show times not posted. they can do better. read more

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - busch gardens - Amusement Parks Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

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Definitely a beautiful park! I would love to see it at Halloween time. The rides were also very fun (though lines were long on a Labor day holiday weekend). The dining packages are also an interesting concept. We also saw some of the musicians at a performance and they were quite good! What I thought could be improved: 1. Also, I thought the place could have used more directional signage -- I got lost! Like, I even had a hard time finding where the line starts for some rides. 2. On a hot summer day, there are not many places to find air conditioning (sans the giant Bavarian Hall). 3. The food (vegetarian options) was not good for entrees. I had lo mein that was like yucky spaghetti at best. 4. I saw one domestic violence incident, a fight almost break out, and a borderline stalking situation. This park needs more visible security. read more

Eveyone loves the rides and the train. The food is terrible. Upgrade food and prices. Parking so expensive. Put a restroom out there too.

This was a pretty fun amusement park! We came during vacation. We arrived on a Sunday around 1 pm and stayed until 9 pm. Their website can be somewhat confusing about buying tickets and all of their add-ons. We bought them ahead of time and then drove over. Parking was easy, you purchase parking (general was $30) and then find your lot. The signage is clear and helps find where to go. From the parking lot, they have shuttles that are fun to ride to the park entrance. They run all day. At the entrance, they have some pretty questionable security measures. It didn't appear that anyone was paying attention as we entered. One man got stopped because his child was wearing a costume, and that wasn't allowed. It was clearly stated everywhere that no costumes were allowed, regardless of age. But while he was being stopped, other children ran ahead all dressed up in their costumes. Seemed unfair. Walking around was beautiful! The park is all decorated for the season and well taken care of. They had people always available to sweep up trash as needed. The park has about 7 rollercoasters, and before lunch, all the lines were a 10-minute wait or less, but after lunch, it was as long as 90 minutes. My husband's favorites are the Griffin, the Alpengeist, and the Pantheon. I wasn't a coaster lover, so I people-watched as I held our backpack. Should I have changed my mind and wanted to ride the coaster with him, I would have had to pay $10 to rent a locker for the day to hold our stuff, as it is highly advised against riding with your phone in your pocket. My favorite ride was the Trade Winds, we rode that together numerous times, and with the backpack. In the backpack, we brought our own water and Smucker's sandwiches to help save money, as well as trail mix and jackets. The only food item we purchased was the funnel cake sundae, cinnamon bun flavored. It was really yummy and $13. Since we were visiting in October, we had the pleasure of enjoying their Howl-o-Scream fest. They give plenty of warning. At 4 pm, no one is allowed to enter the park with a bag. At 5 pm they give a 1 hour warning that the monsters come out at 6 pm. At 6 pm, the monster actors are released and go to their designated scare-itories (5 territories for scaring people). The territories were unavoidable as far as I could tell, but they just made loud noises and tried to get you to jump. They might run or creep up on you, and they are very well dressed, very scary looking. It's not my cup of tea, but if you stay out of their territories, you won't get spooked. We saw two shows, and they were both less than 30 minutes. We enjoyed both, the Phantoms of the Festhaus & Skeletones. Festhaus's show was my favorite; they have four monsters sing a pop song themed for their specific monster, and then the crowd decides on a winner. Skeletones had five skeletons sing popular songs and do fun dances. Both were enjoyable. If I could improve anything, it would be more regular rides. I only enjoyed two or three rides, because the rest were coasters and rollercoasters scare me. But I also understand theme parks are for thrill-seekers. It was really nice to see the park during the day first and enjoy it before the monsters came out. It made me appreciate all the hard work they put into dressing up and decorating the park for the night. It was impressive and enjoyable. We really enjoyed our day! read more

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Read fine print and prices very carefully, price says once thing and changes when you pick a date!! Ticket is NOT included and price is outrageous even when there are NO Park lines. It is a rip off! Will Never return to this park again, nor recommend it when they have no problem taking people's money for nothing. Shame on YOU Busch Gardens of Williamsburg!! Park Employees are NOT nice as well!!! read more

I love Busch Gardens rides more than some parks but it was not like how it used to be. They need a better app to show you the wait times, most parks have updated wait times and it helps a lot. It takes a while to get to one side of the park to the other and most had 90min wait times but it was very hot. Only 3 rides were actively working. The shows made it so much fun! The food in the food court could be better but I know, it's not supposed to be amazing. The parking and shuttles are great and helped a lot! They had lots of shaded places and water refills. We made the day more about trying the food around the world. We got Ice cream, German food, and plushies. The parking for general parking is $32 which is outrageous read more

Super great theme park! I adore the theming, and it has some incredible rides - coasters and non-coasters included (Verbolten is my favorite). They also have plenty else to do, like shows, music, characters, animals, and the meal deal which we did (food was great). You can save a lot if you buy a multi-day pass or buy during one of their specials. Love it here! read more

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Was excited to visit this park as I had been a pass holder for BG Tampa. Basic parking is $34! And you can purchase ahead of time or at the gate, cash only. This is a cashless park, so leave it at home! Finding a spot and entering the park were quick and easy, as it was midweek and school had just begun. While the park is beautiful, some parts can be challenging to walk for some especially if you're using a stroller or an EVD. There are lots of stairs and hills throughout the park. Was disappointed to see so many of the rides, shows and dining places were closed. It's still August and this is a town highly dependent on tourism, I wish all the offerings were available. I was able to book the Clydesdales & Collies behind the scenes tour which I do recommend, especially if you're a horse lover. You get up close with one of the parks Clydesdales, you learn a bit about their diet & habits as well and get to meet one. They introduce you to the parks border collies and they get to show off their herding skills, it was a really nice experience. To close out the tour you get to meet the black faced Scottish sheep, and feed them a little if they wish. The Festhaus dining & beer hall looks amazing inside and out, was a little perplexed to hear pop standards blaring at a level so loud you had to shout over the music to speak to one another. I would expect a German band to be playing inside a land called "Oktoberfest" at a German dining hall. Overall I think this park is just okay, but perhaps offer reduced tickets prices for what would be considered the "off season" now if so many offerings are unavailable during the week. read more

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Entrance - Amusement Parks Near Me - Williamsburg, Virginia

It was fun! The only thing that kinda sucked was the food. Which is kinda sad cause we came during the food and wine festival. I will say, the wait times weren't super long. There's tons of rides for everyone. Our favorites for mid-level to thrill rides are Pantheon, Locness Monster, Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, Griffon. The new one dark koaster was down almost the entire weekend. When it wasn't down the ride time was like over 105 mins. They have tons of bundles and deals for food, admission, parking, even lodging options. I did the all inclusive option and picked the Williamsburg Inn hotel and that was $500 for two people including 3 meals each, park admission, and parking. Overall this park is a fun one and it's themed by countries which is pretty cool. It's not like Epcot so don't get too excited. If you are going to pick decent ish food I'd go with Marco Polo the Italian spot or the German spot. The Jamaican food looked alright but I didn't try it. The park rides were open rain or shine. We got to ride quite a few on one of the rainy days we were there. Parking gets super packed on nice weather weekends and may take forever to get to the park. People had to park across the street and take shuttles over. read more

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Went had a great time with my daughter seeing shows and riding a few of the rides. Was disappointed after all the money spent on parking... tickets and meal passes however that multiple rides were down . Pantheon... the sky rides... wirbelwind... pompei ... we still enjoyed the day just would have liked to fully take advantage of park. read more

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