Nearly every summer, we take a trip over to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We have watched the kids love it over the years and it is one of our favorite family adventures. These Busch Gardens Williamsburg tips for kids will make your visit so much better and memorable!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 1: Come early in the summer
When you start planning your trip to Busch Gardens, consider coming early in the summer. We try to go before the local schools get out for the summer and rarely have to wait in lines. The park is not very crowded.
Kids love Busch Gardens Williamsburg without the lines
One negative here is the park is not fully staffed at this point so some of the food and drink stalls won’t be open yet and ride operations might be slower but it is worth it to us.
Bonus tip:
Don’t forget to book your hotel rooms early! Make sure to use a website like booking.com or expedia to compare different hotels in the area before deciding on your place. Planning ahead is important for you and your family to be comfortable, but also in a great location.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 2: Arrive Early
This is a tip for most amusement parks, but it pays to get there early. We usually get to the parking booths at least 30-60 minutes before they open and usually, there is already a long line waiting to get in!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips 3 for kids: Buy Tickets ahead of time
As with most places, it pays to buy tickets early because if you buy tickets at the gate, it will cost much more than if you buy them ahead of time. Groupon will sometimes get tickets for sale later in the season and it will save you money.
The Busch Gardens Williamsburg Parking fee is high but…
You will not save money getting parking ahead of time unless you buy a week parking pass. This pass is good for seven consecutive days and costs less than two days parking.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 4: Consider a membership
We have been getting a Busch Gardens membership for one member of the family and it has paid off. Parking is free (depending on the tier), we get discounts on food, free photo key and several other perks (like free tickets to Christmas Town!)
We did the math and this was a great deal since we enjoy spending a week in the area going to Busch Gardens and Water Country multiple times.
Water Country is the water park associated with Busch Gardens Williamsburg and it is in the same area.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 5: Fun cards are great!
We usually get Busch Gardens Fun Cards for myself and the kids. The Fun Card is a little more than a one day ticket and it will get you in the park all season. We get the two park Fun card so that we can use it for Water Country and Busch Gardens.
Look into a Busch Gardens Williamsburg Preschool Pass
If your kids are aged 3-5, they can get a Busch Gardens Preschool Pass that acts like a Fun Card and this saves you about $100! (More ways to save money at Busch Gardens here!)
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 6: Bring a bathing suits for the kids at Busch Gardens Williamsburg Forest of Fun
Busch Gardens has a section of the park called Sesame Street Forest of Fun and this is where our kids love to hang out. Not only are there rides, but there are meet and greets, shows and a huge splash pad.
Plan ahead by bringing bathing suits and towels. They do have bathing suits and towels for sale, but they are expensive.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 7: Land of the Dragons
Don’t miss this section of the park with your kids. There is a large tree to climb, ropes adventures, rides and a small splash pad. Kids love this section because of all the places to hide, climb and run. It is in the back of the park near the carousel but it is worth the walk.
I really love that Busch Gardens Williamsburg has more than one area dedicated to kids
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 8: Busch Gardens kids rides
There are so many rides in Busch Gardens for kids. The Forest of fun has Prince Elmo’s Spire, Grover’s Alpine Express, Oscar’s Whirly Worms and Bert and Ernie’s Loch Adventure. There is also a sky lift station here.
Land of the Dragons has Flutter Sputter, Bug-A-Dug and Chug-A-Tug. Close by, you can find the carousel and another sky lift station can be found here.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg has so many rides for kids the whole family can enjoy
Throughout the park, there are several rides for kids that are spread out. Italy has some of our favorites with the balloons and little gliders and nearby, you can find the tea cups and elephant run. In the back, there is a train station.
Back in Germany, the kids can ride the bumper cars and Der Roto Baron.
One of the favorites with our kids are the Li’l Clydes horse ride in the Scotland section and near here is the first train station.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 9: Kid Swap
It can be hard to check out the roller coasters at Busch Gardens if you have small kids and this is where the Busch Gardens Kid Swap can help you.
One parent can wait with the child who is not riding while the family rides and after they exit, the remaining parent can board the next available seat.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 10: Never pay for water
Busch Gardens sells water, just like everyone else, but they also offer it for free. Throughout the park, there are tap water stations set up and you can use your own bottle or they have paper cups waiting.
Bonus Tip:
Busch Gardens uses paper straws and while I appreciate the attention to conservation, they are not good. I suggest bringing some of these silicone straws to the park. These even come with a squeegee!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 11: Bring your own snacks and water
Busch Gardens Williamsburg food and drink policy allows for outside food!
Your kids will have so much fun at Busch Gardens, but they will also get tired cranky and hangry. Lucky for us, Busch Gardens will allow you to bring snacks and water into the park. .
Make sure to bring water bottles (to make refills easier) and snacks for the kids to help with the hangry situations that may come up.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 12: Get the refillable cup
The water is free but sometimes you just want something else. Busch Gardens sells Icee throughout the park and that is what you and the family will need on those hot summer days.
If you purchase a refillable cup, you will have free refills for that day and reduced price refills every day after that. We have two we bring every time and it just makes things so much easier.
Bonus tip: Get an extra straw so the kids can share the special drinks easier
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 13: One kids meal can feed two kids
The food at Busch Gardens is yummy, but the portions can be huge. To reduce leftovers kids can share a meal together or you can get one meal and one dessert.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 14: Bring a wagon
Busch Gardens has some of the most beautiful landscaping but this park is large and your kids will be tired. We use this wagon at Busch Gardens and it really helps those little feet get a rest. We also use it at other parks like HersheyPark.
Bonus tip
We love using these towels to keep us cool on a hot day and this fan could really help cranky kids in the stroller or wagon.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 15: Use the Busch Gardens app
The Busch Gardens app can be helpful if you decide to download it because the app has a map, lists of animals, shows and rides in the park.
This will especially be handy when your kid has to go to the bathroom “right now!” The app can lead you to the closest one.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 16: Utilize family restrooms and nursing stations at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
There are several family restrooms throughout the park and they also have nursing stations. Family restrooms are located in nearly every section of the park and nursing stations are located in the Festhaus, Land of the Dragons, New France and the Forest of Fun.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 17: Catch a show or two
Busch Gardens Entertainment takes their name seriously and you can tell if you see a show. They pride themselves in getting the best talent they can find for these shows and there are live musicians, singers and dancers in several shows throughout the park.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg shows are worth it
These shows are worth sitting down for and it’s a good chance to cool off on those hot summer days. The kids will be entertained and you can have a minute.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 18: Take indoor breaks
Coming in the summer is hot and you will need to take breaks. As mentioned above, the shows Busch Gardens has are worth taking in just make sure to get somewhere with air conditioning. The Festhaus has daily shows and they also have lots of food.
Busch Gardens Entertainment is top notch
Take advantage by cooling off while watching a show and having a snack or a meal. The last time we went in the summer, every day was 90 degrees and my poor kids had pink cheeks.
Bonus tip: Busch Gardens Williamsburg has great arcades and they are air conditioned
We really like the arcade in Italy the best because it has a large variety of games and it’s a good chance to cool off.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 19: Bring cooling towels
We have found that these cooling towels really help the user cool off in the summer heat so every time we do an adventure in the heat, we bring them.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 20: Visit the animals
The park is home to several different animal ambassadors such as bald eagles, wolves, owls, Scottish Highland Cattle and Lorikeets.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg has a strong animal preservation history
Make sure you venture through Ireland to get a look at the animals. At the top of the hill, you can even go in with the Lorikeets and feed them. Kids really like to have a chance to get up and personal with these guys.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 21: Get a picture with the horses
When you think of Busch Gardens, you have to think of Anheiser Busch. This always makes me think of the Clydesdale horses from all the commercials. They have Clydesdales and you can see the in their stall or even get a picture with one.
I cannot recommend that you get a picture with the Clydesdale more because it makes for a great memory and a funny moment with the family. The whole family will get to pet these giant horses and there is a surprise at the end.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 22: Use the train and sky ride to get around the park
This park is pretty large and round but there are ways to get around quickly. Use the train to get to other countries or the sky ride. This way you get to rest your legs, take in the scenery and get where you want to go a little faster.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips for kids 23: Plan on more than one day
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a large park
As you can see, Busch Gardens has so much in the park it’s hard to fit it all in. We usually plan on being in the WIlliamsburg area for about a week when we plan our Busch Gardens trip. The family doesn’t feel rushed and we can just enjoy ourselves.
I hope these tips for kids at Busch Gardens Williamsburg were helpful! For more general tips, check out my blog post Easy Tips for Busch Gardens.
Other Helpful Links:
How to Save Money at Busch Gardens
Enjoy the Magic at Busch Gardens Christmas Town
Family Tested Williamsburg Restaurants