Has anyone been on Thanksgiving day? Any tips or things to be sure to do? Also, is a full day there too much or not enough time? 3 adults going.

*I called and there are no more reservations for food, so thinking about making one for the Wailing Company nearby, thoughts?

We are visiting with dogs. Can my husband and I share a pass? I ask because one of us will need to remail outdoors at all time with our Labs.

Just wrapping up a 3 day visit. Honestly a meh experience compared with previous visits. Budget cuts pretty obvious.Less going on. Best restaurant closed (fine. We saved money). Lots of other buildings closed for refurbishment with no obvious work being done.

Last time we were here 2 years ago they had an incredible app which let you plan your day, super accurate walking navigation on top of the CW map with live position updating, “leave now to walk to Charlton stage and arrive in time for your selected performance!” It was invaluable tool. A master class in app design for a large site like CW.

They have since gotten rid it. Completely. All the app does is provide a link to the utterly useless mobile web site.

What an unbelievably stupid way to save money. How much did it cost to maintain the backend database of events and map? All the investment was done. It was perfect.

I know that the average age of visitors is 75 ( at least at this time of year) but trust me they can figure it out too.

Rant over.

Some place not too far from the main tourist sites if possible, Thank you in advance:)

With the arrival of spooky season, I just wanna tell some of the "paranormal" experiences I've had here (I've visited twice). This is genuinely one of the most haunted places I've ever visited, which is a total compliment tbh. For starters, my parents vacationed here decades ago and swore they saw a ghost in a Confederate uniform. The first time I visited, I went on one of the ghost tours. When our group reached the Peyton Randolph House, there was a loud banging noise that lasted a few seconds that scared the shit out of everybody. I honestly couldn't tell if it was the door or the shutters, but it definitely came from the house. Then at the end of the tour, when we were in front of the Governor's palace, a small sand tornado formed and nearly hit our group. Sorry for the rambling, but I think it's too cool not to share. I'm also looking to apply to William and Mary next year, so I can't wait to see more of the town if I get accepted.

I will be visiting in November for a week and staying at Market Square Kitchen. We will be traveling by amtrak and getting around CW by walking, bus, and uber. I know that there are grocery stores in Williamsburg that are accessible by bus and uber. But are there any convenience stores/grocery shops within Colonial Williamsburg that will sell products like bread, stuff for making sandwiches etc, canned goods and distilled water (A family member uses a c-pap machine and will need to purchase distilled water for the week for this). Just hoping to find a small shop within colonial williamsburg that sells basic grocery supplies from it without having to pay for an uber to get to a larger store.

We will be staying at the Market Square Kitchen (one of the colonial houses within colonial williamsburg). I already know from the description that there is no stove to cook our own food on, but is there a mini fridge or drinking water? Also, is this similar to an Airbnb stay or is there room service like a hotel?

From what I can tell, Shields isn't doing the old punch bowls anymore, and I can see things saying that Chowning's Garden Bar has beer and wine, but nothing about their cocktails at all.

Is Kings Arm the only historic restaurant serving cocktails right now? Is there anywhere else to get the "historic style" drinks?

I’ll be visiting Colonial Williamsburg for the first time in a few days and am planning on doing one of the ghost tours. Where would be the best place to park for that? I know the visitor’s center and art museums both have free parking but can you still park in their lots after they close? Thanks.

I am going up at the end of October to visit for the second time and so excited! My mom and I went two years ago and decided to come back and do some things we missed the first trip. We took the ferry over to Surry for a seafood restaurant and while it was super good, we wanted to see if there were any other options around the triangle for some good seafood. It does not have to be colonial style related but something that locals love to frequent. Bonus points for a more local menu selection like crabs/ anything out of the bay! Also any other restaurants in the area that you recommend that aren’t seafood also appreciated! TIA!

My husband and I are coming to visit Williamsburg Virginia soon. Just wanted some information on what we should do while in Williamsburg virginia. Restaurants sightseeing what the locals do?

Figured as a bystander since I haven’t seen it mentioned or posted about in any local news articles yet I should mention it as a precaution for anyone planning visits and wanting assistance with their ticket purchases, refunds, map directions, schedules, event information, hotel package assistance, donor information, bus info, etc..

Basically a whooooole slew of services they’re in charge of that’ve been stacked onto their department work in recent years with short staffing and consolidation elsewhere in and around the foundation.

An already understaffed, under budgeted, and overworked part of the foundation frequently handling the brunt of guest information guidance and complaints had a huge chunk of their staff (including supervisory and above) come in today for work, do a portion of their shifts opening+mid-day work for guests, and then individually received emails to show up for a vague meeting where they were informed that their positions had been eliminated and to leave the premises immediately with security…😬

Evidently with the information i’ve come across this was so poorly conducted that they’ve really done a disservice even to what few ticketing employees remain with the aftermath of scrambling to damage control schedules planned out ahead by a few weeks and 7+ year experience members just suddenly gone.

Some poor agent’s soul I heard was the lone one left for the remainder of the day’s shift to close somewhere!

Anyways, if you do have plans for visitation soon please have immense consideration for what little ticketing staff anxiously remains in such demoralizing circumstances out of their control.

If there are long lines or unimpressive guest service provided in the immediate future it is NOT the fault or decision of the agents there nor what they want!

What are some good fall activities to do around Williamsburg with a low budget? (Apple picking, pumpkin path, etc.) any ideas

What are some of the best trails in Williamsburg? I’m looking for more of a scenic type of trail.

I have never seen so many pancake establishments in one place in all my life!

I’m staying at the colonial houses in a couple weeks and I booked partly because they have a spa. I assumed the sauna/pool would be available to guests free of additional charge. Can anyone confirm this? Or would I have to buy one of their overpriced packages?

My family and I will be driving back from a trip and passing right by Williamsburg over labor day weekend. We've always wanted to check out colonial Williamsburg -- but should we skip it in favor of a less crowded weekend? Obviously weekends will always have more crowds than weekdays, but just curious if anyone would advise skipping labor day weekend specifically? Will it be as bad as say..... going skiing on presidents day weekend? (which is usually kind of nuts and not worth it IMO).

We could also try and do a Sunday to Tuesday stay.... I'm thinking most people will have to leave Monday am and will use Monday as their travel day, so that might help a bit. But based on some other factors and the time we need to be back home, we can't push further into the week or go arrive earlier than Sat. Ty!

I'm surprised this hasn't been asked recently, so I decided to go for it!

I'm going on a road trip to around Maryland and Virginia next month. I'm mainly going for the Maryland Renaissance Festival, but my parents say that since I'm so into history, I really need to go to Colonial Williamsburg. I haven't been in over 30 years, and I don't really remember it, since I was still in the womb.

So, how many days is good for Colonial Williamsburg? Most websites I've seen say 2 or 3, but I've also seen 4, and a couple have said once is enough. I plan on going on weekdays when it's less busy, so I'm not sure if that matters. I'd like to spend my time in the area doing other things as well, but if there's so much at Colonial Williamsburg, maybe it's worth going for four days!

I should also mention that I'm a pretty hardcore and efficient traveler (on my trip to Philadelphia, I visited 11 museums in three days), so maybe I'll need fewer days than others?

UPDATE: I ended up going for maybe a total of 3 full days or so (5 days in the area, with time spent at Jamestown, Yorktown, and breaks), and I still didn't see everything I wanted to! Man, it was so cool. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

Looking at a trip for family of five to CW in early October. Is the Fall/Halloween flavor in full swing by then? Any cool special events?

My wife and I (with 3 kids 17f, 15m, 11m) will be in Williamsburg Aug 8. We are interested in doing a ghost tour. I see 3 listed. Does anyone have a recommendation?

Has anyone ever seen an explanation for why the coffeehouse is not currently open? We are going to visiting soon and I was wondering if there an expected timeline or if it was much more indefinitely.

For that matter Wetherburn's tavern as well...

Just heard that CW closed the Musket Range. Anyone know why?

Where can I find a bathroom rug and shower curtain in colonial colors and patterns?

I was planning a trip to CW in December and could not find any dancing (like Dancing at the Governor’s Palace). I do see that event in the calendar for June. Is there a season for dancing there?

I find the CW website kind of annoying to navigate the events in general; do you have any other trip planning sites?