Laughing Lindsay

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Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour Review

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Now that spooky season is upon us, I thought I would do a little review of the Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour that my husband and I did back in May.

Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour

Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour

Colonial Williamsburg has a couple of different night time add-on activities you can experience. On my most recent visit with my husband, we decided to try one out. We did the Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour! While there are other un-official tours, we decided to book the official one.

This is an hour-long candlelit walking tour of Colonial Williamsburg held at night. It’s the only ghost tour that gives you access to the buildings since it’s the only official ghost tour! On our tour, we got to go inside three historic homes. We got to learn the historic significance of each home as well as hear about unexplained happenings at each home.

Note: I will try to keep this review spoiler-free for anyone looking to book it so you can hear the stories from your tour guide.

George Wythe Home

Upon meeting up with the group at the Market House, our guide led us over to the George Wythe House. Being from southwestern Virginia, I was excited to see this house at night. My husband and I toured it in the daytime last year, so it was nice to see it in a different light. On the nighttime tour, we stayed downstairs and heard about the backdoor seemingly locking itself! I will say, being in a really old house at night with only a candlelight to see things made it creepy.

Peyton Randolph House

Next up, our guide led us over the Randolph House. Supposedly, it is the most haunted house in Colonial Williamsburg. That just means that it has the most stories about people experiencing something un-explained here. While we didn’t actually see any ghosts on this tour, we did hear something weird in this house. It sounded like footsteps. We think it was someone in the tour group walking or bumping into something, but everyone denied doing anything. So, who knows! Our tour guide had lots of stories to share about odd occurrences at this house, including some of her own.

James Geddy House

Lastly, we headed over to the Geddy House. I honestly don’t rightly remember much about this house. We did have another tour guide join our group at this point and he told a spooky story about the house. Honestly, I didn’t get much in the way of spooky vibes in this house, but that’s just me.

Haunted Williamsburg Ghost Tour Overall

This was my first ghost tour, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it was neat to learn about these historical homes and to see them at night. I thought it was a nice touch that our tour guide was dressed in colonial garb and used a lantern/candle to lead the tour. Overall, it was a nice way to spend an evening. If nothing else, it’s a great way to walk off the hearty dinner we enjoyed!

This tour is great for anyone with an interest in the supernatural or spooky stuff. I think someone who doesn’t believe in ghosts but likes history could also enjoy this tour. I don’t think it’s good for kids though. They recommend it for ages 8+ but I think it should probably be more along the lines of 12 or 13, personally. Also, it is a full one hour walking tour. So, keep that in mind if you or a loved one can’t handle that.

Have you ever done or would you take a ghost tour?

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Tips

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Since I always like to do a guide for every theme park I visit, here’s my Busch Gardens Williamsburg tips post.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

For those who don’t know, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a SeaWorld, now known as United Parks & Resorts theme park in Virginia. SeaWorld acquired both this park and Busch Gardens Tampa in Florida years ago. Tampa’s park is themed to Africa whereas this one is themed to different European countries.

If you have visited another United Parks & Resorts theme park recently, then you probably know what to expect here since most policies are resort wide. However, there were some updates since the last time I visited one in early 2023. So, here are my tips and suggestions for visiting this particular park.

Tips

  • Arrive early – The earlier you arrive, the closer you get to park to the actual park. In fact, we didn’t even need the upgraded parking on the Sunday in May that we visited to have a close parking space.
  • Have a card – Since my last visit to a United Park, they have all gone cashless. Personally, I find that to be a nuisance. They do have atm’s and machines to convert cash to a Visa gift card. However, the Visa card begins charging a $3.95/month inactivity fee after just 92 days without a transaction! So, I would advise going with a low amount to avoid forgetting and losing money.
  • Know prices are 5% higher than advertised – A few years back, United Parks & Resorts instituted a 5% surcharge on all purchases. Unfortunately, this surcharge remains. So, be prepared to pay an additional 5% over the advertised prices. Also, note that this kind of ruins the passholder discount.
  • Download the app – Similar to the other parks in the family, they did away with paper maps. So, you must use the app to navigate the park. I highly suggest having the app downloaded on your device prior to your arrival.
  • Slow down – This park has received numerous awards for being the most beautiful theme park. It’s a very nice and peaceful park to walk around. Be sure to make time to notice the differences between countries, but wear a hat and sunscreen as there’s not much shade here.
  • Consult the park calendar – The park hosts several limited time events throughout the year. So, you might want to plan a trip around them. Also, the hours vary from day to day. So, be sure to check the hours before heading over.
  • Keep an eye out for deals – Once again, I recommend doing the math on an annual pass or fun card. I purchased an annual pass and used a bring a friend free pass for my husband. I plan on returning later this year and using my second bring a friend pass on my mom. So, it was cheaper to buy this pass and get entry for all four of us than buying four separate one day tickets. In fact, they had a special that made the two park pass cheaper than the single park when we went, so I got that one.

Other Suggestions?

Have you ever visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg? Do you have any tips for visiting?

Virginia’s Historic Triangle Tips for Visiting

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Last month, my husband and I took a trip to explore Virginia’s Historic Triangle. So, I thought I would create a post with tips to help other people avoid making the same mistakes we did.

Virginia's Historic Triangle

Virginia’s Historic Triangle

For those who don’t know, the historic sites of Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg make up Virginia’s Historic Triangle. All three are relatively close to one another, which makes visiting all three in one trip super easy. I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that I didn’t realize this triangle existed or how close things were until our first trip last year. We saw signs about it and were surprised to discover how close the sites were to one another. So, when we made a return trip to Williamsburg this year, I knew we had to complete the triangle.

I already posted Tips for Visiting Colonial Williamsburg, a Jamestown Settlement Guide and an American Revolution Museum at Yorktown Guide filled with tips for visiting those individual things. So, feel free to check those out for more tips. This post is going to focus on the overall picture of planning a trip to this area.

Tips

  • Stay in Williamsburg – Williamsburg is the central location and is the first one you come to. Plus, staying on-site gives you free tickets to Colonial Williamsburg. Previously, we have stayed in a tavern room but I will look into staying in a hotel in the future.
  • Plan at least one day per town – We crammed Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum into one day. I wish we had spent one whole day in Jamestown and visited the Historic Jamestowne. Then, another full day in Yorktown with the addition of the battleground would have been ideal, I think. Depending on your level of interest, you can probably spend 1-3 days in Colonial Williamsburg. Plan another day if you plan on visiting Busch Gardens.
  • Examine all ticket deals closely – There are several ticket options for visiting this area and each one requires you to do some math. Since we are Virginia residents, we took advantage of a deal that gave us an annual pass to the Jamestown Settlement and American Revolution Museum for the price of a one day ticket! I don’t know if we will return in the next 11 months, but it’s nice to have the option. I also got an annual pass to Busch Gardens, which comes with free bring a friend passes and discounts.
  • Keep an eye out for special events – I didn’t realize it when we planned our trip, but there were special events happening in Yorktown and at Jamestown on the Saturday we visited. The event in Yorktown had roads blocked off and made navigating the town for the first time for dinner stressful.
  • Watch out for the Colonial Parkway Rehabilitation Project – Several roads are currently closed for construction and it makes getting around a little more difficult. It looks like there are 3 phases planned with full completion projected for 2026. So, if you are visiting in the next two years, plan to take a detour.
  • Pack comfortable clothes and shoes – You will be doing a lot of walking here. Wear sunscreen and a hat too.

Other Suggestions

Visiting Virginia’s Historic Triangle is a fun and informative trip. However, it can be a lot to take in. I could see taking a break day at a hotel to enjoy a pool. I can also see some folks only wanting to visit one town and maybe Busch Gardens. You know your crew. Plan what you think you can do and have fun!

Do you have any other tips for visiting this area?

Colonial Williamsburg Deluxe Suite Review

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On my most recent trip, my husband and I stayed in a Colonial Williamsburg Deluxe Suite! Since I couldn’t find many reviews of it online, I thought I would post one.

Colonial Williamsburg Deluxe Suite

Colonial Williamsburg Deluxe Suite

You may recall that on our last trip we stayed in a Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Room. However, we wanted something a little more updated and comfortable this trip. So, we decided to try the deluxe suite, which comes with more space and more modern touches. It’s still a colonial house or historic lodging but has been more recently updated.

I believe the entirety of the Lightfoot Tenement building is dedicated to these two suites. We had the upstairs one and the bottom one appeared to stay booked up. I will caution people that the upstairs suite has several steps and can be difficult to traverse with a bunch of luggage.

The Room

I was immediately surprised by how big the suite was. You enter into a sitting room, complete with an old desk, a fireplace, a small tv, an old couch, a coffee table, and a few chairs. Then, you enter a small area with a mini refrigerator and coffee maker. There’s also an extra sink and hidden closet in this space. Next, you come to the bedroom. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a tv. It does have an alarm clock with extra usb plug-ins which came in very handy. Lastly, there’s the bathroom. The sink is separate from the tub and toilet. I imagine that would be useful if two people were getting ready at once.

It was a much bigger space than the room we stayed in last time. Additionally, the mattress and pillows were newer and more comfortable. However, we found ourselves bored after dark without a tv in the bedroom and the couch being well used. Also, the ceiling in the tub cuts in at an angle and I hit my forehead on it the first night. So, it’s better than a regular room but not perfect.

Pros

  • Location – We were close to everything in Colonial Williamsburg. Walking to breakfast and dinner was amazing!
  • Designated parking space – It was really useful to have a designated parking space as parking can be a pain in Colonial Williamsburg.
  • Bigger area – It was nice to be able to spread out in the large suite.
  • Updated furnishings – This was probably the best part of the upgrade. The mattress was pretty comfortable.
  • Quaint – It feels nice to stay immersed in the colonial vibes.
  • Tickets – Every stay at an official Colonial Williamsburg resort comes with free length of stay tickets. That’s great for visiting whenever you feel like it.

Cons

  • Outdated – The couch cushion was thin and was slick enough to slide out periodically.
  • Weird set up – The harsh angle of the ceiling in the tub is not the safest.
  • Lack of modern electrical touches – There weren’t many electrical plug ins and only one tiny tv in the whole suite!
  • Not cheap – It was more expensive than a regular tavern room but comparable to a hotel room. I’ll probably book a hotel room next time just for modern conveniences.
  • Not handicap accessible – Maybe the downstairs suite has a better set up, but the stairs were a big nuisance with luggage. Also, the tub and ceiling could definitely be an issue for some guests.

Is a Colonial Williamsburg Deluxe Suite worth it?

This stay definitely had its ups and downs. I initially loved the idea of staying in a colonial house since it’s so unique. However, I think I will be opting for one of the hotels in the future for the modern conveniences they provide. The suite wasn’t a bad stay just not as up to date as I’d hoped.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Food and Wine Festival Guide

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My husband and I just returned from a trip wherein we got to experience the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Food and Wine Festival for the first time! So, I thought I would do a little guide to help others plan their visit.

Williamsburg Food and Wine

Williamsburg Food and Wine

Every spring, the theme park hosts this annual festival. It claims to be the largest spring food and wine festival in the state of Virginia! I have no idea if that’s actually true, but this year it features 18 booths with 150 samples to try! Plus, they have special entertainment around the park! So, it certainly sounds impressive to me.

Similar to the Dollywood Seasonal Events, you can save money on food and beverages by purchasing a sampler card. However, since this one includes alcohol it’s a good bit more expensive. There’s the 10 item sampler for $70 and a 15 sampler for $85. You can use it over the course of multiple trips, but only on festival offerings. Upon seeing menus and prices, we opted to simply pay out of pocket for our items. We only purchased food and non-alcohol drinks, so it didn’t make sense to pay extra for the pass. Additionally, passholders receive a discount on food and beverages that made it even cheaper to pay out of pocket.

The Food and Drinks

I will start by saying that everything we tried at the festival was good. We purchased food from two booths: South Korea and Virginia. At the South Korea booth we got the Chicken Bulgogi, Korea BBQ Pork Ribs, and Dalgona Korean Coffee. I found the chicken to have a good flavor and was juicy. The pork rib was dry. The coffee was a disappointment. It tasted like a regular iced coffee to me. There was very little foam on top. It wasn’t bad, just not much different from a simple iced coffee.

At the Virginia booth, we got the Chesapeake Style Crab Cake Slider, Bacon & Cheddar Hushpuppies, and Strawberry Lemonades. I used the free festival item coupon passholders receive for each day of the festival for the crab cake slider. While it was a great use of the coupon, I would have been disappointed if we had spent $10 on it. It was tasty but really small.

The hushpuppies were really good. The bacon and cheddar gave them a unique taste. The addition of the honey butter elevated the dish. The hushpuppies were our favorite item of the festival. The strawberry lemonade was tart and refreshing. It was a moderately warm day, so it was a much appreciated cool beverage. Although, after several sips I tired of the bitterness. My husband ended up finishing mine as he really enjoyed it.

The Entertainment

The park also brings in some local artists to perform during the festival. It makes for a nice touch to walk around and enjoy some food while listening to music. I wish there were some big names as well or perhaps more entertainers spread throughout the park. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to enjoy the entertainment as they performed only a few times a day. I wish the park would bring in more entertainment options and spread the times out.

Is the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Food and Wine Festival worth it?

I think the food and drinks at the festival are good. I think it definitely adds something to your park day. The food made our visit to the park worth the trip over from Colonial Williamsburg. I appreciated the addition of non-alcoholic beverages to several of the menus as well.

Have you ever experienced this festival?