Welcome to Theme Park Insider! Join the community or log in
Theme Park Insider
Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube

Limited time in the area..

Busch Gardens Williamsburg: I have 2 and 1/2 days in the Virginia area and I need some planning help. I'd like to check out Busch Gardens Williamsburg and King's Dominion.

From Anthony J
Posted July 27, 2009 at 1:57 PM
I have 2 and 1/2 days in the Virginia area and I need some planning help. I'd like to check out Busch Gardens Williamsburg and King's Dominion.

Should I dedicate 1 full day to King's Dominion and the 1 and 1/2 days to Busch Gardens Williamsburg?

I'll be there Aug 13-15.. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Do either of the parks have some kind of flash pass/express pass you can buy? Or is it needed? Do you recommend a certain park on a certain day? Thanks..


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Brandon S
Posted July 27, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Ok, I just did this same thing. We did a day and a half at Kings Dominion and a day at Busch Gardens. We have a Cedar Fair Platinum Pass, so that's why we did Kings Dominion for a day and a half. Kings Dominion does not have a flash pass, but Busch Gardens does, but it costs extra. You can do everything at Busch Gardens in one day, even if it's crowded but you probably would like to do everything over again. Kings Dominion has a lot of coasters, but when we went it wasn't crowded so we got everything done quickly.

From James Rao
Posted July 27, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Brandon makes a good point about using a Platinum Pass to visit KD twice and save some dough. It makes a lot of sense.

However, if you toss the admissions argument out of the equation, I would visit BGW on Thursday (arriving :30 minutes before the park opens and staying through until closing), then go to KD on Friday, and revisit BGW on Saturday repeating everything you loved, and making sure to fit in a few shows, the zoo area, and a visit to Das Festhaus as well (and don't forget to ride Big Bad Wolf about 100 times before they tear it down in the fall).

The problem I have with KD is that once you've ridden the headliner coasters (Dominator, Volcano, Flight of Fear, and maybe Anaconda and Grizzly) a couple times each, everything else is pretty much par-for-the-course compared to your home amusement park. BGW has attractions that have more in common with Disney and Universal and are immersive and compelling enough to warrant repeat visits.

I spent a week in the Williamsburg area last year, and one day was plenty for a fulfilling time at KD, however, I visited BGW four different times that week and still wanted to go back for more!

From Anthony J
Posted July 28, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Thanks for the help guys. Looks like I'll stick to my plan. 1 day at Kings and 1 day and a 1/2 at BGW.

This discussion has been archived, and is not accepting additional responses.