Best sites of interest to kids at Colonial Williamsburg

[Anonymous]

We're planning a short getaway to Colonial Williamsburg this fall, and I'm trying to figure out which sites/activities will best entertain my 5 year old son. I'd appreciate tips on the best sites/activities (which ones are free and which ones require tickets), tours, hotels, etc. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We recently went to that area with kids. I would skip the tickets at Williamsburg and just walk around through the historic area, go see the old cemetary, etc. The kids we had were a bit older than your son and just did not have the patience to listen to the craftsmen, etc. that you needed the tickets for (the older kids enjoyed it fine). I would actually recommend going to Jamestown for that age. It is smaller and easier to walk around and has stuff little kids tend to like (a recreated Indian village where you can go into buildings and touch animal furs, etc.; recreated boats you can walk on; a replica fort with buildings and an occassional shooting demonstration). You can do it in about an hour to an hour and a half, which is as long as our kids could handle at that age anyway.

[Anonymous]

Printing Press.
Blacksmith.
Armory.
The Stockade outside.
Wig maker.
Animals

[Anonymous]

About 20 miles away is Yorktown. The battlefield is great, and there's a nice swimming beach on the river. The "colonial" piece of town is fun, too.

[Anonymous]

Ditto on walking around historic Williamsburg and Jamestown. There is a big mini golf course called Pirate's Cove that is cheesy but fun for kids. The outlets now have a Hannah Anderson.

[Anonymous]

My kids (5 and 3) liked Jamestown and Yorktown better - you could run around and pretend more (recreations of Powhatan village and James Fort at the Jamestown Settlement) and Yorktown's encampment and farm. They could play games of the era, try on armor - things like that.

They also loved some of the craft demonstrations in Williamsburg, but only because we got to CW early every day. We would spend an hour or two touring, then eat lunch, then go back to our hotel for a nap and a swim. By the times the crowds formed, we were on our way out.