Things to do in Williamsburg that are indoors? Taking a 3 yr old and a 15 mo old

[Anonymous]

Haven't ever been - looking for some advice on things to do with two little ones? Hopefully indoors as it will be the end of Jan/

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We were just there in October with a 2 yo and 5 yo. There is a fair amount of walking from building to building (it's a town), but you can do some indoor things. The governor's palace tour is nice (no strollers inside) though the maze and gardens outside are more fun for kids. You can go inside the courthouse, in the jail, into some of the old shops (watchmaker, cabinet-maker, etc) but it's a lot of in and out, not a long time inside. In addition, the kids may get bored in some of the buildings (we lasted about 3 minutes in the courthouse).

The carriage ride, visiting horses and sheep, and watching the ladies all dressed up doing re-enactments were the most popular parts for us - all outdoor activities. The Williamsburg restaurants can be fun for kids - they have musicians and magicians that go from room to room. Make a reservation now for the least fancy one (forget what it's called).

Great Wolf Lodge is nearby if the weather is too horrible. I've heard that's lots of fun, but not the historic/educational experience that Williamsburg is.

[Anonymous]

We were just there with our two 3 year olds. There really wasn't as much to do as I wanted there to be with them. They weren't into going into the buildings (and the admission price wasn't worth it to us.) We did take a carriage ride that they really liked (but was $$$.) Most everything was outside - and cold. so we let them run up and down the main street in Williamsburg (to burn off energy) and we hung out in the hotel.

[Anonymous]

OP here - this is what I was afraid of. We are looking for a place to go for the weekend that would be fun for kids. Great Wolf Lodge is just WAY too pricey

[Anonymous]

We went during a cold and rainy weekend in the fall and our little kids still had a blast (5 and 2). Call the Williamsburg folks directly and ask about special deals. My husband made nice with a travel agent there and got us a package with tix to everything and it was ridiculousy inexpensive. We stayed at the Woodlands which is right at the visitor center. While it isn't a luxury hotel, it is clean and nice. They include a free continental breakfast (tip: don't go to the breakfast next to the lobby --- walk outside to the adjacent restaurant which is far less crowded). You can walk to the visitors center and take the free shuttle to the colonial area. The kids loved it! Bonus: the visitors center was open kind of late, so we took the kids there after dinner to run around and blow off steam before bed (they have a wide open hall, they play fife and drum music, and they have two big gift shops --- one has a little book/reading section that my kids liked). We toured the governors palace and all the buildings. It was cold and rainy when we went, so we spent a lot of time going in and out of buildings. Lots of the buildings have fire places --- we hung out in the jail for a while to warm up and had a lovely time chatting with the guides. We rode the free shuttles from the top of the town to the bottom as a diversion (it takes you to a shopping area as well). Definitely go to the family-friendly tavern for dinner (Chownings?). They don't take reservations, and folks line up about 30 mins before dinner. We went early to line up, but probably didn't have to (I brought blankets for the kids to wrap up in while we waited). They have entertainers and staff who dote on the kids. We lingered over dinner for nearly 2 and a half hours (which is unheard of with our kids) --- we had such a blast! Our son was part of the magician's act, and the waitress taught us how to play a game with dice and peanuts. The atmosphere and fireplaces and candles were truly lovely. My kids had so much fun they still talk about it and want to go back (hopefully this spring). Definitely find out when they do the fife and drum parade down the main street --- that was highlight.