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| You'll flip for Alpengeist! |
If you're just going for the day, the admission facts are fairly simple.
2009 Busch Gardens Virginia Single-Day Admission Rates
Adult admission (ages 10+): $59.95. Child admission (ages 3 to 9): $49.95. Children 2 and under are free.
The bad news? Single-day ticket prices for adults have jumped $3 this year. The good news? Kids tickets are still the same price.
But if you're looking to pay less on single-day tickets? Here are our discount ticket secrets!
Busch Gardens has been pretty good about trying to minimize price increases over the years. Here's where they've been making up for it: parking.
Daily parking is not included in ANY single-day Busch Gardens Virginia tickets. The real bummer is that it's also not included in Virginia resident Fun Cards. Daily parking is only inluded with the passes: the 1 Park Pass (formerly the Silver Pass), the 2 Park Pass (formerly the Gold Pass), and the Platinum Pass.
So when we went six times last year, we had to pay $10 a pop to park each time...or would have had to, had I not taken advantage of the discount I'll tell you about under "Parking" below...
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| The Carousel across from Land of the Dragons. |
*Fun Card (Fun Pass) Info for Virginia Residents*
Pay for a day and get unlimited admission to Busch Gardens Europe all spring & summer (through Sept. 3, 2009). The Fun Card is only $59.95, the same price as a regular single-day ticket. Note: They're usually only available until the end of May, but here's the good news for 2009, but how to buy them online.
And remember, whenever you decide to visit, be sure to check our Busch Gardens Virginia Hours & Operating Schedule page to find out whether the park is open that day (it's only open daily June-August) and what time it closes that night.
Planning on staying at Busch Gardens Virginia more than one day?
Keep reading to see how to save on Parking!
Multi-Day Tickets
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Discovery Ticket - $59.95 - It's $10 cheaper than 2008!
Looking for unlimited fun and the best value during your Spring Williamsburg getaway? The Discovery Tickets gets you unlimited admission for 7 consecutive days March 28 through May 10, 2009, OR from September 11 through November 1. Daily parking is NOT included.
Confused? I was at first. Basically, they're cutting you a great deal if you're willing to make your visits either before or after the summer season. It's perfect for people who don't have kids in school...and when was the last time something was CHEAPER than last year?
Busch Gardens and Water Country USA Discovery Ticket - $79.95
Okay. Prices haven't dropped on this ticket, but at least they haven't gone up! This is your best value if you want unlimited fun and the flexibility of going back and forth between BG and Water Country USA, BG's nearby waterpark.
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| Buy funky hats like this outside "The Big Bad Wolf." |
Plus, it's not as restrictive time-wise as the Busch Gardens Virginia Discovery Ticket (see above), because you can start your 7-day use period anytime between May 16 and September 7. Daily parking is not included, but if you visit both parks in one day, you'll only pay for parking once.
Unfortunately, they've dropped last year's Williamsburg Bounce Ticket , which let you "bounce" between Busch Gardens Europe and Colonial Williamsburg as many times as you wanted within a 7-day period for one price. I'll let you know if they revive it again this season.
In fact, if this season is anything like last year's, they'll start introducing new package deals and discounts around June, so check back with me often for the latest deals!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Passes
1 Park Pass - Busch Gardens Virginia
--1 Year
Individual Passes: $129.95/ 4-Pack: $97.46 each (25 %savings)
--2 Years
Individual Passes: $239.95/ 4-Pack: $179.96 each (25 %savings)
2 Park Pass - Busch Gardens Virginia & Water Country USA
--1 Year
Individual Passes: $159.95/ 4-Pack: $119.96 each (25% savings)
--2 Years
Individual Passes: $298.95/ 4-Pack: $224.21 each (25% savings)
Platinum Passport - Busch Gardens & Water Country USA PLUS 7 other Anheuser-Busch parks nationwide
--1 Year
Individual Passes: $199.95/ 4-Pack: $149.95 each (25% savings)
--2 Years
Individual Passes: $338.95/ 4-Pack: $254.21 each (25% savings)
Why go Platinum? If you're a truly serious park-lover who really gets around, this is your best bet. You'll also get free general parking, preferred parking at the Busch Gardens Virginia parks (if available), and a variety of other discounts, shop savings, etc.
To help ease the budget pain, they offer an EZ pay option, which allows you to be billed in monthly "EZ" installments (you can even spread the payments out over 2 years!). These range from just over $7.50 per month to $12.50 per month, depending on which pass you buy.
1-Pass, 2-Pass, & Platinum Benefits:
Here are the EXTRAS your passports provide--
- Free General Parking for 1 and 2 Pass, as well as discounted preferred parking; Platinum holders get free preferred parking at the Virginia parks, and free general parking at all other Anheuser-Busch parks
- 10% discount at Busch Gardens merchandise shops and restaurants (discount applies to all Anheuser-Busch parks for Platinum holders)
- Discounts on single-day tickets for friends and relatives at Busch Gardens and Water Country USA
- 10% savings on golf, dining, merchandise, tennis & the spa at the Kingsmill Resort
- Member Appreciation nights on Sunday nights during the Summer Concert Series
- Savings on stroller, wheelchair, motorized cart rentals, and Pet Kennel
- Pass Member "Advantage Pricing" on select products in restaurants and merchandise shops
TIP! If you buy a pass...
Since you'll need to keep pulling out your passport to get discounts everytime you buy or eat something at Busch Gardens Virginia, I recommend that you get a plastic card holder. Ask for a free card holder at the Passport Sales window in the Guest Relations building just to the right after you enter the park. You won't lose it, and won't have to keep fumbling for your wallet! (It even helps keep your pass dry on wet rides like Roman Rapids...yep, I've tested it!)
Get a New Quick Queue Fast Pass!
Want to maximize your visit by hitting ALL the major rides? Hate to wait in line? It may be worth your while to spring for the new
To find out how Quick Queue works here, click here.
Parking
Yes, you have to pay for Busch Gardens Virginia parking (unless you have a 1 Pass, 2 Pass, or Platinum Passport ticket, in which case parking is free).
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| The gardens in Italy. |
Parking is $10 per day, which really adds up over time--so much so that I thought of upgrading my Fun Card to a 1 Pass just to get free parking. (Since my kids don't drive and will be coming with me, it wouldn't have made sense to upgrade them too).
But, I know that if I buy my parking pass online in advance, I'll get a 10% discount, so I'll pay only $9 per day.
Using a parking rate of $9 per day, to make the $68 fee to upgrade to a 1-Pass worth it, we would have to visit the park 8 times in a season. Even as a local, I didn't expect to do that last year (Guess what? I was right!), so I decided to stick with the Fun Card and kept buying my parking passes online.
Here's the Busch Gardens Virginia link for getting a 10% discount on parking.
Campers & Preferred Parking (which is located in the New France parking lot, closer to the entrance) is $15. If you're in reasonably good shape, the preferred parking lot is just a short walk to the park entrance, so you won't have to wait for the tram.
Personally, my kids look forward to riding on the tram and would disappointed if we had preferred parking. But on really crowded days, the tram lines for the regular lots can get long. So you'll have to decide if it's worth it for you to spring for preferred parking.
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