we are having a family reunion in this area, and of course will want to go see some PRIME sites/events at colonial williamsburg.

i know the month is the worst one, but these are our dates ( aug. 17-24)

my main concern, is with the heat and distances, in a nutshell, what would be the TOP thing/s to see ( for this older crowd)and how easy are they to get to with the elderly...???

i will need to pinpoint an overall view of the place, see the movie at the vistor center, and take their advice when we arrive. Your personal experience in a similar situation would help me decide how in depth i can do this with three older family members.

we are not probably too interested in seeing people baking bread, etc.. and are also probably going to go to either jamestown or yorktown, whichever is most recommendable, as we have a nice amount of time to do this calmly, i think.

i loved the historic roaming story tellers in philadelphia.. BTW.

after it is all over we hope to go to the wild pony island tour at chincoteague area for a day and overnight.

thanks in advance for any input. there is so much to do there, that i am not sure which activity would help give them an overall view without trekking around too much, or knowing where to take our rest stops, eat. etc without trekking for blocks and blocks in the sun.

colonial Williamsburg has a good interactive web site that should be helpful in picking out major things to see.
http://www.history.org/visit/tourTheTown/

You are right--it will be very hot in august. Starting early in the morning would help.

I would concentrate on seeing the governor's Mansion and the capitol areas myself, maybe eating at one of the taverns.

there are shuttle buses from the visitor's center that run around the perimeter of the historic area. these should help

The James River plantations are also very interesting
http://www.jamesriverplantations.org/
I have never been to Great Hopes Plantation which is part of colonial Williamsburg but it sounds interesting--more of a living history experience about life on a typical smaller plantation in the 18th century

With the heat and humidity that time of year, I'd advise you to plan any outdoor activities involving the senior citizens for as early or late in the day as scheduling will allow. During the heat of the day, I'd suggest visiting indoor sites which are air conditioned. The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, Abbey Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, and the Public Hospital are accessible by private car with parking lots located across the street, so your seniors could spend several hours there while the rest of the group did other outdoor activities nearby. Several of the large historic buildings are air conditioned if memory serves me correctly including the Governor's Palace and Capitol, which might lend themselves to a mid-day tour followed by lunch if you can get reservations. I believe that you are still able to drive to the Christiana Campbell Tavern and park in a lot behind this restaurant, although you won't find that lot shown on any tourist maps, LOL! This restaurant's location would lend itself nicely with an accompanying visit to the Capitol. Book an early morning or late afternoon carriage ride to give your seniors a visual overview of the historic area. Another suggestion, try to obtain tickets for an evening theater production or concert while in the Williamsburg area. See the Colonial Williamsburg official website and check out the following map to acclimate yourself with the area: http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/...Town/flash.cfm

For an hour you can escape from hot weather at the archeological(!) site of Jamestown. There is an interesting museum with a lot of information about Jamestown.
There is also a “theatrical replica” of Jamestown about a mile from original site. I didn’t get a chance to go there, but our 70-year-old aunt and two children enjoyed it. I am not sure how pleasant the site would be in the August heat.

We visited Shirley and Berkley plantations in April.

thanks so much. i have LISTS of restaurant recs from this site.. and just trying to settle the logistics of it all.. quite a task for a first timer.. once there it will all fall into place, i hope.

i will keep in mind all these great tips.. especially for the heat of midday.

i have looked at several websites and will now be able to plan better with your help. thanks a lot.

I think the highlights for a visit to Colonial Williamsburg for your group would be the introductory film (I believe it's still the one with a very young Jack Lord of "Hawaii 5-0" fame), a tour of the Capitol and a tour of the Governor's Mansion and gardens. Unfortunately, it does not appear that individual tickets are sold to these attractions, so your cheapest option would be the Capital City Pass with Governor's Mansion add-on for $45.
If you want to do Williamsburg "on the cheap" (as we often do), start at the Visitor's Center. You used to be able to see the film for free, so I hope it's still that way. Then you can walk around the town and see the open spaces, building exteriors, gardens, etc. for free. You can take pictures with your head in the stocks. You can go inside the Bruton Parish church (still an active Episcopalian parish and there are often evening events). You can go inside all of the gift shops. You can go to the bakery and buy a colonial-type piece of gingerbread. You can watch the various parades and people in colonial costumes--you might even see Thomas Jefferson.
I, too, would recommend going early in the morning or late in the evening. You can stroll through Colonial Williamsburg after hours, but the shops won't be open. Nevertheless, we have had enjoyable evenings just walking around the town.
Regarding your question on Jamestown vs. Yorktown--I've been to both places and I would vote for Jamestown, especially since they are celebrating their 400th birthday this year with a new visitor's center and new excavations. I think the glass-blowing center would be of interest to your relatives too. Note, however, that the pathways around the historical site are gravel, not paved, in case your relatives have problems walking.
Finally, if you have time in Williamsburg, I can highly recommend Mystery Dinner Playhouse. It's campy; it's kitchy; it's fun. For more info, check their website at www.mysterydinner.com

HappytoTravel has a trip report under the heading NYC,DC, Williamsburg and MinnieNo1 has report titled Back from Colonial Williamsburg, read about their experiences.

Where are you staying? Take advantage of any van service offered by your hotel. There are buses from the Colonial Williamsburg visitor center to the historic area. DO go in the AM, it will be cooler, and DO take water, and DO pinpoint the BATHROOMS - THAT will be essential traveling with elderly. Ummm - HOW elderly are we talking about?

The Colonial restored area really isn't that big, just take it slow and you should do fine. there are lots of shady trees everywhere. If one of the elders has a detachable hang tag for handicapped parking, that would be handy to take along as you chauffeur them.

Jamestown and Yorktown are VERY close via the Colonial Parkway, a lovely drive along the York River, so you can easily do both the Yorktown Victory Center (not very big, air conditioned, nice stop) and Jamestown National park site, the museum is air conditioned, and should be very interesting for everyone. The excavations are ongoing and you can see and learn all about the original settlement.

Dont take your elders to Busch Gardens, too hilly and waaay too much walking. If any younger members want to go, the Griffon is the new roller coaster and is FABULOUS!

There are many retirees who live in the Williamsburg area, and there is a new hospital if anyone in your group needs medical care. Here is website: http://www.sentara.com/Sentara/Hospi.../Williamsburg/

It is about a 3 hour drive from Williamsburg, go east on interstate 64 and follow the signs for the chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, then you go north on route 13, the main drag on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The bridge tunnel has its own website: www.cbbt.com
it is 17 miles long. Sea Gull Island is the only stop on the bridge tunnel with restaurant.

once you get over the bridge tunnel, about nine miles north, look for Sting-Ray's on the right hand side, stop for some good food and local color. cape-center.com/stingrays/stingrays_home.htm

Post any more questions, also ages and health of elderly folks you are traveling with.
Joy in Virginia

thank you SO much for such detailed suggestions. I guess they will have to decide if they buy the PASS or not go into anyplace,... i will look into it, but can´t imagine going there and not going into a few of the highlights. we have almost a week.

they are in their eighties.. so it will be slow, but that is fine with me.

no busch gardens..

just nice meals and slow pace to enjoy this historical area.

i will look into those reports, as i have already read many.. and try to post something when i return in the fall.

thanks again.

thanks for the reminder about the handicap passes for the cars.. i am flying straight from spain and would not have remembered, although perhaps they would have.

we are staying at some type of RCI time share, and will look into their transportation. not sure if they have any or not.. i am not familiar with the lodging amenities yet.

thank you all for your suggestions, as having never been to willimasburg before I knew it was going to be a bit overwheloming at first.

we did buy a 5 day three site pass which gave us unlimited access to all three major towns (W,J AND Y) and museums marked in red on the special map.

i thoroughly enjoyed everywhere we went, and our stop at bassett house, the rockefeller´s wiliamsburg place, was very special. we had a great guide there.

we were lucky with the weather as only two days were sweltering. no problem with rest stops are there are plenty of places to sit or go inside for a refreshment.

a highlight at yorktown was the fife and drum corps. i had seen on their website that on sunday they were doing a recital and it was very impressive.

most moving was to hear the fifes and drums in the ditance and then realize they were just coming over the crest of a small sand dune, where their cornered hats became visible first, and then slowly their heads and finally the rest of marching young bodies as they approached in full uniform.

i found all the visitor center movies informative, as well as the exhibits.

wheel chairs and motorized scooters were available at musuems, which was great at jamestown.

we followed all the dining advice on my other threads and were not disappointed.

we thank you all again for helping plan an excellent vacation.