Colonial Williamsburg in financial difficulty

[Steve N]

It doesn't really sound like a 'family' destination though, not much to interest kids. It sounds like a 'living history museum', not a theme park like 6 flags or Disney. Did they try to be what they aren't?

I think more than any theme park I have been to the excellent folks doing the work draw kids in with participation in what they are making. We've seen a bunch of kids there, and usually they are dragging their folks around saying, I wanna see....... Not a half hour from the beach, and IIRC a theme park is very near, though we have never gone to it. It's a very busy, and interesting area.

Just a few things nearby

[Tony Z]

I am in Williamsburg, and visited Colonial Williamsburg earler today for at least the sixth or seventh time. I enjoyed my visit and it was well worth the admission (wife & daughter stayed back at the hotel). Place was not nearly as crowded as in years past, and admission seems to have not increased over the past few years.

Management of some of the attractions has been outsourced to Aramark, and time will tell what becomes of this American treasure.

[Bentley]

The fact that your wife and daughter stayed back at the hotel while you visited Colonial Williamsburg might be part of the problem the place is having. It simply doesn't appeal to that many people anymore.

[Tony Z]

The fact that your wife and daughter stayed back at the hotel while you visited Colonial Williamsburg might be part of the problem the place is having. It simply doesn't appeal to that many people anymore.

Wife & daughter have been there several times before.

Why do I go back? Cabinetmaker's Shop for one! I go when the place first opens in the morning, so hardly anyone is there, and I get about 30 to 45 minutes of woodworking talk in with the master. In years past
I learned correct drawer construction using slips. Yesterday, was oil and wax finishes. My next stop was an hour at a "construction detective" program at the Robert Carter house. Again, limited to half dozen people in a behind the scenes study of that house. Two great stops.

The stop at the joiners shop was barely a laugh with no master there and an inept apprentice, same guy as last year, only this time overseeing a younger female apprentice. I don't know if the joiners shop was set up as a joke, but I would not waste time there again.

[Tony Z]

A bit more on the so called joiner: the female apprentice was attemptin to cut a tenon. The so called joiner (male), was busy hitting on a female (same thing, same guy, as my last year's visit). The poor girl was attempting to cut straight across and it appeared that she was using a cross cut back saw. I offered a bit of advice and the male yelled to let her go, they learn from doing!

Ok, the guy needs canned! I kept my mouth shut, and looked over the saws hanging in the shop-a panel saw, that appeared to be a Disston #16 or similar and another back saw. Both were in dire need of sharpening. I quizzed the male if they sharpened their saws and he replied they didn't know how and sent them out. The dummy didn't even know enough when a saw needed sharpening!

Colonial Williamsburg is a national treasure, but if it is to be a working museum, then the powers that be need to weed out the "wannabees", let the for profit parts be separated and concentrate on as accurate a portrayal of 18th century Williamsburg as they can.

[Admiral]

The fact that your wife and daughter stayed back at the hotel while you visited Colonial Williamsburg might be part of the problem the place is having. It simply doesn't appeal to that many people anymore.

I've visited and found it very interesting and was sorry that I had to leave after one day.  I think the lack of appeal is more a reflection on the current state of society right now.  People addicted to their smartphones, Facebook, Twitter, texting, fast food, video games, etc. . . . even some adults, much less kids, have an attention span measured in nanoseconds.  Nobody seems to take the time to think, consider and reflect on the past, even the immediate past of last week, and instead get their inspiration from things that are more flash in the pan but which have little true substance.  Witness the mindless and seemingly endless drama of Washington playing itself out on Twitter, history being made in 140 characters, or less, with little or no context or substance.  Sort of embarrassing, and certainly not something that allows for the thoughtful reflection upon the past, or the present.  So I would suggest that many people have been conditioned not to think, not to reflect, not to seek places like CW to explore the history of this country, but rather to knee-jerk one way or the other depending on who's got the flashiest option.  In the world of elective entertainment, which CW falls into, there should be no surprise that the theme parks win that battle every time in this environment.  I hope CW rides out this downturn, it is something worth saving.

I wonder what the middle and high school American history curriculum is nowadays, as it clearly does not do much of a job celebrating the history of this country to the point where kids would be excited about seeing a living history of colonial times on display.

[EricU]

I expect it's really because travel is so much more expensive than it used to be.  And then you get there and the admission is a lot more expensive than it used to be.

[Bill Wilson]

I wonder what the middle and high school American history curriculum is nowadays, as it clearly does not do much of a job celebrating the history of this country to the point where kids would be excited about seeing a living history of colonial times on display.

Which may be why Tony observed silliness instead of historical accuracy in the joiner's shop??

Williamsburg seems to be struggling with the reality you describe, trying to appeal to short attention span millenials in an effort to boost attendance, but in the meantime, they alienate the real history buffs.  It's a similar phenomena to what has happened to the History Channel over the past several years, replacing well researched historical documentaries, with scripted entertainment that only alludes to history.

[CLETUS]

I wonder what the middle and high school American history curriculum is nowadays, as it clearly does not do much of a job celebrating the history of this country to the point where kids would be excited about seeing a living history of colonial times on display.

It's pretty sad. Unfortunately, they don't have time to cover anything not measured by a Common Core Standard. It really bothers my wife that she can't teach the things that made her fall in love with history. Edit added... They breeze over a lot of stuff but can't go into much depth.

We take care of our own by incorporating these things into our vacations. Next week we'll be at the Henry Ford museum, Greenfield Village and the Rouge factory. I'm really looking forward to next year, we are going to start visiting the civil war sites now that our kids are getting older.

[Tony Z]

It's pretty sad. Unfortunately, they don't have time to cover anything not measured by a Common Core Standard. It really bothers my wife that she can't teach the things that made her fall in love with history. Edit added... They breeze over a lot of stuff but can't go into much depth.

We take care of our own by incorporating these things into our vacations. Next week we'll be at the Henry Ford museum, Greenfield Village and the Rouge factory. I'm really looking forward to next year, we are going to start visiting the civil war sites now that our kids are getting older.

My wife is also a teacher and has the same issues with common core.

We were to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. Be prepared to be overwhelmed! We're going back (will also be back at Williamsburg).