I have been taking my time writing this particular review of my newest beauty try-it (which by now is the oldest) because I had so much fun with it. In fact, I haven’t had this much fun trying out a product in a long time!

Okay, so when Influenster’s VoxBox program sent me this imPRESS press-on manicure by Broadway, I laughed a little. Press-on nails? The last time I tried press-on nails, I was 8 years old. They were hard shiny gold pieces of plastic from the Juvenile toy store, with adhesive tabs you had to apply yourself. I was 8 and less coordinated than I am now … take a moment to think about how this went.

This imPress nails pattern, called TGIF, was decidedly wilder than any nail polish color I typcally wear. I mean, if we rewound to my early 20s I’m sure I would be game. But I wasn’t a professional working woman back then. On the other hand, these aren’t THAT crazy – black nail polish is now almost as acceptable as red in the office – and the longer I stared at the design, the more I liked it. Look at it! It’s … strangely hypnotic.

Check out my flashy nails

Dancer/singer Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls fame promotes the nails as a viable alternative to nail polish. Nicole Scherzinger doesn’t have to live a decidedly business professional lifestyle 5 days a week. Would these look good on ME? Would they stay on?

I had to wait for the right time to try these, when there were no board meetings scheduled, just in case I looked crazier than I imagined. In the meantime, I showed the package to the one other person that works in my section of the office, and he guffawed loudly.

The nails come in a plastic container shaped like a nail polish bottle. You pull the cap off, open the plastic, and then get all the nails out and line them up by size. Or that’s what you’re supposed to do. I just kind of fiddled around with mine and found the ones that seemed to be the closest fit to my natural nails, then put those in a pile. I am a rebel.

If you look behind the back insert in the box, you will find an alcohol prep pad. You’re supposed to use this pad to clean your nails before applying the imPress nails. I knew there was a prep pad included ahead of time, but because it wasn’t visible until I pulled out the insert, I forgot all about it and just washed and dried my hands instead. More rebellion.

Next, you peel the backing off of each nail, then carefully smooth it down onto the corresponding real nail, applying a decent amount of force for at least 15 seconds. Once you do this, the nail will be pretty firmly stuck, so don’t screw it up, fool!

This part was kinda fun.

I found that some of the nails were not a close fit to my real nails. In some cases, I went with ones that were slightly larger which was kind of dumb because every now and then I would feel a tiny prick of pain in the skin surrounding my nail beds from where the excess “nail” was poking it. The nail will also come off quicker that way, and it looks far more natural to wear the slightly smaller nail vs. the slightly bigger one.

Once I picked out the nails I wanted to apply, it took no time at all for me to put them on.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about them at first. They took some getting used to. I could tell that they were much larger than my natural nails and feared everyone would notice and point and laugh at me.

The very first day, my right imPRESS thumbnail popped off, probably because I removed it the first time (because I put it on upside down – be quiet), then pressed it back on. After it popped off, I replaced it with a smaller nail which looks much better.

On the third day, I was taking a shower when the imPRESS nail on my right middle finger came off. (The next day, my fiance goes, “By the way, one of your nail things is in the shower drain.”) I was halfway expecting this because that nail is kind of crooked thanks to my writer’s callus on that finger. I replaced it with a slightly smaller nail which, again, was obviously the smarter choice.

By the second day with these nails, I was feeling much better about them. People were complimenting me on them. I went out to dinner in Shirlington with a friend who said, “Ooooh, I love your nails!” She had no idea they were “fakes” until I told her. And my coworker who laughed at them? I showed them to him again, this time on my hands. “Hey, those look nice,” he said.

So I was feeling all fancy with my clever nails. But how would they hold up to 7 days of everyday life?

Patting a cat ...

Patting another cat (more like ominously reaching for a cat)

Practicing my Claw dance moves

Opening a package ...

Using my laptop ...

Eating my lunch ...

Playing with my hair ... la dee da

Rummaging through my bag...

For the most part, they held up very well! At times I forgot I was wearing them, then suddenly thought, “Oh no, I bet my nail fell off” (definitely a thought I’m not used to having ) only to find it was still right there. The nails that I had applied too close to the cuticle or that were slightly oversized were a little bit uncomfortable at random moments, and they also started to loosen (not noticeably, just during one of my random inspections) after about 3.5 days – underscoring the need to apply these correctly. The material is very firm, but still malleable, so you can use a nail clipper to trim a nail if you don’t like the length once it’s on.

To remove the nails, pull from the sides, not the top or bottom. If you’ve had them on your hands for only a day or two, it’s going to be much harder to remove them, so use a little nail polish remover to help.

The verdict? I dig ‘em … a lot. I am imPRESSED by imPress nails. (I had to say it)

The details: imPress Manicure retails at $5.99 for colors and $7.99 for patterns. They come in 36 varieties which includes solid colors as well as prints and crazy patterns like zebra stripes (for real), and really pretty stuff like pale pink with delicate floral patterns. You can find them at CVS, Rite Aid, Duane Reade, K-mart, Walgreens, and Walmart to name a few. The official website is here – there’s a $1 off coupon, videos, and a cool app to “try” all the varieties!

Disclosure of Material Connections: This product was provided to me at no cost by Influenster in exchange for my honest feedback. The thoughts expressed here are my own and I have not been paid for providing this review.

Anyone that knows me is, most likely, well aware of my lip gloss fetish. With ownership of at least a few hundred lip products, and around 12 in my purse at any given time, it’s a little out of control. What can I say? I like to pamper my lips, and I like wearing different colors on them! Well, needless to say, I was very pleased to receive this NYC New York Color Liquid Lip Shine product from Influenster. This is the New York Nude shade.

In the past I have not been a huge fan of lip glosses that are applied with a wand applicator. They tend to be either gloppy, sticky and goopy, and/or they provide very little shine and color coverage, and it doesn’t last. But this stuff is A-1. I have been a fan of NYC New York Color products in the past, so I wasn’t too shocked by the superior quality, really. It feels good on my lips – smooth, not sticky, even kind of moisturizing. It goes on easily and the applicator is nice and flexible as opposed to stiff and unyielding, which of course makes for very sloppy, clowny lips. Best of all, IT LASTS. When it finally fades away, your lips will still feel nice and soft. Sweet!

The color looked a little frosty to me in the bottle, but after application, I saw that it’s a nice natural color with a LOT of gleam to it – enough to look good, not so much that I feel like I just slobbered all over myself. I think this particular shade (again, New York Nude) would look good with a lot of skin tones, from very pale (like me) to very dark. I’ve also found it looks good both on its own and layered over a darker lipcolor. It’s perfect for everyday wear. I wear mine with an SPF lip balm under it during the day; at night I put it over a richer pink shade and blend. I like that it helps your lips look naturally full. AND, just so you know, this shade smells of vanilla buttercream frosting. Mmmmm …

My "daytime" look with NYC Liquid Lipshine!

The particulars: NYC New York Color products retail for $.99 from $4.99. Liquid Lipshine retails for $2.49 and comes in 10 different shades, including much brighter and richer colors like berry tones and fuschias. I have also tried other NYC New York Color products in the past and they have all been very high quality, so I can vouch for the whole line! You can find NYC New York Color at Walmart, Target, Rite Aid, CVS, Family Dollar, Duane Reade, Kmart, and HEB stores to name a few.

Disclosure of Material Connections: This product was provided to me at no cost by Influenster’s VoxBox program, in exchange for my honest feedback. The thoughts expressed here are my own and I have not been paid or otherwise financially compensated in order to provide this review.

The Montagne Jeunesse (official website here) Fruit Smoothie mask is one of those products that’s always in the drugstore or grocery store, hanging on a rack, with eye-catching packaging, begging me to buy it. Yet for some reason, I never have. So when Influenster recently sent me a sample to review through their VoxBox program, I was excited in a “I’m finally going to find out what this is all about!” kind of way.

Definitely eye-popping ...

The cool thing about these masks is that you can buy them one at a time if you want, or just grab a bunch of different varieties and try each one out to find the one that’s best for you. You don’t have to wind up with a big bottle of mask solution that just sits around in your house and eventually gets thrown out because all of the mask solution has started to harden, because you didn’t use it up fast enough! (Or is that just me that does stuff like that?) With these masks you get a fresh mask every time. There are way too many varieties to talk about here: everything from self-heating masks that smell like chocolate (I’d love to try THAT one!) to scrubs to mud masks to peel-off masks, and in a wide-variety of delicious-sounding scents.

I was very excited to try my Raspberry & Mango trial-size mask, probably too excited. Blame it on the girl on the attractive eye-grabbing wrapper as she grins at me, eyes full of mangos and raspberries. Actually the longer I look at it, the creepier it becomes!

As soon as I ripped off the top of the mask wrapper, I was very happy to find that the liquid version of the mask did indeed smell delicious. I would not want to have something on my face for a full minutes that smelled like caulking solution (like some other masks I have tried).

The product hardened on my face very quickly as I applied it. It went on smoothly and soon I was walking around the house looking quite ghostly. My fiance, who by now is about 75 percent used to me, barely batted an eyelash.

As time went on my skin felt tighter and tighter, but not uncomfortably so. At the end of the allotted time I ambled back into the bathroom and splashed warm water over my face until the solution started to come off. (I recommend letting it dissolve quite a bit first before you start rubbing at it.)

I was very happy to find that my skin not only looked better after – pores less visible, shine less evident, but skin still glowing and rosy – but it also felt very smooth. Aaaah! I kept feeling it with the backs of my hands in fact.

The AFTER pic: Skin feels much happier

I was happy enough with this that I plan to get back into the enjoyment of regular facial masks. I do love to pamper myself beauty-wise, but sadly, I don’t do it often enough. This is a really quick and fun thing you can do for yourself while you prepare for bed, make some dinner, or do just about anything else that doesn’t require you to go out in public. It feels great to take that time out for yourself. There are many varieties of this mask to try and I’m most interested in finding out more about this “self-heating” janx next. Especially the one that smells like chocolate! (What happens if I lose control and eat the mask solution?)

Just FYI, these masks are animal-friendly – never tested on animals and “vegetarian approved”. You can find them at ULTA, Walgreens, Claire’s, Walmart, Kroger, CVS, and many other retailers all around the U.S.

Disclosure of Material Connections: This product was provided to me at no cost by Influenster in exchange for my honest feedback. The thoughts expressed here are my own and I have not been paid or otherwise financially compensated for this review.

Eric and I have kinda hectic schedules so I’m glad we still have 11 months left to plan (well, less than that realistically, but let’s not get too technical). I love reading about weddings and doing wedding stuff, and I’m afraid of driving him nuts or making him feel like that’s all I care about, so I’m sure to do fun non-wedding stuff with him too, like playing video games, lying around talking with the cell phones and computers off, taking walks, and watching movies. We will have to figure out a time for us to have our pre-martial counseling sessions. I’m secretly hoping we get to take fun couples’ quizzes, simulate arguments, and fill out workbooks while sneaking peeks at each others’ answers when the reverend isn’t looking.

Despite my careful committment to a balanced wedding approach, I still admit to having purchased MANY wedding books and magazines! I’d like to review some of them to help other brides over time. Since this is supposed to be a mostly travel-and-exploration-related blog – not that it always stays that way, nor gets updated very often – I was thinking I may start a separate wedding blog. Or I may not. I don’t really want to go overboard here. What do you think?

Continuing my guinea pigging of workouts you can supposedly do in your cube or office, today I went through a small routine by Tracey Anderson, found in Bloomberg BusinessWeek‘s September 22 “How To” issue. If you don’t have a copy, you can view most of the same article here. Keep in mind that the purpose of these routines is not to get you in the kind of shape that Ms. Anderson is in, but rather for your good general health – as recent studies have discovered that even a small amount of sedentary time is very bad for your body, regardless of how fit you already are. And obviously that is definitely not good news for us desk jockeys.

This workout has little going for it compared to the Washington Post workout I reviewed last week. With just four moves, it’s decidedly faster than a full set of WP moves. Which is a good thing, because presumably you have to get actual work things done in the office, too, right? But the moves don’t include the number of reps to start out with. I found I was more likely to injure myself or bump into something with these moves – the first one in particular means balancing yourself on your rolly chair with both legs off the ground. The second exercise means you better wipe down your germ-laden workspace before planting your snoz on it. The third one is confusing – what is a “flick kick”? (“I don’t know, is it a kind of movie?” said my sister when I texted her with this question.) I did find the last move pretty satisfying; it’s a good stretch, and anything that gets us moving more during the day is a good start. With this one, that’s about all I can ask for.

On Thursday afternoon, a person connected to a recent armed robbery in Radford entered the Virginia Tech campus and murdered Virginia Tech Police Officer Deriek Crouse, 39, and then ended his own life. Officer Crouse was an Army veteran who joined the VTPD force in October 2007. He lived in Christiansburg with his wife and their five boys and according to this article, was considered a good-natured “jokester” and “a stand-up guy” who was very well-liked and respected by his neighbors and friends.

Virginia Tech students have started the Hokies for Crouse fund, which has since partnered with the official Crouse memorial fund at the National Bank of Blacksburg. All money donated to this fund, either through the site or by check to the bank, goes directly to the Crouse family. Along with starting a drive to raise more money for the memorial fund – at this writing, it already has over $33,000 – the students are looking to collect Christmas presents for Mrs. Crouse and the children.

Our Virginia Tech university motto is “Ut Prosim” which means “That I May Serve.” Officer Crouse lived out that motto well. Now let us do the same. I am very proud to be a Hokie and I am not surprised to hear VT students are pulling together to support the family of the officer who served them.

Here is how you can help:

*You can visit the Hokies for Crouse website to make a donation directly through PayPal, which is a very safe and easy way of transferring funds while keeping the sender and receiver’s account details private. (I have used it for over 10 years.)

*If you live in Blacksburg or nearby, check out that same Hokies for Crouse site to learn about presents for the Crouse family. You can bring them by the VTPD station. According to the site, Lt. Jackson of the VTPD suggests gift cards.

*You can email police@vt.edu with condolences for the family and for the VT Police Department.

*You can visit Officer Crouse’s memorial page here.

*You can mail a check to Officer Crouse’s Memorial fund at the National Bank of Blacksburg. The following information is taken directly from the Virginia Tech website:

Memorial fund established for family of Deriek Crouse

A memorial fund has been established to support the needs of the family of Deriek Crouse, the Virginia Tech Police officer who was fatally shot Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011. Those wishing to contribute can mail checks, payable to “Deriek Crouse Memorial Fund,” to the address below:

National Bank of Blacksburg
Attn: Dana Sutphin
P.O. Box 90002
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9002

Those seeking more information about the fund should call 540-552-2011 and ask to speak with Dana Sutphin, branch manager.

Expressions of support or condolence for the Crouse family can be sent to police@vt.edu.

One of the latest fads, although I hope this one has more staying power than others, is the office workout. In the past few months I have seen articles in magazines and newspapers on this very topic along with new products designed to facilitate such workouts, such as “standing desks”. I have even heard of meetings conducted while everyone is on a treadmill. (That is pushing it too far. The only thing that could possibly make a boring meeting even MORE torturous is bringing a treadmill into the equation.)

A few months ago, The Washington Post presented 12 office exercises tested by their infographics department. The result is this clever presentation on their website, complete with awesome (and somewhat funny) drawings of office workers demonstrating how to do each exercise. You can read pros and cons of each move and rate whether or not you would actually do this exercise in your own office. There is also a small link you can select to download and print a useful cubicle poster of the exercises.

Me being me, I had to guinea pig these things, just for you! And now I do them most days of the week. I’m kind of cheating as far as the embarrassment factor goes because my cube has a privacy door on it and not a ton of people work on my floor anyway. But ultimately I found this routine pretty easy to do, although I would recommend changing out of your work shoes into sneakers first. It involves a lot of marching and stepping, so if you’re in a quieter atmosphere, your cube mates will probably hear your repeated steps and wonder what you are doing. And if you work in a cube with a low-wall, people will see your arms swinging around on some of the moves. (Consider grabbing an empty conference room if you’re in a busy area and just can’t stand people looking at you during the day.) Regardless, this is a quick workout that will keep you energized and is a good way to take a brief break. It’s even kind of fun. Just be very careful when doing the ones that require you to lean on your desk – sometimes cubicle tables are too flimsy.

Bonus points if you attempt to make the same faces shown on the people in the WaPo article as you do each exercise.

In a recent post, I told you about Howl-o-Scream 2011 and all the fun we had at that annual Busch Gardens spooktacular. But now let’s talk about the rest of the park – the parts you can find any time it’s open! Busch Gardens Williamsburg (which is actually in nearby James City County) has won the Most Beautiful Amusement Park Award from the National Amusement Park Historical Association for 21 consecutive years, beating out even Walt Disney World for the honor. One visit and it’s easy to see why: the park is beautifully landscaped, and while dedicated to groundbreaking, award-winning rides, it also takes care to preserve its other best assets. On my first return visit to the park in something like 19 years, I was pleased to see that the general layout and decoration had not changed too terribly much, and that the great new (for me) rides that had been installed fit right in. This was so refreshing as all my other childhood and teenage favorites have either now changed almost to the point of being unrecognizable, have taken out some of their absolute best rides for no apparent reason, or are gone altogether.

If you’re planning a trip to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for the first time, I can assure you that you will love it… The park is laid out in various sections, each representing different parts of Europe, with a wide variety of shows and rides. I was so excited when we drove up to it on October 30 that I could barely contain myself! One of the best parts is it’s truly aimed at all ages. There are more than enough things to entertain small children, from the Sesame Street Forest of Fun and Land of the Dragons sections to various other shows and the animal reserve. But there are also lots of food, shows, pubs, and rides adults will enjoy and a few aimed directly at them. I was worried Eric and I would run out of things to do up until Howl-o-Scream started at 6 PM, but I was so wrong – we didn’t even get to everything, by a long shot!

Tip: Grab a map/guide as soon as you get into the park. If you aren’t sure where to find the maps, just look for the area right inside the entrance that has a bunch of other people standing around looking at their own maps. No, I’m serious. It is a map-reading extravaganza.

If you like midway games and winning prizes … you will like the Festa Italia Games and Oktoberfest Games sections. There are midways and a fairly large arcade. In fact, one of the first things that happened after Eric and I entered the park was Eric’s winning me a stuffed Angry Bird.

With an angry avian

Tip: Either rent a locker out for the day for your smaller prizes or souvenirs, or pay the extra 5 bucks for the priority parking so you can make frequent trips to your car to put stuff away. (As of this writing, regular parking costs $13 and priority is $18.)

If you are a roller coaster fan … then you are in for a treat. Some of the world’s very best roller coasters are right here in this park. In the Scotland section, you will find the highly respected Loch Ness Monster, a bright yellow series of loop-de-loops. This is definitely the tamest out of the four “adult” coasters, but is still very fun, especially when you go into the dark cave and can’t see anything. Then, in Festa Italia, hop onto the infamous Apollo’s Chariot! Among the general public it may be well known for the unfortunate 1999 incident in which Fabio, the famed romance novel cover model, rode in the front seat on its maiden voyage and got hit in the face with a big fat Canadian goose. But Eric will remember this one as being his first ever roller coaster, as well as the ride during which his zombie hat flew right off of his head because some people don’t listen to their girlfriends. I love this ride for its 210 foot drop. And, every year since 2000, it has received a Golden Ticket Award and ranked as one of the top 10 best steel coasters in the world by Amusement Today magazine. (If you haven’t heard of the Golden Ticket Awards, they are kind of a big deal, mmmkay?)

Go to the Germany section to ride the fabulous Alpengeist, a 195-foot-tall light blue coaster in which riders are supposedly being terrorized by a snow monster on a runaway ski lift in the Alps! (I LOVE how creative Busch Gardens is with the stories behind their rides!) Lastly, see if you are brave enough to go over to the France section and ride the Griffon. It takes you 205 feet high and then meanly drops you after first hanging you over the edge for a few seconds, just long enough for you to go ahead and lose control of your bladder. Below is a first-person rider video by East Coast(er) General so that you can understand the magnificence of this thing.

Lastly, there is a junior coaster in the Sesame Street Forest of Fun called Grover’s Alpine Express (adults can ride too!). A sixth coaster, Verbolten: Brave the Black Forest, is being constructed right now on the former site of the Big Bad Wolf coaster, which was dismantled in 2009. (You can read more about Verbolten on The Coaster Critic’s Blog.)

If you want a thrill but are too scared of roller coasters … there are plenty of good rides that aren’t coasters. Le Scoot, the log flume, can be found in the New France area. Two other great water rides are Italy’s Escape from Pompeii, which features special effects and ends with a five-foot chute drop into a splash pool, and Festa Italia’s Roman Rapids, which is a whitewater rafting-type ride that will soak you from head to toe. And don’t get all smart about it and plan on being the odd person who somehow stays completely dry because there is no way you will get away with that.

Aside from water rides, there is the AMAZING Curse of DarKastle in the Oktoberfest area! Both the outside decor and the 3D effects in this ride are incredible, but the ride itself doesn’t seem to move that much aside from some jerks and twists here and there. You will definitely feel like you are being yanked around plenty though as you follow the story of a crazed evil king who is now chasing after you. The ride is enhanced with light sprays of water, fog, and wind.

A brand new attraction is the 246 foot Mach Tower in the Oktoberfest section, which will give you a wonderful view of the park and a couple of surprises before dropping you.

Finally, you will probably enjoy some of the more generic carnival-type rides found here and there. These include New France’s Le Catapult (scrambler ride), and the Turkish Delight (teacup ride), Trade Wind (a circular fast train ride), and Elephant Run (similar, but lower), all in Germany. If you go to the beautiful Gardens of Invention section at Festa Italia, you can ride The Flying Machine (two-rider cars that um, fly around), the Battering Ram (a swinging boat ride like Kings Dominion’s The Berzerker, only way tamer), and DaVinci’s Cradle (kind of like a big boat that swings up and down while keeping riders horizontal, like one of those Rainbow rides). There are plenty of others – a set of giant swings, etc. so check them all out on your map or flip it over to see the full list.

You can navigate the park on foot, of course, or by Skyride (hanging cable car) or train. Each stops at various stations in different sections of the park, or you can just stay on and make a loop around the whole thing. You can also go on the Rhine River Cruise and ride around the center of the park before coming back to where you started. These are all pretty easy-going rides and the Skyride will give you a great view. The Rhine River Cruise comes complete with a good view of the ongoing construction of Verbolten on the former Big Bad Wolf site and some narration of what you are seeing, but if you have a lot of shrieking kids or yammering adults on your ride, sit up front to hear it.

If you love animals … You will enjoy checking out the wolf reserve, bald eagle rescue reserve, Lorakeet Glen (where you can pay a couple dollars to feed the birds) and the Clydesdales and ponies. There are also some animal shows at Jack Hanna’s Wild Reserve, including a show about “the secret lives of predators.” A ride around the park on the train will show you herds of sheep and other animals.

You can find shows and rides great for younger children throughout the park. Check out the back of your map to get all the show times and locations. There are also two sections of the park made especially for children, including the Land of the Dragons and Sesame Street Forest of Fun. Both of these have plenty of rides and playground equipment. One of those areas has replaced the old kids’ area called Eagle’s Nest, where some dumb kid ran right into my face when I was very young and caused some profuse tooth bleeding. Boy was my mom mad at that kid. Digress … who, me?

If you are hungry … you have plenty of options to keep you full. There are food carts and stands, quick “to go” bistros, and restaurants and pubs. Das Festhaus in the Oktoberfest section is great for families and other groups with long tables and benches and it has “authentic” German offerings like bratwurst, pretzels, black forest cake, and sauerkraut. I have to say the food in Das Festhaus may not be gourmet, but for theme park food is actually pretty good. You can often catch a show while you eat. Our meals were included with our hotel and park tickets package which was nice. There are several other sit-down restaurants, such as Trappers Smokehouse in New France area and Ristorante Della Piazza in the Italy section. Grab-and-go options are plentiful; we liked the aptly named Pretzels and Beer with outdoor patio seating in the Oktoberfest area (right next to the Mach Tower). Listen to people scream bloody murder as you gleefully tear into your pretzel dog! In the France area we hit up Bistro 205 for a snack of iced mocha and messy nachos … how French of us, haha.

Other things you can do include take photos at the various “photo op” areas set up throughout the park, see a show in multiple theaters, hang out in the Irish pub with a drink and meal or some Starbucks coffee, and shop for souvenirs at one of the tons of shops. You can buy a stuffed Alpengeist, Griffon, or Loch Ness Monster with bendy body, in fact!

My Tips

If you plan to make frequent trips to your car and back, I highly recommend you purchase the priority parking which is currently $5 more than the “regular” parking at a total cost of $18. You will be able to park in the lot right outside of the main entrance and get out of the park quicker at closing time. If you use the “regular” lot you can ride the tram to the front entrance.

The Quick Queue pass is also definitely worth the money, especially if you live farther away and cannot visit the park often. You can choose a Quick Queue pass that works once for each ride, or pay more for a pass that gives you unlimited Quick Queue access to certain rides all day long. I highly recommend buying in advance from the web site (link below) to avoid disappointment.

You can use one of the coin lockers in the park to store smaller souvenirs and other items or pay $5-$10 (at this writing) for an unlimited use day locker (small and large).

Make sure you wear good sneakers. This is not a small park and you will be getting a good workout just walking around. If you are feeling worn out the heat and walking, there are many, many places to sit in the shade and drink some water and catch a rest!

There is a day pet-kenneling service near the Priority parking lot (you will pass it on your left as you go in the entrance). I haven’t used it but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the fee is actually rather small. No clue on if the facilities are any good or not so call ahead and ask.

LINKAGE: To get started on your visit to Busch Gardens, visit the official Busch Gardens Williamsburg site here. There is also a Busch Gardens Tampa Bay with an Africa theme that I hope to visit one day.

I’ve debated doing hotel reviews on this blog for some time. Having stayed everywhere from all-inclusive resorts to executive business suites to super-cheap old-era roadside motels over the course of my entire 30 years, I think I’m as well-equipped for this as any other Jane Schmoe with a blog. And now that I’ve experienced a spike in readership, I think now is as good a time as any. I’m not being paid or asked to do this by anyone, and I’ll let you know if this ever changes.

To be fair, my reviews will only cover recent stays.

Please be cognizant that this reflects my personal experience (duh), and no two stays are exactly the same.

QUALITY INN HISTORIC AREA
AAA Rating: 3 diamonds
600 Bypass Road, Williamsburg, VA
Hotel website here
Phone: 757-220-8986

Date of Stay: Saturday-Monday, October 29-31, 2011

This four-story brick hotel is located on Bypass Road, a very convenient route to popular Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA theme parks as well as a host of restaurants and the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum. In fact, if traffic conditions are ideal, you could be on the road for well under 15 minutes to reach the parks, and 5-10 minutes for Ripley’s museum and theater, some small businesses, and the large restaurant selection along Richmond Road. Jamestown, the College of William and Mary, and Colonial Williamsburg are also close by.

Part of Choice Hotels International, this Quality Inn is spacious, well-lit, and boasts a large lobby with very friendly and chatty front desk staff. Grounds are clean with decent open parking and an attractive fountain out front. Rooms are clean and well-maintained. Mattress quality is iffy, but not uncomfortable. Some guests may find them a bit too firm, but I didn’t think they were firm enough. (Please note I normally sleep on a Laura Ashley extra-firm board mattress.) Sheets and pillows were clean and I fell asleep easily. The bathroom included a modest selection of toiletries, including shampoo, bar soap, body wash, and hand & body lotion, which, remarkably, were unscented. We found the noise level low, but the number of cars in the parking lot indicated there weren’t a ton of visitors that weekend.

You may be able to find an economical package deal through the Busch Gardens or Water Country USA websites. Microwaves and mini-fridge not included in basic rate; expect to pay $10 extra. Small coffee-maker, hairdryer, and iron/ironing board are included in room rate. Guests can enter hotel through main door as well as through a side door closer to the parking lot and directly across from the Corner Cafe. This door remains unlocked, so those concerned about security may not wish to stay on the first floor for this reason.

The extras

Outdoor pool. Closed for season.
Hot drinks. Coffee, tea, and tisanes (herbal tea – I like to be all proper with my terminology sometimes) are available 24-7 on the first floor in a tiny cafe area with tables and chairs. Hot water is available in the vending machine room around the corner on the same floor.
Newspapers. Virginia Gazette and USA Today are available in the hotel lobby.
High-speed Wi-Fi. Available in all rooms; no surcharge.
Continental breakfast. Held in the Corner Cafe, an unusually large breakfast room with many tables and chairs and a TV at one end. Breakfast options include a waffle-maker, bagels, pastries, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, dry cereal, fruit, and of course, coffee, tea, milk, and juices. Multiple tables and chairs of varying sizes available and the room has a TV set up at one end. Hours are 6-9 AM.
Fitness center. Small room with one mirrored wall and a water cooler, located in the basement (level L2). Includes just three machines: an elliptical with broken display, a treadmill that appeared to be flat-out broken, and a stationery bike. Is not the best for someone like me looking for a quick and easy workout, let alone a real gym rat on a week-long business trip. I also have to mention that I found a somewhat large dead black spider as well as what appeared to be a dead centipede (too smushed to be sure) on the carpet. These could simply be products of a well-done extermination job – creatures often come out and die after poison is applied – but were not particularly welcome company for even the brief workout I was able to eek out in this room.
Arcade. This gaming center is located in a larger room than the gym, yet contains only five machines. (The size of the room, along with the two separate entrances with adjoining bathrooms, makes me think the gym and the arcade room switched places once upon a time.) But what’s there is awesome. My boyfriend, an avid gamer, was immediately thrilled to see the extremely rare Jr. Pac-Man arcade game and spent a couple of hours down in the arcade room taking himself back to his 1980s South Bronx upbringing! The other games were NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat II, Terminator 2 pinball, and an old racing game (“F-1 something” says Eric). In all seriousness, this is an 80s/90s arcade fan’s mini-dream and we hope it is not updated any time soon.

Overall: This is an economical stay option with a good bang for your buck, especially with many restaurants and entertainment choices a very quick drive away.

Recommended: Yes

What would you like to see in future hotel and resort reviews? Let me know and I’ll incorporate that info in future posts.

Eric and I just love Halloween and have grown to think of it as “our” holiday. We love the spooky ambiance, the tasty candy, the fun events, the dramatic organ music punctuated with Boris Karloff laughs. Unfortunately this year we were both so busy a good deal of the time that we didn’t get to do a lot of that stuff this ‘go round. So I decided we had to have our actual Halloween weekend be the most awesome one possible. Almost immediately, I thought of the famous Howl-o-Scream event at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Every year I hear all about how great Howl-o-Scream is; both the park and the “spooktacular” event have some majorly dedicated fans. I hadn’t been to Busch Gardens myself in something like 20 years, so I was very excited to get back and see if it was just as I remembered as far as rides and settings go (and refreshingly, it pretty much was).

During Howl-o-Scream, Busch Gardens is filled with spooky decorations during the day and comes alive with shows, haunted houses, and scary walk-through areas with actors in costume at night. Eric and I purchased a very economical package deal including hotel, dinner, and park passes, and got to the park an hour after opening on the day before Halloween. The entire park was decked out with all kinds of spooky monsters, werewolves, and evil clowns, and ghosts were strung along the highest branches of the trees. Jack-o-lanterns lined pathways and sat in fields. Garden areas were transformed into graveyards. Fountains were covered in cobwebs, and there were a few appropriately-themed do-it-yourself photo ops. But my absolutely favorite was the giant Grim Reaper that greeted us in the France area!

Every time I took this picture, a different man stepped in the frame!

There were also Halloween stores and a special Howl-o-Scream shop dedicated to this year’s theme, The Dark Side of the Gardens, and its “mascot” of sorts (a red rose with an eyeball peeping out of the middle). There’s even a really creepy theme song, sung by the Lady of the Garden, which played all over the park (most notably on the footbridge over the Rhine River) and which you can listen to right here.

But I’m sure what you really wanted to hear about were the things that come alive as soon as the clock strikes 6 PM during Howl-o-Scream season – the shows, the haunted house-type attractions, and the Fright Zone walkthroughs. Could they live up to the hype?

There wasn't an inch of the park that didn't seem to be spookily decorated, like this jack-o-lantern path

HAUNTED HOUSES

Fear Fair. Located mostly outside in a series of shacks and tents, this house was themed around a crazy stranded carnival full of cirus freaks. It was the first one we walked through and it was genuinely rather scary. I hate clowns, but not because I’m scared of them. I just think they’re dumb. But I was really impressed with the way the park’s staff had used an incredible variety of decorations, noisemakers, themed music, and actors in costume to create a truly creepy and unexpected walk. You never knew when someone or something would sneak out at you, or worse, follow you unnoticed for some time. Actors cleverly deduced who would be most frightened and went after those people. One man dressed like a clown boy with ponytails came after me no less than three times! The theme ranged from funhouse mazes and games to a tent of giant honeybees grown to giant proportions. There were funny moments too; at one point an actor in a giant frog costume appeared on the path ahead through the fog, aimlessly wandering around the opening of a tent. I actually found his random appearance scary after having been chased by clowns through a hayfield and shrieked, while Eric pointed, laughed and yelled out “IT’S A FROG! HAHAHAHA” I give Fun Fair 4.5 screams out of 5!

Dead Line. Located in the Escape from Pompeii ride house, which had been closed for the season (who wants to ride a water ride in freezing cold water?), this attraction’s story had you trapped underground inside the construction tunnel for the latest line on the Pompeii Metro after a pipe broke and something went “terribly wrong” … and that something was zombies! I hate/love zombies because I find them terrifying, but just love a good scare. These guys delivered. The decoration inside was incredible and truly looked just like an old abandoned branch of a Metro station, with spray-painted vending machine, walls, and bathrooms with burbling toilets. The creepiness began early on as we first had to walk through a very low-lying tunnel with a white cloth obscuring everything from sight. As we walked through the tunnels and Metro cars, the bloody, drooling, initially motionless actors were almost impossible to distinguish from the mannequins draped here and there. Really, really frightening! Just ask the girl who was so scared she fell on the floor in a ball, kicking and screaming no less than two times! 5 out of 5 screams! (Special note: people who had to wait in line for the ride got to watch a special video “news report” of what happened in the tunnel to get them all good and scared before they even stepped in there.)

13: Your Number’s Up. This attraction is based around 13 distinct phobias, some more obvious than others in this rather vague “haunted house.” Different phases represented different phobias, all marked with a number over a door. Some, such as the fear of snakes and insects, were far more obvious than other areas, where it seemed like nothing was really going on other than the occasional actor leaping out at us. The hospital room was the scariest with a corpse actor slowly rising up from under the covers, leaving people to wonder who she was going to jump out at first. But the best part of this attraction was the teenaged kid behind us who came in with his sister or girlfriend. He screamed – loudly – at everything that jumped at him, then would yell “Stop grabbing on me!” at the girl with him, who was mostly silent but clutching him for dear life. As we passed through an especially dark passageway, guests started screaming ahead and remarking one by one about how scared they were. The kid’s remark, hollered out in the darkness, was “It smells like jalapenos!” (He was right – was it a fear of hot vegetables section?) He was the saving grace of what would have otherwise been a mildly unimpressive walk. 3 out of 5 screams (not counting teenaged boy)

Catacombs. I don’t have much memory of this one other than walking through some, well, catacombs and having skeletons and creepy hands slide out from behind mannequins and small trapdoors in the walls. It gave me the shudders and provided a more classic kind of scare. 3.5 out of 5 screams.

Bitten. Held in what I believe was the old storage house for either the defunct Big Bad Wolf or Drachen Fire roller coasters, the scares in this one were too far and few between. We saw far less actors in this than we did in others, and many times it was easy to spot an actor long before he or she actually did anything. Vampires leaped from behind and inside coffins and around corners and fake blood was fairly plentiful. The floor was covered in sand for some reason. The last part was a long walk out with no actors in sight. Attractive costumes and staging, but very lackluster execution. 2 out of 5 screams.

By day, giant pumpkins sat around the animal reserve part of the park ...

At night, they became grinning jack-o-lanterns!

SCARE ZONES
These are out in the open areas that one would normally have to walk through to get to another section of the park, each with fog machines and decorations meant to keep you from seeing what would pop out at you. At least a couple had “Bypass Scare Zone” routes marked for the faint of heart.

Grin and Scare It. This clown-themed zone was easily the most well-done, and I should know because we had to walk through it four times. Full of quick scares like clowns popping out of stacks of crates, or snapping balloons at you through the fog, it was quick, creepy, and fun. The actors were excellent at their craft and were clearly enthusiastic about it. A woman decided to make a break for it and ran straight through with both arms over her face so she wouldn’t get “scared.” A heavyset male clown was not having that and he took off right after her! Eric and I got a kick out of that.

Scavengers. This area never turned into the Fright Zone the night that we were there, so I don’t have a review for it. It was supposed to revolve around evil scarecrows.

Widow Makers. This area looked creepier by the day, with giant spiders stuck in webs strung all about the path. At night, loggers carrying “chainsaws” appeared, presumably aiming to chop down the webs, but instead going after guests. Some actors seemed less than enthused; two were even hanging outside the wood-carver’s shop chatting and loosely holding their chainsaws! Others were far more into it, even chasing guests outside the area.

Stichin’ Time. Monsters, zombies, and an evil mad scientist snuck up on people and prowled the grounds. Great costumes.

Unleashed. Lastly, there was the werewolf Scare Zone. During the day, almost cute-looking werewolf decorations peeped out from around poles and trees. At night, actors in werewolf masks roamed!

SHOWS

We only caught two out of the three shows. Jack is Back was a musical in the Ireland section of the park, featuring dancing pumpkins and scarecrows, quite talented breakdancers on stilts, and the Howl-o-Scream mascot, Jack, a cackling pumpkin-headed fellow who goes back and forth from the stage to the roof. The show is basically a dance party to popular (not spooky) music and the crowd loved it. Lots of fun! Some variation of this will surely be back next year – be sure to catch a hot drink from the nearby pub ahead of time and stay warm.

Jack, the Howl-o-Scream mascot, cackles down to his visitors during the show

We ate our dinner inside the giant German-themed Festhaus dining hall and watched part of Fiends, a musical extravaganza for “adults” featuring a mad scientist, dancing monsters and scantily clad pink-haired nurses, and some adult humor that will probably go right over most little ones’ heads. As we left, we found another nurse and Frankenstein’s Monster doing a choreographed dance in the main hall

An additional show was Monster Stomp Revisited which we missed.

Rides: Most rides were open, including all coasters. Water rides like Escape from Pompeii, Le Scoot (the log flume), and Roman Rapids were closed. Some of the coasters, as well as Curse of DarKastle were included on the Quick Queue (line-skipping) pass, which I highly recommend. I’ll review the rides themselves in a later post.

Verdict: Busch Gardens Howl-o-Scream more than lived up to all the hype. Eric and I both had an absolute blast with plenty of thrills and chills, and agreed that this was the perfect way to spend the day before Halloween. We just might do it again next year!

TIPS:

*BUY THE QUICK QUEUE PASS, unless you already live in the Williamsburg area and have more than one day to wait in line for haunted houses. If Eric and I had not bought these passes, which allow you to skip to the very front of the line, we would have only been able to see two, maybe three of the haunted houses on this particular date. We heard the line for one was an hour and a half long, but we waited no more than two minutes MAX for each ride and attraction shown on our QQ passes. If you can spare the extra dough, it is well worth it when you only have one day to see it all! The Quick Queue pass includes all five haunted houses as well as five rides.

*Festhaus is the best place to eat dinner. This giant dining hall has plenty of both German- and American-themed goodies and lots of bang for your buck, and can seat tons of people.

Eric found a friend outside Festhaus!

*You can rent mini-lockers for the day, or just pay a quarter or two (can’t remember) for a one-time use and then pay again each time you need to open it back up.

*The priority parking may be worth it if you’ll have to make return trips to your car or plan to win a giant stuffed animal later that can’t fit in a locker. At this writing, regular parking is $13 and priority (right at the entrance to the park) is $18.

*Be sure to visit the special Halloween stores located near the entrance. Lots of fun goodies inside!

*If you’re worried about losing sight of your kids, your friends, or your significant other, buy a light-up necklace or other such bauble from one of the souvenir shops. Eric and I got light-up jack-o-lantern necklaces because we thought they were cool-looking, but then realized that it was a great way to keep an eye on one another as the park grew dark. Both the pumpkin and the necklace itself light up bright orange so you can spot members of your party both ahead of and behind you. We found ours in one of the stores in the Ireland section. (Similar necklaces with uglier pendants, like giant dollar signs, are available year-round.)

Here we are waiting outside the pub for Jack's show to begin.

*The Guinness tasted watered-down … pass.

*Howl-o-Scream isn’t really intended for young kids, but the scary stuff doesn’t come on in full swing until 6 PM, and the park opens at 10 AM, so you’ve got plenty of time if you’d rather avoid that stuff.

Next up, I’ll review more of Busch Gardens itself.

The Lady of the Garden stares people down