https://koa.com/campgrounds/richmond-north/recreation/
In years past we’ve purchased season passes to Carowinds (Charlotte NC) since theme parks seem to entertain adults, teens, and littles. This year since we have the motorhome we decided to try Kings Dominion and take advantage of the KOA that’s right next door. We bought the season tickets since that included Winterfest (an additional fee if not) and they would be good for the entire 2023 season.
Our first trip here was for Winterfest…and we MIGHT have chosen the coldest day of the year. We arrived at the park early Friday and We managed to make it several hours in the theme park, long enough for the kids to ride a few rides, walk through the fake snow blowing around, and see the parade at the end of the evening. Little boys stayed bundled and in our bike trailer (we love this one) and Kings Dominion [thankfully] has lots of those tall outdoor heaters to help warm you up. I’m so grateful we went, it was BEAUTIFUL, and I’m a sucker for Christmas decorations! Something we learned later (like all amazing things) were rechargeable hand warmers! ( Here is what I bought) Charge them using a usb and keep them in your pocket for hours- it’s nice to even have them in your coat keeping your midsection warm! If your kids are like mine and refuse to keep gloves on long they make cute hand warmers like this one that also have a silicone fall cord so you can strap it to your stroller, bag, or kids jacket
Being that Kings Dominion is only open in the evening for Winterfest we had the daytime Saturday to enjoy the campground. They do have a nice enclosed playground area, basketball area, ping pong and various other activities. What I thought was great (as a mom who forgets half the items she intends to bring…) was that you could check out play equipment from the General Store-like basketballs, ping pong paddles etc. The store also had a huge fireplace and seating area to warm you up-that was NICE!
As our Saturday progressed we were totally second guessing our decision to go back to the park in the evening, so we convinced the little boys that a campfire and movie night would be more fun. The big kids took the [free] shuttle back to Kings Dominion while the rest of us took advantage of the fire pit on our campsite. Jace got to experience Jiffy Pop popcorn for the first time and you can see by his expression that he was VERY impressed!
Madie and Eli only made it a couple hours at the park, since it was so cold some of the rides closed down early. The shuttle to the campground ran frequently (like every 15 min or so) and was pretty spacious so they didn’t wait long to get back to us. The only semi sketchy part was how dark the campground was and phone flashlights only work so well. I assume it would be more lit up if it were at capacity as this weekend was pretty desolate.
Since we bought the season passes our plan is to go back when the big kids get out of school and for Halloween next year. Hopefully the weather will be much more comfortable for those dates and we can explore a little more!
Haulin the Herd 