Tea at Butchart Gardens?

[Alberta Quilter]

I did the same thing (being anal that is)when i first learned of this. It is a phenomenal offer, no wonder its not advertised. I would cab it to the car rental place. Less stressful as its a good 40 min drive out to the Gardens from there. What day of the week is it?? That will make a difference as the gate time to get into the gardens can have a cue on saturdays due to the fireworks. At the gate, they will check out the ID and then give you a VIP parking pass to get you closer to the entrance. Head straight to the restaurant and enjoy the gardens and walk off the calories after.

 

It's a Saturday. May 14th. There will be another ship in port at the same time, and another one in the evening. Do they have fireworks in May? For some reason, I thought it was in the summer months... I'll check it out on the website. Thanks!

 

Yup, it's summer only so no fireworks for our visit. Whew. We'll just have to contend with the regular Saturday crowds.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Alberta Quilter

[Lulubelle45]

Yes. You should make it in time for tea. Weekends in May are busy but not crazy. Mothers day weekend, our Victoria day weekend 20-23, and memorial day weekend plus our amazingly low dollar and start of cruise season do keep the gardens busy.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Lulubelle45

[Alberta Quilter]

Yes. You should make it in time for tea. Weekends in May are busy but not crazy. Mothers day weekend, our Victoria day weekend 20-23, and memorial day weekend plus our amazingly low dollar and start of cruise season do keep the gardens busy.

 

That's reassuring. I made the tea reservation for 2:30; do you think I should change it to 2:45 or 3:00, just in case? I'm just thrilled that the dollar is at par (for us) as we'll be coming from Hawaii when we call in Victoria. Between the USD on the ship and given how expensive things are in Hawaii anyway, it will be nice to have dollars at par in Victoria! We'll pump up the economy in Victoria/Vancouver instead of Hawaii.

 

Do you know if Butchart Gardens has this same offer every year? Do they just call it the 1937 Gift for next year? Just asking in case anyone reading this thread, in the future, can take advantage of the same offer. They must, if it was started in 1984.

[Lulubelle45]

That's reassuring. I made the tea reservation for 2:30; do you think I should change it to 2:45 or 3:00, just in case? I'm just thrilled that the dollar is at par (for us) as we'll be coming from Hawaii when we call in Victoria. Between the USD on the ship and given how expensive things are in Hawaii anyway, it will be nice to have dollars at par in Victoria! We'll pump up the economy in Victoria/Vancouver instead of Hawaii.

 

Do you know if Butchart Gardens has this same offer every year? Do they just call it the 1937 Gift for next year? Just asking in case anyone reading this thread, in the future, can take advantage of the same offer. They must, if it was started in 1984.

 

230pm should work fine for you but its up to you, getting there earlier than your reservation gives you a leisurely stroll to enjoy the first part of the gardens before tea. Yes i went last year when it was the 1935 gift offer. I heard about it in 2014, when a couple told us about it, they were both born same year so took their 2 children. My sister and i took mom, so one of us paid admission the other tea so all 3 off us got a deal.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Lulubelle45

[Alberta Quilter]

230pm should work fine for you but its up to you, getting there earlier than your reservation gives you a leisurely stroll to enjoy the first part of the gardens before tea. Yes i went last year when it was the 1935 gift offer. I heard about it in 2014, when a couple told us about it, they were both born same year so took their 2 children. My sister and i took mom, so one of us paid admission the other tea so all 3 off us got a deal.

 

Thank you, again, Lulubelle! Sounds like your family had a great time! I'm glad you posted about this amazing offer.