WinterFest 2026

WinterFest is back and bigger than ever this year! New this year is Kingdom of the Snow Queen, an immersive magical trail through the indoor museum  that we loved so much we walked through it twice. 

We almost made this mistake of missing the Snow Queen's Royal Circus, a 35 minute show with jugglers, magicians, and an aerialist. Shows are at 6:00 and 7:30, plus 9:00 on weekends. You'll also want to say hello the talking Christmas tree and talking polar bear. 

Then, you'll head outside where you'll see over two million lights. People have told me before that they didn't realize you could go down inside the battleship, so make sure you don't miss it! We loved the snowball mayhem section which was outside on the porch of Nauticus, too! 

Along the riverwalk you'll want to see the trees in Town Point Park and the beautiful Pagoda. You can also purchase a combo ticket for a 30 minute ride around the harbor on the Victory Rover. It will allow you to have a great view from the water. 

You'll want to purchase your tickets online to save $3.00. Adults are $22.00, children are $18.00, two and under are free. There is a military discount. You'll select your entrance time within a one hour window. We spent about 3 hours total inside of the museum and the ship itself, plus more time to do the Riverwalk. You don't want to miss this season! 

Night of the Living Museum

We attended Night of the Living Museum for the first time this year an my kids can't wait to go back. Every October, for one weekend only the Living Museum opens from 5:30-8:30 for not-so-creepy crawlies, candy and game stations, themed music and activities, the regular museum exhibits, and a science show. 

Upon entering, you'll see the special Halloween exhibit in the changing exhibit room, full of animals that are sometimes considered "creepy." Think of tarantulas, snakes, lizards, and frogs. From there you'll want to walk around the museum to all of the candy stations and have your passport stamped. Once you fill this out- trade it in for a king size candy bar before you leave the museum. Outside you'll see the walking pathways all lit up and some special Halloween decor by the dinosaurs. You'll want to play the outdoor games and activities on the way to the planetarium or head inside to catch a science show. If you missed this event, but are looking for something similar, be sure to check out

December 19-23rd at the museum 

The Fun Box

 Take this post, and shift it, because The Fun Box is officially BACK in Virginia Beach. With over 25,000 square feet to bounce, this was one of our favorite places we went this year. I love that adults can jump, too, or sit while kids play. The area is fenced in with only one way in and out. Plus, there are timed slots with limited tickets sold. The real selling point for me though is that they have so much staff inside the jumping area itself, making sure that no one gets hurt and cleaning. Check out their introductory $18 tickets before they're gone! 

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Owl Creek Landing

New attraction alert! Tucked right behind the Virginia Aquarium, near the Oceanfront, Own Creek Landing has bragging rights to the longest steel slide in America. To get there, you'll head to the parking lot in the South Building of the Aquarium. (The smaller building) In the parking lot you'll see the signs to follow. Use the bathroom before you head back, as there are none in the park. You'll want to wear close toed shoes. You can bring coolers, but there are limited chairs and picnic tables. You'll also want to bring bug spray. 

The slide is only for ages 7 and up. You'll sit on a mat to ride down after climbing up the first spiral tower in America. Once you've mastered the slide, come back up to head across the 1/3 mile tree walk. You'll walk across hanging bridges throughout the park. We ended our time at the children's play area, which has two swings and a small zipline. 

The park is open Sunday-Thursday from 10-4 and Friday and Saturday from 10-6. Adults 14 and up are $28, youth ages 10-13 are $18, and youth 3-9 are $13. Children 2 and under are free. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning. 

Adventure Park

Located between the two aquarium buildings, the Adventure Park will get you up in the trees for climbing and zip lining. There are lots of levels, and you can start small on purple and work your way up through double black. Five and six year olds must stay on purple trails, and they must have an adult climbing with them. A note, my tall 6 year old couldn't reach some of the clips to unhook, so I had to be behind him the whole day. Behind worked better for us than me going ahead. Each time you get to a new obstacle you'll connect and reconnect using their locking system. Because of this system, which won't allow you to unconnect one hook until you're hooked into another, and you're not able to be disconnected at any point while up in the trees. 

Pricing: 

• General Admission for 3 hours of climbing: $64- ages 14 up, $54 ages 7-13, and $42 ages 5-6. Climbers must be at least 5. 
• All day pass: $99 per person 
• Non-climbing visitors do not need a ticket 
• Your ticket does not include access to the aquarium 
• Save money by purchasing your ticket online ahead of time 
• Check Groupon for specials 
• Monthly membership for $475 per year or a monthly pass for $79 for kids and $89 for adults 

You can bring food in or there is a cafe in each of the aquarium buildings. I'd recommend bringing lots of water as the climbing is a full body workout. We got the all day pass, and I'm glad we did. We got there at 9:30 and my kids climbed literally all day. They asked to go back as soon as we got in the car.