It was rainy but that wasn't the problem. (They do sell ponchos for a reasonable $6.99.) There's so much promise here but our experience was mixed. Your experience may depend on three things: 1. price 2. planning and 3. luck
Preliminarily though, I'll mention that we had one person who was mobility impaired. Although we rented a wheelchair (again, a reasonable $10 plus tax), we did not find Colonial Williamsburg to be sufficiently accommodating. This person gave up after the first day.
1. We bought three-day admission tickets. There certainly can be three days worth of experiences here though you'll have to decide for yourself whether it's worth it.
One experience, certainly worth a day's admission, was the Museums: Folk and Decorative Arts. Maybe you aren't into decorative arts - we aren't particularly, but we enjoyed the substantial and varied selection available, and learned a few things -but but- you'd have to be catatonic or peculiarly ornery not to enjoy the folk arts. Fun and informative!
2. In retrospect we failed to plan. Plan and plan and plan or abandon hope of seeing Colonial Williamsburg in the best light.
First there's the bus. There are no announcements or signs to tell you what areas the bus serves. Look at the map, as I did only after our visit, to see the seven tiny bus icons and locate what areas they serve. Note the bus only travels one way and the loop is long. Most start by taking the bus in and trekking back, because the bus runs infrequently (overcrowded at the entrance) and "the loop is long". (The people at Colonial Williamsburg did convey this as a suggestion.)
Why do you need to plan? Because it helps to know what trades you are most interested in and where they are located, where they are located relative to one another, and most importantly, whether they are open that day. Because not all buildings are open every day or at all times. Unless you are an inveterate trekker you are not going to want to be hopping randomly around. Even the walk in and back to the parking is a lengthy trek by itself.
Then, there's:
3. Luck. If you are lucky, you will encounter many (?) tradespeople/docents who are happy to educate and engage with you. Some of these people are really into it and informative. You may also enjoy the interaction with trades you didn't know you were interested in, once they get talking. But they're not always talking. One tradesman announced as we entered that he had just finished a lengthy lecture and he was not about to repeat it. At another, we heard the end of a lively discussion and went in just as another tradesman was taking over. He was, shall we say, laconic. We found it best if we were going in with a large enough group to get things started, but sometimes people coming in and leaving just seemed to interrupt the flow. Too often, when we were the only ones there, we just couldn't get the vibe going. And, there's another issue of timing, well, two: First, we wanted to see tradespeople actually working at their craft. We never timed it right in the three days. They'd tell us they had just finished something or that they'd be working on something later, but. Second, just our bad luck, several tradespeople told us they had recently finished commission work, so they'd point to an empty space where the finished piece HAD been.
I'm not that into history but I was pleasantly surprised. I learned some. I enjoyed what I did see and hear. But much was more promise than fulfillment.