Experience the 2024 Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA with Jay Ducote
Teams play in Lamade Stadium at the 2023 Little World Series in Williamsport, PA
Dugout, the LLWS Mascot, and Jay Ducote pose for the camera in 2022
I’m heading back to Williamsport, PA for the finals of the 2024 Little League World Series, and I’m inviting you to join me! It’ll be an incredible adventure as we get to watch teams from around the United States and from around the world face off on the famous diamonds of Howard Lamade and Volunteer Stadiums.
But this trip won’t just be about baseball. You’ll also be accompanying me on a food and beverage tour of Williamsport! Having spent quite a bit of time there, getting to know chefs and brewery owners, befriending the locals, and making connections with my good friend from grad school at LSU, Dr. Caroline Payne, those who join me on this trip will also get to experience the charming Williamsport, PA with their own personal tour guide through the food and beverage scene… ME!
Who’s On First?
Here are the primary details that you need to know:
Who?: You and a guest (ideally, for double occupany of hotel room reasons) plus up to 3 other couples/duos, plus ME!
What?: A culinary themed field trip to Williamsport, PA during the final days of the Little League World Series!
When?: August 21-26, 2024. By all means you can get there earlier or stay later, but that’s when I’m planning this itinerary.
Where?: Williamsport, PA. We’ll stay at the historic Genetti Hotel, which a lot of times is where ESPN’s crews stay, right in the heart of downtown Williamsport and about a 6 minute drive or shuttle ride from the LLWS fields.
Why?: Because there’s nothing more wholesomely American (and International) than experiencing the Little League World Series… and you might as well do it with me so we can eat and drink together as well!
How?: Book your trip with me, details below on that. Your price includes the hotel, all planned restaurant meals and brewery excursions, and more. You just have to get yourself to and from Williamsport, PA. More details on that below as well.
International teams line up for their country’s national anthem before the start of a game at Volunteer Stadium at the Little League World Series.
Tentative Itinerary
While this is subject to change based on scheduling, weather, etc., here’s what I have in mind for our 5 nights together in Williamsport:
Day 1: Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Groups arrive in Williamsport throughout the day. For those who arrive early, we can head to the LLWS ballparks and check out games. There should be four important games going on that day at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm on both fields. Two of these will actually be the final games played at Volunteer Stadium as the rest of the tournament will take place solely at Lamade Stadium (the big one with the hill in the outfield that you usually see on TV).
Group welcome dinner at DiSalvo’s Restaurant.
Day 2: Thursday, August 22, 2024
Breakfast at the hotel is included each morning.
Alabaster Coffee Roaster & Tea Company with the owner, Karl.
Walking tour of downtown Williamsport including some of the Little League Statues.
Lunch at Bullfrog Brewery.
Little League Museum followed by the two LLWS elimination games at 3pm and 7pm.
Dinner at the ballpark. The LLWS is totally alcohol, tobacco, and other substances free. It is pure, wholesome Americana. They do have plenty gift shops, food options, sodas, bottled water, lemonade, etc.
Optional bar crawl in downtown Williamsport.
Day 3: Friday, August 23, 2024
If the schedule holds, there will be no LLWS games on Friday.
Breakfast at the hotel if desired.
Driving tour of Millionaire’s Row and more of Williamsport.
Pajama Factory and Buzzsaw Coffee.
FIRST ever Little League field as well as Historic Bowman Field.
Afternoon beers at New Trail Brewing.
Eders Ice Cream in Montoursville, PA.
Group chef’s table dinner at John Ryan Brewery with Chef John Roskowski (pictured with me below).
Day 4: Saturday, August 24, 2024
Breakfast at the hotel or on your own in Downtown Williamsport if desired.
Shuttle to LLWS for the two semifinal games 12:30pm and 3:30pm.
Group Dinner at Franco’s Lounge.
Optional Beers at Rosko’s Brew House.
Day 5: Sunday, August 25, 2024
Breakfast at the hotel or on your own in Downtown Williamsport if desired.
Shuttle to LLWS for the final games. Consolation Game at 11am, Championship Game at 3pm.
Group Dinner TBD - maybe a dine around downtown for whoever has energy, depending on what’s open on a Sunday night.
Day 6: Monday, August 26, 2024
Departure day. If airport rides need to be arranged, we’ll figure that out. Details below.
The Little League Statue in downtown Williamsport, PA
Getting to Williamsport:
It looks there will be two commercial flights a day going in and out of the Williamsport Regional Airport (IPT). They will connect through Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) via Southern Airways Express (bookable through American, United, or Alaskan). Just be warned, that flight will be in a 9-seater Cessna Grand Caravan turboprop aircraft, which will almost feel like a private plane! And those flights might be booked early or expensive during the LLWS, but feel free to try. Our hotel will have an airport shuttle available if you fly into Williamsport, so we can try to coordinate that.
A great option could be flying into State College, PA, home of Penn State University. Flights to State College route through a lot of major hubs like Atlanta, Charlotte, or Chicago. It is only a 1 hour drive from Williamsport if you want to rent a car or arrange a pickup through me.
You can also pretty easily fly into Baltimore (BWI), Philadelphia (PHL), or Newark, NJ (EWR) and rent a car. It’ll be about a three hour drive to Williamsport no matter which one you choose.
You could also use this trip to explore more around the area and plan your travel accordingly. In the region is most of upstate New York including Niagara Falls/Buffalo (3.5 hours away), the Finger Lakes Wine Country including Watkins Glen, Ithica, Geneva and more (2 hours), Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame (3.5 hours) and more. If you’re a fan of The Office, Scranton is only 1.5 hours away. And if you’re a fan of chocolate, Hershey, PA is also approximately 1.5 hours away. The western side of Pennsylvania is also not too far away including Penn State in State College (1 hour) and Pittsburg (3.5 hours).
Depending on coordinating everyone who needs a ride, I’m open to figuring out an airport shuttle (AKA me) to and from one of those major airports if needed.
Of course, you can also road trip the whole thing!
Booking:
Booking the trip will go through me directly (I can do cash, check, credit card with processing fee, Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, etc.) and is priced per person based on double occupancy (2 people per hotel room). So basically, bring your partner, a friend, or your parent who has always wanted to go to the Little League World Series. Fill out the form below to get started or ask any questions.
PRICE PER PERSON: $1799
Fine Print:
This price includes 5 nights at the Genetti Hotel, all planned group dinners, breweries, coffee stops, restaurant lunches, entrance to the LLWS museum, LLWS shuttles, and more. Really the only things it doesn’t cover are getting you to and from Williamsport and food/drinks at the LLWS itself. I just figured it would be easier to let everyone be on their own at the ballpark so they can get whatever they want and not have to make group purchases.
