Dh doesn't want to go to Disney this year..he wants Wash. DC!

[Queen2PrincessG]

Op- I don't get the "pull your eyelashes out" part. If it's family vacation then don't your husband and children get a say? I know that we all sometimes get wrapped up in the magic that is Disney but there are many more places to visit. They may not be equally exciting but to deny your family the experience is not fair. how do you know that your DH doesn't feel like puling his eyelashes out everytime he has to go to Disney?

 

[TGaines107]

We go up to DC about twice a year. We've done pretty much eveything over the years but for people who have not been there, this can be a full week's vacation easy.

If you're driving, park under the Ronald Reagan building. There's several thousand places to park under there, open to the public. Like $10 a day I think.

Cool thing is you're maybe two and half blocks from the White House and only a half block from the Smithsonian's Natural History and American History Museums on the National Mall. You can spend a day just walking up and down that thing looking at the monuments, much less all the other Smithsonian museums/Capital, etc that surround it. Can't forget about the Constitution and Declaration, they're housed right behiind/across the street from Natural History.

If you wanna do the White House tour (that place looks so grand on tv and has so much history, you'll be suprised to see how small it is inside) you gotta call your local congressman months in advance so he/she can get you in. Then SS does background checks on you, you go on the list and walk right up to the gate guards as they check you in and off you go.

Dont forget the National Zoo, cant say enough good things about that place, only about a 15 min drive away. Heck, people write books on everything to do there, tons of restaurants to eat in everywhere you look, surrounded by history, I've never had a bad trip there, super friendly folks up that way.

 

[JUJU814]

Op- I don't get the "pull your eyelashes out" part. If it's family vacation then don't your husband and children get a say? I know that we all sometimes get wrapped up in the magic that is Disney but there are many more places to visit. They may not be equally exciting but to deny your family the experience is not fair. how do you know that your DH doesn't feel like puling his eyelashes out everytime he has to go to Disney?

Hi!

I think it's already been pretty well established in my original post and in this thread that dh is not a disney lover, has sucked it up many times to go to Disney, that it's only fair to go somewhere he wants to go etc. I'm not trying to deny him anything. I just didn't want to go there with my young kids on a vacation. I've also stated that I've been many other places other than Disney. I'm certainly not denying my family another experience. The kids want to go to Disney too. Dh is the only one who doesn't, and because he's gone along with it so many times, I want to do something that he chooses.

We have travelled many other places and I've planned elaborate travel experiences *entirely* around his very specific interests. I'm not being too self centered here.

The kids approached us and have begged to go to Disney this year. I asked dh. He said no, he wants to do Washington DC. So that's what we'll do. While I'm not wild about the idea, I will have a good attitude for the kids and make it as fun as can be!

The pull my eyelashes out thing was a bit of hyperbole hehe

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Hi!

I think it's already been pretty well established in my original post and in this thread that dh is not a disney lover, has sucked it up many times to go to Disney, that it's only fair to go somewhere he wants to go etc. I'm not trying to deny him anything. I just didn't want to go there with my young kids on a vacation. I've also stated that I've been many other places other than Disney. I'm certainly not denying my family another experience. The kids want to go to Disney too. Dh is the only one who doesn't, and because he's gone along with it so many times, I want to do something that he chooses.

We have travelled many other places and I've planned elaborate travel experiences *entirely* around his very specific interests. I'm not being too self centered here.

The kids approached us and have begged to go to Disney this year. I asked dh. He said no, he wants to do Washington DC. So that's what we'll do. While I'm not wild about the idea, I will have a good attitude for the kids and make it as fun as can be!

The pull my eyelashes out thing was a bit of hyperbole hehe

I must have missed that being explained. But if that is the case can you really complain if the poor guy just wants to go somewhere else?
I will say that DC is a great place to go with kids your age right now. They should or at least are about to learn about our countries history a bit so they can say oh yeah I was there.

 

[theallens5]

No matter what the ages of the kids, they will have a wonderful time experiencing a family vacation together. I personally would rather go on a Disney trip than to Washington DC. I feel that my kids would get more out of a Washington DC trip when they are older just like they would get more out of a Disney trip when they are older. I have been taking my kids since before they could walk. As much as I LOVE Disney, I would not want to jeopardize future trips by putting a bad taste in my DH's mouth. The family will have a wonderful trip whereever they go.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I was 9 years old, almost 10 when I first went to Washington DC. My parents packed "winter" clothes (sweatshirts and pants) and we didn't know it was going to be hot there. We also went to Williamsburg, VA too where it was freezing cold. I remember, we brought snacks with us to the Washington Monument and they wouldn't let us bring it in. It was still there when we got out.

 

[diznynut]

I noticed from one of your previous post that you homeschool. Would it be possible to postpone your trip for a few months to DC? With the proper planning, it could be such an amazing trip for you and your family. I contacted my senator's office and they helped us get tickets to White house tour, the National Archives, a personal tour of the Capitol building and a meeting with our senator. We also went to Arlington Cemetary and saw the Changing of the Gaurd at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Alexandria to Mount Vernon. We were there a week and still felt like we needed more time. In our free time, we hit some of the Smithsonian Museums and saw the monuments on the National Mall. Oh, and we went to Ford's Theater. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email- goofymum@hotmail.com. My family loved it and can't wait to visit again.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

As other posters suggested, I'm waiting to take my kids to DC till they're older. Well, my oldest son just turned 9 and he'd enjoy it (except he'd complain about all the walking) but our 5-yr-old totally would not.

I took my sons to visit my brother's family in Oregon last summer (they were 8 and 4 at the time) - their first airplane ride, first time to travel so far from home. We saw some fabulous sights: Mount Hood, lots of waterfalls, Columbia River Gorge, Pacific Ocean, Tillamook Cheese Factory, Oregon Zoo, and more. We had a blast. But you know what they talk about most fondly? Being with their cousins and shooting their own movie. They do talk about our snowball fight at Mount Hood sometimes. The natural wonders and such didn't make an impact. DC will be a one-time vacation, most likely, so I want them to really grasp the meaning of the monuments, the history they are seeing, what really happens in the halls of the Capitol. At 5, my youngest is going to ask me where he can get his next chicken-nugget-fix.

I probably have a better perspective on this than most people. I was well-traveled as a child. We traveled in my grandparents' motorhome all over the country every 2-3 years. I saw the Grand Canyon when I was 3 -- but I don't remember it. I saw it again at 13 and it made a bigger impact. I went to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island at 6 -- and remember playing frisbee with my cousins. I remember having great vacations but remember very little of them beyond short mental snapshots. I participated in Presidential Classroom as an 11th-grader and saw DC for the first time and loved it and it made a great impact. (PS - We stayed at the Omni Shoreham and it was a nice place!)

So, while we do spend the majority of our vacation dollars at WDW at this point in our children's lives, I don't expect that to go on forever. I am happy that they seem to love it as much as I do, though!

 

[Boymom78]

I took my sons to Washington, DC when they were 6 and 3- road trip from Chicago, just me, the boys and my mom (DH had to work). Both boys STILL talk about it! They had so much fun! We stayed in Virginia, and took the Metro into DC every day. We toured the capitol- White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam memorial, WW2 memorial, Korean War memorial, and just sight seeing in general. Then the next day hit the Natural History Smithsonian, and then another day at a couple of smaller Smithsonian museums. The last day we went to Arlington National cemetary and checked out the Pentagon (as close as we could get driving by). We have friends that live in the area, so we met up with them, and they gave us the grand tour.
I'm not exaggerating, I really think your kids will enjoy the trip, and the experiences. I had a lot of fun, too, doing the tourist thing, and seeing everything through their eyes, and I think you will, too. We went in late June, and it was very warm. The first day was stifling, then we got a burst of rain, and from then on it, was considerably better.
Hope you have fun when you go!

 

[blancah76]

I just had to respond to your original post, i loved it I agree with the prenup yearly trip to WDW. I have the same issue with my husband, he wants to go some place else already and i love to travel, but seriously with little kids ugh my youngest is 2 so..... Having said that we have been to DC before kids and loved it, and i do think the kids may like, there is a lot to see and do so your family will most likely have a great time if you decide to go

 

[CandleontheWater]

I personally love DC, and I live in Alexandria right in Old Town, but I wouldn't take a vacation here in the middle of summer. It is really hot here, just as hot, but more stifling than Orlando. I know its hot in Disney, but I feel like the imagineers planned much better for the heat, so it is more manageable. It is also REALLY crowded here in the summer, and DC does not have the excellent crowd management that Disney does.

I love it here, and I think your kids would have a great time (I know that my 19 month old son loves the zoo and the natural history museum and walking around the monuments), but even I won't go into the city to do touristy stuff again until Sept.

If you could do your trip at the end of Sept/ beginning of Oct, the weather will be much nicer and the crowds will be much lower, you'd have a better trip overall.

 

[pinktink83]

DC is incredible. Why WOULDNT a 7 yo girl like history musuems? She can be a SMART pretty, pretty disney princess, too, you know...

My kids are those ages and I know they'd have fun in DC! Awesome things to see, do, learn and great food to eat! In fact, my friend is there now with a 6, 4, 2, and baby!!! And they are having a blast.

I love, love, love Disney...but there are a LOT of amazing places in this world to see and I don't mean to limit myself or my children to fairytale stories. I want them to see the REAL world, too.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

DC is beautiful I'm not sure my oldest kids (age 8 & 9) would be terribly excited about it though. I think mine would get bored easily at the museums and monuments...but, thats just my kids.

Maybe DH would be ok with a mini-Disney trip...just a couple days after DC.

Regardless of where you end up on vacation, I'm sure you guys will have a blast

 

[justhat]

I have a 7yo daughter who LOVES the DC museums. I think your daughter would too.

We lived in DC for 8 years and moved to AZ last summer, when my kids were 6.5yo, almost 4yo, and 5 months. The older 2 always enjoyed the museums and remember a lot of the stuff we did a few years back. My 4yo told his new teacher in AZ all about the frog exhibit we went to at National Geographic when he was less than 3yo. She is 35 and didn't even know what "National Geographic" was! (Well, obviously she has heard of it, but I mean she had no idea they had a physical location and thought he meant online, then asked me if it was a museum or something.) So I am super happy that my kids have gotten to experience all the DC stuff that they have. They both LOVE the Air and Space Museums, National History, Building Museum, American History, the Zoo (though I admit it isn't so great, but the kids like it just fine and it's free). Insect Zoo and butterfly exhibit in the Natural History Museum are very good with kids, as is the Spark! Lab in the American History Museum. Washington Monument, Dept of Treasury, Memorials, etc. are all neat for kids too. I've done the Holocaust Museum twice with my husband, but haven't taken the kids. I am sure they would like the kids exhibit there and even some of the permanent exhibit, but I wanted to be able to read stuff and spend a lot of time there so that's why we went alone.

And where are we right now? Spending 2 weeks in DC! Yes, even in the July swamp-like conditions it's a fun place to be. (Now, we live in southern AZ, so that's insanely hot now to the point that DC feels cool, but still!) But when you're coming, late Sept/early Oct, it will be even better. Way less hot and humid, and way less crowded.

The Omni is a decent place to stay and there is a great restaurant/coffee shop across the street from it, Open City. I highly recommend eating there, it's cheap and the food is good. Also, the Washington Hilton on Connecticut/19th is nice and usually pretty cheap. Right now I am staying at the Georgetown Suites which can have amazing deals, plus you get a full kitchen, free breakfast, and separate bedroom. I'm paying $110/night for an 800+sqft 1 bedroom unit. The circulator bus picks up right outside basically and it's only $1. And so much in walking distance in Georgetown, including both Sprinkles and Georgetown Cupcake .

We are big time WDW people but our last trip was in November 2009 and my kids actually asked to come back to DC (granted they have friends here) rather than WDW.