"It sure ain't Disney!" (aka... My DC Trip Report)

[pjlla]

Since so many folks have been inquiring about Washington, DC here lately, I thought I would try to write a short trip report.

Cast: Myself (40-something SAHM)
DH, DD (10 1/2) and DS (8)

Week of April 22 thru April 29th, 2006

Hotel: We opted to stay at the Hampton Inn on Richmond Highway in Alexandria, VA, despite some Dis-folks trying to discourage us. From the outside, I can see why they were less than enthusiastic, but really, it was just fine. Yes, it was on a busy road/intersection. And the building doesn't look great from the outside, due to a current expansion project. But inside it was just a fine, average Hampton..... room was VERY clean, daily bkfst was just fine, shuttle to the Metro station was convenient (just one morning of miscommunication had us waiting 20 minutes.... other than that it was great!) Our room on the 5th floor faced a golf course in the back of the building. We heard NO traffic noise and NO construction noise. It was an easy drive to several chain restaurants (Applebees, Outback, Ruby Tuesdays), as well as fast food (McDonalds, Wendy's), and a few other things (Target, Staples, drug store, Walmart.)

My primary reason for staying there was the price.... which turned out to be even less than I had originally booked!! My original price I was quoted averaged out to be about $138/night (before tax).... the most reasonable price I could find for a brand name hotel in the area. I ended up paying just a touch under $103/night (before tax)!! It was a downright bargain!! Not sure why they ended up charging me less, but I wasn't going to complain.

Transportation: We drove our minivan down from NH (10 hour drive without traffic). The hotel had free parking (another reason I chose them). We took the hotel shuttle to and from the local Metro Station every day. One Metro round trip per person/per day, mostly on the yellow line (one day we connected with the blue line and one day we connected with the red line) ended up costing us $30/pp for the week (we ended up with 40 cents left per person). Total was $120/week.... pricey, but better than dealing with driving in DC and worrying about parking. Once we were on the trains and looking at the map, it was easy to figure out. We didn't get lost even once! And the longest we waited for a train ever was about 7 minutes. Bright, clean, easy to understand. If you ride at rush hour during the week, be prepared to stand.

DC Attractions: First of all BE PREPARED TO DO A LOT OF WALKING! Like Disney, there is a great deal of walking involved in seeing DC. Even if you take the nearest Metro stop, you will still be doing a great deal of walking.

For the most part the touring days will be short.... most all of the area museums are open 10 am to 5:30 pm (National Archives is open until 7 pm, and Natural History Museum is open until 7:30 pm on Fridays). We found NOTHING open before 10 am. But of course, the monuments are open all the time.

Depending on what you want to see, be prepared to have to get tickets in the morning (the Capital, the Holocaust Museum, the elevator up the Washington Monument, the Bureau of Engraving are a few that come to mind). Some tickets can be ordered in advance.... look into that.

The Smithsonian Museums were great, not terribly crowded, with lots of stuff to see. However, DS (8) couldn't have cared less about most of it. Just not his cup of tea. We spent an entire day in the Air and Space museum (including seeing IMAX movies and the Planetarium movie for an extra charge). We spent almost a full day plus a few hours another day in the Natural History Museum, and two half days in the American History museum.

We spent an entire day at the zoo. The kids liked the zoo but I thought it was just so-so. As far as big animals.... I see more during my Safari ride at Animal Kingdom... NO LIE! The HUGE big cats exhibit... had exactly one female lion.... period. Very disappointing. Probably the best part of it (for me) was the small mammals building. Most of the animals in the reptile building were "off exhibit". We did see the pandas, which made my kids very happy. They had one giraffe, one elephant with a child. The hippo was underwater and difficult to see. There was no rhino. We trekked across the zoo at one point to attend the "feeding of the giant atlantic octopus". Well.... GIANT MY FOOT!! I understand he is a juvenile, but one smallish octopus in a small tank.... come on! They have much better octopus exhibits at the NE Aquarium. I'm sorry to sound jaded.... I just expected more out of the NATIONAL ZOO! Personally, I probably wouldn't go again. Although the new Asian Trail they are building will probably be neat when it is done.

The Monuments were very cool to see. We managed to see the White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, and a few others in about a half a day on foot. We had considered taking the TourMobile, but were able to see so much on our own that we decided to save the $60 it would have cost us.

The downside of the "tourist" areas of Washington was the dirtiness and trash. Most of the reflecting pools had bird poop all around them. The trash barrels in the "Mall" area were overflowing, especially the ones around the food vendors. Trash was falling out of them and blowing around. It was disgraceful.

At the reflecting pool in front of the Capital (and in front of the Lincoln Monument) there were large pockets of "muck" in the corners of the pool. Trash, leaves, etc. SMELLY.The water levels looked low. And sadly, we saw two dead ducklings caught in this muck.

Well, the recurring theme throughout our week in Washington, was...."this place could take a lesson from Disney." In addition to the trash and dirt, the signage was less than spectacular in some areas (but great in other areas). Unless you are in a museum, there are no bathrooms to be found. Since it was early in the season, not all of the food vendors were open, so we had to really trek a few times when we wanted a bottle of water or a snack. I understand that this is a CITY and not a Theme Park, but it is our nation's Capital and a MAJOR tourist attraction and it seems like it could look much nicer. There were landscaping issues around several buildings and the lawn was a few weeks past needing to be mowed in many places we went. Weeds were more plentiful than flowers in several of the flower beds around the museums.

At the Zoo, there was an OVER-abundance of security/Capital Police. They were even cruising the WALKING PATHS in SUV type vehicles. Way too dangerous in my opinion! There are TONS of kids here.... why would they need to patrol the WALKING paths in an SUV?? PLus there were patrols on motorcycle, bicycle, and on foot.... all in the ZOO!! Yet there wasn't ANY one to clean up in the restaurant. When we had lunch at the zoo the condiment/napkin station was DISGUSTING!! Napkin dispensers were empty, ketchup/mustard was everywhere.... stuff was spilled on the floor... yuck!

FOOD: The most expensive meal we ate during the week was the cafeteria-style lunch we had at the Atrium Cafe at the Natural History Museum. One entree salad with no meat, one sandwich (roast beef and cheese), one piece of pizza (very large), one cheeseburger (burned), one order of french fries, four drinks.....$40 plus change! The lunch we had at the Air and Space was much more reasonable. They have a cafeteria with a limited McDonalds and Boston Market Menu. I think we spent about $27 that day WITH DESSERT!

We also ate at the Subway inside the American History Museum twice. It was only slightly more expensive than the Subway at home (but crowded!).

We bought hot pretzels and ice cream pops a few times from the street vendors. Not cheap, but not too terrible either.

Overall we had a great week. The weather was terrific and we saw lots of stuff..... HOWEVER, for the approx. $2000 it cost us (spending $$, hotel, gas down and back, Metro tix, food) I must say I would rather have spent it at Disney. We won't be going back real soon. And if we do go back, it would probably be just for a long weekend. Nice to say we've seen it, but that's enough. I would recommend my hotel and I would recommend using the Metro. The free admission into the Museums and Zoo is a plus, but the food is pricey (and I just didn't feel like schlepping a backpack full of food with me every day!!).

I would be happy to answer any specific questions anyone might have. Just wanted to share!...........................P

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thanks for the trip report.

I'm thankful that my dad has lived in the area since 1986---so we save money (or at least we used to) on accomodations.

My hubby is working up there right now and we will be heading up at the end of the month for the summer.

The art museum (next to natural history) is my favorite cafeteria---a bit pricey--but the best food IMHO of all the museums.

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Sounds like you saw a lot of neat stuff. My DH is working in Alexandria right now, and the rest of our family will be moving out there the day after school ends (I'm a teacher and wanted to finish out the school year with my students). So I've been going out there lately and visiting DC as well. What did you think of the Holocaust museum? I thought it was very moving and very well done. That museum is something I will never forget. Next time you go I would add a visit to Mt. Vernon (I loved it!).

You're right--Smithsonian restaurants are very expensive. That McDonald's at the Air and Space museum is the most expensive one I have ever seen!

 

[kpm76]

Thanks for the report! My mom and I are heading to DC this weekend for a girls trip. I have been several times in the last few years for work and pleasure but my mom has not been since she was pregnant with my sister 23 years ago! I think it's great you took your kids to DC for the week. Yeah, it's not Disney but it's such a historically and culturally rich city and I am sure your kids got a lot out of it.

 

[shortbun]

Hi! First-the zoo: you only saw one female lion? When we were there in December, there were four lions and the male was roaring over and over again. It was spectacular!!! Did you get to see the tiger triplets? They are big now but they still play like cubs and soooo much fun to watch outside. Did you notice the Orangutan swing over area!? How much fun was that!!! We love it! Also, I know there were several elephants when we were there including the baby but I heard they'd had a death in their elephant population in late winter. We really loved the cheetah exhibit, so many cheetahs!!! Yes, the small mammal building was great but there is soooo much more to see there. We spent almost an hour watching the prarie dogs play. Also, it was totally clean while we were there and no security to speak of. Must have been someone 'important' there, eh?
Second-thanks for the recommend on the Hampton Inn. My friend lives in Alexandria and we're looking for a decent place nearby for next time we visit.
I hope you change your mind about D.C. We love it as much as WDW. We love it for different reasons of course, mostly because it's got so much great stuff and almost all of it American!

 

[jazstar87]

Did you see the disneyland exbit (well almost an exbit) at the museum of ( i think) American History? They are all confusing... That was the highlight of my trip, when i was there for a weekend.

 

[frndofpooh]

I grew up in the DC area and have visited the zoo many times and it is often disappointing. You would think that being a part of the Smithsonian, they could improve it. We do enjoy the pandas and the hippo (did you know his name is Happy?).

We visited in April and had the same experience with the lions - there was only one to view. Some of their lions have been taken off exhibit while they "prepare the new Asia trail", and their male lion died in the late winter. Sadly, there has been no rhino there for many years which is a shame. We found on our last trip that the best thing to do was talk to the zookeepers - they have so much good information to share.

I am glad you liked the other museums. The American History one is a favorite of ours. They are closing it for 2 years beginning in September to refurbish it so hopefully it will be even nicer.

 

[luvflorida]

I just want to step in and defend the Washington National Zoo. I've been to a lot of zoos, and I have to say that I have a soft spot in my heart for this zoo. I grew up in the suburbs of Maryland and we would make frequent trips to Washington DC and to the zoo. It was one of my favorite places to visit and still is!

I know it's an old zoo and doesn't have a lot of glitz to it, but that's what makes it special. I love walking up and down the hilly paths and seeing and hearing the animals. The last time we visited, a few years ago, we got to view the baby Cheetahs. The huge gorillas and monkeys are a riot to watch, as well as the orangutans swinging overhead. There are also golden lion tamarin monkeys outside in the trees. The pandas are adorable, and the sea lion show is very informative and fun to watch. The trainers stress that everything they teach the sea lion to do is not for entertainment purposes but to help him/her get comfortable enough with the trainers so they can do medical checks on him/her. They pretend to brush the sea lion's teeth, which the crowd of spectators gets a kick out of, but it's really so the trainers can get close enough to the sea lion's mouth to check for any problems.

I've been a member of the national zoo for years and I know that my support goes to help fund the upkeep and care of the zoo and its animals. Most zoos charge a fee to gain entrance, but not the national zoo. Like most museums and buildings in Washington, it is free for everyone.

One of the things that I usually notice, and really like, about the touristy areas of Washington DC is the cleanliness. It always seems to me to be a clean city. Of course, it isn't Disney and I know sometimes things probably could be cleaner, (emptying trashcans sooner, weeding the flowerbeds, etc.), and I agree that the food isn't the best in the museums and it is expensive. I would recommend eating away from the museums.

It sounds like the area around the reflecting pool needed to be cleaned up. I think it's sad that you saw some dead ducklings.

It sounds like you had a good time though, and I bet your kids gained a lot of knowledge from the exhibits and monuments.

 

[luvflorida]

What did you think of the Holocaust museum? I thought it was very moving and very well done. That museum is something I will never forget. Next time you go I would add a visit to Mt. Vernon (I loved it!).

My daughter, 12 at the time, and I took a trip to Washington DC a few years ago and we spent a good portion of one day at the Holocaust Museum. She had been studying it in school, and I thought it would add tremendously to her understanding of it. It was the most moving and emotional place I've ever visited. Neither of us will ever forget the display of shoes representing the number of people who died in concentration camps. It is definitely a somber experience, and a museum well worth visiting, however, I wouldn't recommend it to children under the age of twelve or so.

And yes, Mt. Vernon is a great place to visit, also!

 

[pozey]

Did you go to Arlington National Cemetery? That is my absolute favorite place to visit in D.C. I could (and have) spend HOURS upon HOURS there. The changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknowns is spectacular.

 

[LtG]

I've lived in DC and the surrounding area for more then twenty years and there are a lot of great things to see and do here. The city is dirtier then Disney for two main reasons. The first, as the op pointed out, is this is a city and not a theme park. The second is that you don’t have to pay to get into the city. So while Disney can designate a portion of its gate receipts for paying for employees to clean, DC doesn’t have that option. The majority of the DC government is dysfunctional and things that seem like they should be easy to do aren’t. In addition, most of the Mall area belongs to the US government and is under the control of the Dept. of the Interior.

I have been to the zoo many times, but in recent years it has gone down hill. There have been numerous animal deaths caused by neglect or unknown causes. The zoo routinely refuses to release the results of autopsy, citing the dead animals’ right to privacy. A number of the exhibits are empty and the ongoing construction makes navigating the grounds somewhat difficult.

The big difference between DC and Disney is that DC is real, Disney is not. Real and important events have occurred here. A visit to the Capital or the White House cannot be replaced by listening to Mark Twain and Ben Franklin at the American pavilion in EPCOT. So come see us.


Mike