Tell me about Washington DC with kids

[My2CrazyGirls]

Ocean City, MD is less than 3 hours from DC. Easy drive as long as you go at the right times.

At least 3 yes so it is not really near a beach. We are not fans of OC. I guess we are like 2.5 hours from OC. When we want to go to a good beach we travel down to the Carolinas. Again, everyone likes different things. OC is too crowded and the beach drops off like crazy in spots. Many people like it though.

 

[Swimalie]

It all depends on what you like. I know people who live 5 miles away from their job in DC and it takes 30 minutes to get there. We live less that 40 miles to DC and if you commute at the wrong time you will be in traffic for 2 hours. So like I said, we avoid it. But being close to DC and Baltimore we can go and enjoy concerts and all the areas have to offer without living in or too close to the cities. Cost of living is insane here, I imagine even worse closer to DC, depending on the area. Not worth it IMO. We are looking to migrate south at some point and to have some space between us and our neighbors. ...oh and someplace that does not tax the rain!

We moved here from Oregon where we had it all within 3 hours (Portland, Seattle, ocean, skiing and mountains, hiking, desert, forest, etc). I so agree with you. I have watched my husband age way too fast while here and we are trying to get out as soon as possible. We do love having the city so close but we've seen and done everything on our list of must-do's. Some people like it but it's just not for us.

 

[danygirl]

You can also go to Bethany Beach about 2.5 hours away. Quiet, family oriented and quite nicr

 

[krystalleigh1]

We went last year with a 4 and 8 year old. The 8 year old loved it! The 4 year old not so much.

If you can definitely check out Mt. Vernon for a day! It's a bit of a treck especially if you take public transportation but it is soooo worth it! That was our favorite day by far!

 

[MickeyChix]

We just got back with our 9 year old daughter this September and we loved it. The trick is to not over schedule yourself so you get "museumed out". For sure hit these:

-Air & Space Museum by Dulles Airport in Chantilly VA--this is where space shuttle Discovery is and where parts of Transformers 2 was shot;

-Museum of Natural History -really cool --go online and do virtual tour;

-Bureau of Engraving--this was really cool;

-Capitol Building tour was actually boring but still neat to see;

-National Archives to see Constitution & Declaration. Then go gift shop where they have a computer you can put your names into to search your ancestors--then you can email your results to your email;

-Air and Space Museum in DC is fun too--they have their telescope set up where you can see sun spots;

-Then take a day for the memorials!! Including Arlington Cemetery--pay the money for the tram tour as it's worth it!!!

Hope this helps!

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

We just got back with our 9 year old daughter this September and we loved it. The trick is to not over schedule yourself so you get "museumed out". For sure hit these:

-Air & Space Museum by Dulles Airport in Chantilly VA--this is where space shuttle Discovery is and where parts of Transformers 2 was shot;

-Museum of Natural History -really cool --go online and do virtual tour;

-Bureau of Engraving--this was really cool;

-Capitol Building tour was actually boring but still neat to see;

-National Archives to see Constitution & Declaration. Then go gift shop where they have a computer you can put your names into to search your ancestors--then you can email your results to your email;

-Air and Space Museum in DC is fun too--they have their telescope set up where you can see sun spots;

-Then take a day for the memorials!! Including Arlington Cemetery--pay the money for the tram tour as it's worth it!!!

Hope this helps!

Very helpful! Thank you so much

 

[North of Mouse]

I keep reading posts about how much people love going to DC. We have lived in MD for 6 years and I avoid DC like the plague! I remember going to DC in college, out to come restaurants, some museums, monuments etc. My husband thinks we should take the girls (7 and 9) to DC but I think it will be too boring. Our 7 year old does not have the best attention span. What do you all think?

Why would you avoid DC like the plague? Wouldn't want to live there, but you can't beat the Smithsonian museums for families, cherry blossoms in spring, Arlington Cemetery - also the national zoo, and many others.

We lived just north in Gaithersburg, MD for 6 years and took every advantage of going in for the day. Definitely use the Metro. The parking (IF you can get it) is very limited and expensive. The Metro has stops at most places tourists would want to go, plus nice walking around the mall area.

In fact, we plan to go soon for the cherry blossoms blooming around the tidal basin - just beautiful. We live south several hours now.

 

[North of Mouse]

Yup, this is why I have avoided DC like the plague...does not sound relaxing. I feel bad for people who commute in from here everyday...they might get paid more but their quality of life suffers. Traffic , a bunch of people in a rush etc.

OP, it's not hard to avoid the Metro during rush hours. We always did and never had any problems with people or traffic.

One thing I wouldn't do is be there after dark. We didn't do it 20 years ago, sure wouldn't do it now. JMO

 

[MickeyChix]

BTW when we went we stayed in Arlington VA and bought weekly passes on the Metro that cost $55 each but so worth it. We enjoyed the Metro as it certainly is much nicer than the Metra or L in Chicago!! Everyday we walked 5 minutes to a Marriott Hotel that had a basement Metro Stop and went from there. We stayed at the Americanna Hotel which was a bit of a dive because it was old. But it was safe, clean and we noticed there were a lot of regulars that knew to stay there as it was affordable.

 

[shoney]

we took our boys there a year and a half ago for a long weekend. they were 10 and 12 at the time.

They loved:
the zoo (of course the pandas were the fav)
crime and punishment museum
air and space
video game exhibit at the art museum (that was a temp exhibit)
seeing the star spangled banner
The play "shear Madness" at the Kennedy Center


They liked the white house tour because they were in the white house, but were surprised by how little you see. we were glad we did it.

we just aren't museum of natural history fans. (not crazy about the one in NYC either)

We took a night tour of the monuments. The boys were bored and tired. The did wind up staying on the bus for the last few monuments.

If we lived close, we would be there often!
A long weekend is no where near enough time!!!

 

[Shleedogg]

Not a lot of info from me, but I took my 2 and 4 year olds (at the time) last summer. The year old obviously didn't really care. She did enjoy one of the kid interaction areas in the museum of natural history though. My 4 year old loved it, both the American and natural history museums. She's looking forward to going again this summer.

 

[Bnb0627]

I just started planning a trip to D.C. for next month. Our situation is the opposite of yours lol I have been trying to take our girls 9 and 10 but DH thinks they will be bored which is a possibility considering they got bored in the Magic Kingdom!!!!

I recently heard about the dinosaur exhibit in the natural history museum closing for 5 years and decided we have to go now! The only weekend we can go due to work is Easter weekend. We will arrive Friday night and leave Sunday evening, unless we get picked for the White House Egg Roll, in that case we will add an extra day! Here is What I'm planning for this short first visit:

Friday night: arrive at Grand Hyatt hotel possibly check out the monuments depending on what time we get there.

Saturday:
Monuments
Holocaust Museum
Lunch
Air & Space Museum
Back to hotel for some swimming and rest
Dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill

Easter Sunday:
Natural History Museum
Brunch (need to find a restaurant)
American History Museum
Home

We may also try to squeeze in a White House tour just waiting to hear back I don't think I requested it early enough and I also don't know if they do tours on Easter weekend but it was worth a shot.

I think it's worth a shot to try it, if you are not too far away maybe just try it for the weekend to see how it goes. Hopefully ours goes well and we can plan a longer trip or multiple short ones since we are in NJ.

 

[Shannon G]

I just started planning a trip to D.C. for next month. Our situation is the opposite of yours lol I have been trying to take our girls 9 and 10 but DH thinks they will be bored which is a possibility considering they got bored in the Magic Kingdom!!!!

I recently heard about the dinosaur exhibit in the natural history museum closing for 5 years and decided we have to go now! The only weekend we can go due to work is Easter weekend. We will arrive Friday night and leave Sunday evening, unless we get picked for the White House Egg Roll, in that case we will add an extra day! Here is What I'm planning for this short first visit:

Friday night: arrive at Grand Hyatt hotel possibly check out the monuments depending on what time we get there.

Saturday:
Monuments
Holocaust Museum
Lunch
Air & Space Museum
Back to hotel for some swimming and rest
Dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill

Easter Sunday:
Natural History Museum
Brunch (need to find a restaurant)
American History Museum
Home

We may also try to squeeze in a White House tour just waiting to hear back I don't think I requested it early enough and I also don't know if they do tours on Easter weekend but it was worth a shot.

I think it's worth a shot to try it, if you are not too far away maybe just try it for the weekend to see how it goes. Hopefully ours goes well and we can plan a longer trip or multiple short ones since we are in NJ.

I would not recommend taking a 9 & 10 year old to the Holocaust Museum. It is very well done, but there are things that are hard for adults to see, and it may be too much for kids that age.

 

[Bnb0627]

I would not recommend taking a 9 & 10 year old to the Holocaust Museum. It is very well done, but there are things that are hard for adults to see, and it may be too much for kids that age.

Thank you for the advice although we haven't been there yet we know it is a sensitive topic and very graphic. Both our daughters have read Anne Frank and have watched programs on the History channel about the Holocaust which included some devastating photos and they handled it very maturely for their young age. Since they really want to go we have decided that we will go as far as everyone is comfortable and if they or we feel it's too much we will leave.

 

[danygirl]

The museum flows. You have to keep going - but there are some exits. There is a children's exhibit - when I went it was called Daniel's journey or something like that. I would try that first. Once in the main museum the more horrific displays are behind walls so kids won't randomly see them. The whole museum is disturbing, but it is right to be horrified and disturbed by this. Personally, we waited until high school to take the kids, it is devastating to see what humans can do.

 

[clutter]

I just started planning a trip to D.C. for next month. Our situation is the opposite of yours lol I have been trying to take our girls 9 and 10 but DH thinks they will be bored which is a possibility considering they got bored in the Magic Kingdom!!!!

I recently heard about the dinosaur exhibit in the natural history museum closing for 5 years and decided we have to go now! The only weekend we can go due to work is Easter weekend. We will arrive Friday night and leave Sunday evening, unless we get picked for the White House Egg Roll, in that case we will add an extra day! Here is What I'm planning for this short first visit:

Friday night: arrive at Grand Hyatt hotel possibly check out the monuments depending on what time we get there.

Saturday:
Monuments
Holocaust Museum
Lunch
Air & Space Museum
Back to hotel for some swimming and rest
Dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill

Easter Sunday:
Natural History Museum
Brunch (need to find a restaurant)
American History Museum
Home

We may also try to squeeze in a White House tour just waiting to hear back I don't think I requested it early enough and I also don't know if they do tours on Easter weekend but it was worth a shot.

I think it's worth a shot to try it, if you are not too far away maybe just try it for the weekend to see how it goes. Hopefully ours goes well and we can plan a longer trip or multiple short ones since we are in NJ.

You're hotel is in a great location. Lots of good food options around there, although you won't be near it at lunchtime. Old Ebbitt is great and a good tradition here.

I agree that the Holocaust Museum can be a tough one. Have you checked out the timed admissions yet? I think it can be difficult to get in, so it's good to get them early. Doing the monuments and Holocaust before lunch seems ambitious. There really is extremely limited parking around the monuments, and most are too far off the roads to do good drive-bys. So actually seeing them is more time consuming than you might think.

Here's hoping that you get in to the Easter egg roll. It's very special to do that.

 

[danygirl]

Good luck on the egg roll, it is always fun. I don't think they do other tours over Easter.

Your plans look a bit ambitious. DC is spread out and it takes time to get from place to place, plus the crowds get crazy in the spring, especially with Easter so late this year

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Decided we are going to drive in on Saturday to the Natural History Museum. Will that be enough for the day or should I plan one more thing (besides eating lunch)? I figure we will get there for the 10am opening. And is there a good place to eat right outside the Museum or is the Museum food decent (or crappy like the Baltimore Aquarium and Science Center...yuck!)?

 

[Simba07]

The museum food is better than Baltimore Aquariums. The food at the Native American museum is excellent though. There aren't really restaurants (other than in the museums) right on the mall. It all depends on how far you are willing to walk.

 

[clutter]

Decided we are going to drive in on Saturday to the Natural History Museum. Will that be enough for the day or should I plan one more thing (besides eating lunch)? I figure we will get there for the 10am opening. And is there a good place to eat right outside the Museum or is the Museum food decent (or crappy like the Baltimore Aquarium and Science Center...yuck!)?

Saturday is supposed to be gorgeous. But... there's a marathon going on, so they have signs going into the city now to take public transportation that day. Depending on where you are coming from, there may be street closures. Looks like coming from the south - 14th street bridge - may be the best option.