Washington DC

[DancingBear]

I love pizza, so I'll have to try 2 Amy's and I like the duck tour!! That sounds like a lot of fun.

FYI, 2 Amy's is very close to the National Cathedral.

 

[DancingBear]

Regarding the walking, I find that distances along the Mall are deceiving. The Mall is 2 miles long from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol (about .8 from Lincoln to Washington Memorial and 1.2 from there to the Capitol). It's well over a mile from the front (Pennsylvania Avenue side) of the White House to the Jefferson Memorial. It's about 1.5 miles from the Capitol up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

Just walking from Air and Space Museum to American History is a half mile. But they're such big buildings that when you're standing there it just doesn't look like it's that far.

 

[TeamTinkerbell]

We may be going in the summer instead of the fall next year. Something else has come up for the fall so I will not be able to take off for vacation. I'm looking at around end of May or first of June. Does anyone know if that is the worst time to go to DC? I don't want to go in the middle of summer b/c I think it would be so busy. I'm gauging some of that on WDW. I don't want us to be miserable.

 

[minniebeth]

The end of May/beginning of June is a great time to go, it is certainly not as crowded as it is in mid-summer. We go in July of each year and although it is really busy/crowded, I have to say with some good planning, we are never miserable (well, unless the heat and humidity are crazy high). The busiest place we've encountered was the American History Museum, the lines were way to long, we didn't stay long. About 45 mins for the Star Spangled Banner and 1 hr. for the 1st Ladies Dresses.
Everywhere else was busy but fine.

 

[TeamTinkerbell]

It looks like my biggest expense will be in lodging. A friend of mine stayed in MD, but it wasn't near a metro line so they had to drive to it and then struggle to find a place to park.

 

[CruiserMom]

Regarding the walking, I find that distances along the Mall are deceiving.

This is so true! It looks like you could walk from the Capitol to the Washington Monument in about 5 minutes!

We almost always use the on/off trolleys. You will still do a fair amount of walking, but you won't wear yourself out.

Maybe someone else will remember a little better, but I seem to remember that the Smithsonian Metro Station is down at the Washington Monument end of the National Mall, but if you are going to the Capitol, there is a different Metro station that is closer to that end.

Also, May or June is a fantastic time to go. Early July is crowded, but really the only unmanageable crowds I've seen are on July 4th, when everyone goes to the Mall for the fireworks.

This thread has gotten me excited for my trip to DC next week!
Even thought I've seen alot of it before.

 

[karenos]

Just got back from a quick trip to DC during the teacher's convention break here in NJ. We were there for 3 days and were able to do the following: White House tour, Capitol tour (but not the galleries), Air and Space, Natural History, American History and the Archives. We did a LOT of walking. The most expensive cost was our parking at the hotel (we stayed near the Convention Center). Kids are already looking forward to going back next year!
Any questions, feel free to PM.

karenos

 

[3prettyprincesses]

We may be going in the summer instead of the fall next year. Something else has come up for the fall so I will not be able to take off for vacation. I'm looking at around end of May or first of June. Does anyone know if that is the worst time to go to DC? I don't want to go in the middle of summer b/c I think it would be so busy. I'm gauging some of that on WDW. I don't want us to be miserable.

That is a lovely time to go. We've gone down during this time of year and it's really pleasant. I agree with the pp that July is usually very busy. I wouldn't plan to go then. If you could swing it, April is gorgeous and the Cherry Festival will be going on.

Yes, it's a lot of walking but not like Disney! I think you'll be fine. Also take the time to look at all the buildings details while walking. There are some magnificient structures there!

Here's a link to the Cherry Blossom Festival incase you're interested:
http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/cms/index.php?id=390

 

[DancingBear]

Maybe someone else will remember a little better, but I seem to remember that the Smithsonian Metro Station is down at the Washington Monument end of the National Mall, but if you are going to the Capitol, there is a different Metro station that is closer to that end.

The new Capitol Visitor Center is on the east side of the Capitol (near the Library of Congress and Supreme Court Building), so the Capitol South metro station (blue line) is closest. If going to the National Arboretum, Museum of the American Indian or Air and Space, Federal Center SW (blue line) is the closest station. The Smithsonian station (blue line) is close to the "Castle" building, Washington Monument, American History, Holocaust Museum and Bureau of Engraving and Printing (also not bad for Natural History).

On the Yellow Line, The Archives/Navy Memorial station is closest to the National Archives (duh), Newseum, National Gallery of Art and Natural History Museum. Gallery Place (Yellow and Red Lines) is best for the Spy Museum, National Portrait Gallery/American Art museum, the Crime and Punishment Museum, the National Building Museum and Chinatown.

The National Zoo is roughly equidistant from the Woodley Park/Zoo station and the Cleveland Park station, both on the Red Line. Some recommend Cleveland Park on the way to the zoo, and Woodley Park when leaving the zoo, because it's a fairly steep uphill walk from Woodley Park station to the zoo.

 

[live4christp1]

We may be going in the summer instead of the fall next year. Something else has come up for the fall so I will not be able to take off for vacation. I'm looking at around end of May or first of June. Does anyone know if that is the worst time to go to DC? I don't want to go in the middle of summer b/c I think it would be so busy. I'm gauging some of that on WDW. I don't want us to be miserable.

Our trip was end of May and being Memorial day weekend into first part of the week I thought it would be horribly crowded......we were surprised. The only really big crowds were those at the concert at the capital the evening before Memorial Day and then at Arlington on Memorial day but that wasn't an issue with good planning. Not sure about how it was during the Memorial Day parade on the National Mall but by the time we made it down there it was pretty deserted and as stated in my trip report.....that evening (Memorial Day) we were able to walk right into the National Archives with no line.

 

[live4christp1]

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but one tip on looking for lodging.....unless you want to pay to park at your hotel.....make sure they list free or complimentary parking. One of our friends had gone a year before us and thought they got a great deal until they got there and found out they had to pay $25.00 a day to park at the hotel.

 

[TeamTinkerbell]

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but one tip on looking for lodging.....unless you want to pay to park at your hotel.....make sure they list free or complimentary parking. One of our friends had gone a year before us and thought they got a great deal until they got there and found out they had to pay $25.00 a day to park at the hotel.

Yikes!! Yes, very good tip. I'm going to purchase a travel book for DC this weekend and hopefully get a good idea on what there is to offer and other places to stay outside of dowtown.

 

[live4christp1]

Also, if you happen to be a member of AAA you can request a travel guide from them. It's not the greatest book I've ever seen but does give some information.

When you have an idea of where you are traveling from/to each day you can google the website for the metro and they have a calculator there were you can see about how much your fare each way is going to be and decide if it's better to by the day pass, etc.

If I get a chance this weekend I'll pull out some of the maps of the National Mall, metro lines, etc. and scan them, upload to photobucket and link here.

 

[NotUrsula]

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this but one tip on looking for lodging.....unless you want to pay to park at your hotel.....make sure they list free or complimentary parking. One of our friends had gone a year before us and thought they got a great deal until they got there and found out they had to pay $25.00 a day to park at the hotel.

$25 is actually pretty cheap ($35-40 is common), and free hotel parking in the District is pretty much unheard of. There are one or two places that offer free parking, but it is best to plan on paying if it is a driving trip for you, because 90% of the hotels in the District and the nearer suburbs (Arlington, for instance) will be charging to park.

 

[TeamTinkerbell]

Also, if you happen to be a member of AAA you can request a travel guide from them. It's not the greatest book I've ever seen but does give some information.

When you have an idea of where you are traveling from/to each day you can google the website for the metro and they have a calculator there were you can see about how much your fare each way is going to be and decide if it's better to by the day pass, etc.

If I get a chance this weekend I'll pull out some of the maps of the National Mall, metro lines, etc. and scan them, upload to photobucket and link here.

My mom is a member so she ordered the book for me. I didn't know about the metro calculator. I may not have enough time to put this all together before May/June

 

[TeamTinkerbell]

$25 is actually pretty cheap ($35-40 is common), and free hotel parking in the District is pretty much unheard of. There are one or two places that offer free parking, but it is best to plan on paying if it is a driving trip for you, because 90% of the hotels in the District and the nearer suburbs (Arlington, for instance) will be charging to park.

This is definitely where the expense comes in. I'd fly, but we wanted to go to Colonial Williamsburg too.

 

[Mom23Disneybelievers]

This is definitely where the expense comes in. I'd fly, but we wanted to go to Colonial Williamsburg too.

I hate paying parking....we are looking into staying in Tyson's corner. Hotels offering shuttle to the public transportation stops.

 

[live4christp1]

We stayed in Springfield VA. Metro stop Springfield/Franconia. Lots of places there with free parking. Also looked at Alexandria VA/Old Town. Lots of places with free parking there as well.

 

[live4christp1]

I hate paying parking....we are looking into staying in Tyson's corner. Hotels offering shuttle to the public transportation stops.

Our hotel had free shuttle service too. Very convenient. They gave us a card to call when we were ready to be picked up at the station to return to hotel and it took little wait time. We stayed at the Comfort Suites (or Inn/don't remember) in Springfield.

 

[Janet Hill]

This is definitely where the expense comes in. I'd fly, but we wanted to go to Colonial Williamsburg too.

To do justice to both places, I would not combine them into one trip. There's a lot to do in Williamsburg as well. You can easily do a full week in each place.

You may want to contact Ken Price (lots of folks use him for Bonnet Creek), because Wyndham has two properties in the DC area (Old Town Alexandria and National Harbor). Great way to save money by doing some meals in the unit.