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Old 31 Mar 13, 12:35 AM  
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#1
aims1982
Getting Excited
 
Join Date: Jun 07
August 2013- Planes, Trains and maybe an automobile; a pre-trippie of 3 cities!

Hello!

We are going to three cities for our summer holiday. Washington for one week, Baltimore for two nights to see my brother and then New York for 5 nights which is a surprise for both sons (obviously more so for DS1 than 2!) I will add the NYC plan later on.

Just a quick introduction making up my holiday companions:

DH- loves history and therefore is looking forward to this holiday
DS1- Will turn 8 whilst we are away. Loves history too and has helped with the Washington portion of the plan
DS2- Oscar who will be 2 years and 8 months when we go. Far too independent for his own good but loves watching boats, trains and planes. A perfect holiday then

Monday 12th August

Staying over at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel London Heathrow Airport I got this on the Any Weekend Anywhere sale that Hilton had at the start of the year. Hilton DoubleTree Heathrow

Cost £61.20

Tuesday 13th August

Arrive at Washington Dulles at 14:30 flying VA- used our Flying Club miles and flying PE Strike that now flying UC! We are checking in using the Upper Class wing; suffice to say we are excited- especially about using the lounge too.

Getting a Washington Flyer Taxi to our hotel. I am allowing quite a while for immigration, traffic etc and expect to be at our hotel around 5pm. We are staying in the Capital Hilton
I chose this hotel as I have Gold Hilton status which includes free wi-fi, breakfast and room upgrades as benefits- plus it’s only a couple of blocks from the White House, Smithsonian Museums and has good transport links!
We will check into the room, and then find somewhere near the hotel to have some dinner, and get some supplies for the room. More than likely we will get an early night, but not without sneaking a peek at the White House!

Wednesday 14th August

Have breakfast in the hotel
We will then head over to The National Zoo , which I envisage will take up the day.
Again, will have dinner near the hotel and retire for the evening tired out!


Thursday 15th August

We have tickets for a MLB game at 4:05pm
San Francisco Giants vs Washington Nationals and so we will probably get the DC Duck tour This takes 90 minutes and will be a good way of seeing the city without getting the boys too tired for the game tonight. Having read Hannikins’ trippie I am very mindful of the distances!
Once the tour is over we will head over to the National’s stadium.
Depending on energy levels we could go a have a look at some of the monuments at night as they do look amazing.

Friday 16th August

Today will be a museum day and so I think it will the National Museum of Natural History.
I am hoping that if we get there early it won’t be as crazy as when Hannikins was there… (Can you tell I’ve been reading studying her DC trippies!)
If it is too busy then we will have to think of something else… maybe the International Spy Museum

Saturday 17th of August

A day of wandering today we plan on going to the Tidal Basin to hire paddleboats. We will also see some monuments and a general walkabout in the Capitol Hill area and see what we can get done.

Sunday 18th of August

I need help here I currently have three options:

1. I am debating going to Arlington Cemetery; I am not sure if this really suitable for children and so I am penciling this in. I welcome any thoughts.
2. I have also looked at the National Harbor which my parents love; but I cannot find an easy way to get there… any help? The National Harbor has a beach so the boys could play there and cool down; plus they have Family Movies Sunday; when we are there they are showing Dreamer (which must be the worst movie on the list) but it’s more the atmosphere than anything else. Day could look like this: beach, National Children’s Museum and then to the movie.
3. Six Flags America I was thinking of the water park; the reviews aren’t that great and have a niggling feeling this will be a nightmare of a day.


Monday 19th of August

National Air and Space Museum

Tuesday 20th of August

We leave Washington on the midday train to Baltimore to see my brother for a couple of days. The train only takes 41 minutes which is good.

Thank you for taking the time to read my pre-trippie; I welcome any thoughts and feedback.
__________________
1986, Disneyland Hotel California
1990, Polynesian Resort
1993, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
1994, International Drive- The Summer of Wet N Wild!
Christmas 1996, Fort Myers
Christmas 1997, Fort Myers
Christmas 2006, Emerald Island
February 2009, Bella Vida Villa and Contemporary Resort
August 2010, Newport Bay Club, DLP
Christmas 2011, Bella Vida Villa, Bay Lake Tower and Royal Pacific Resort
June 2012 New York pre 30th trip

Edited at 08:49 PM.
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Old 31 Mar 13, 01:04 AM  
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#2
Hannikins
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great start, you're right to be careful of distances, I don't think my feet have fully recovered and in August I imagine it's a lot hotter!

With regards to your query about arlington and kiddies, yes I think it's very much a place for children. On our visit there were lots of tour groups of american school children there. There's a lot of history there which I'm sure they will appreciate even if they are young. If you're worried about distances here, it is huge, there's a golfbuggy/train thing which you can pay to use, that takes you to all the major spots apart from the trek up to the top, which is worth it for the views of the city alone. You need not stay long if you fancy a fleeting visit, it's not far from the metro stop so convient for a quick visit.

ps. thanks for reading my trippie
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Old 31 Mar 13, 10:33 AM  
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wdw-wanderer
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It's worth emailing the national parks to get timed tickets to go up to the top of the Washington Monument on the Mall. Great views! If my memory serves me correctly I don't think there's a charge.
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Old 31 Mar 13, 10:40 AM  
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Leyfy
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You'll be in Washington DC the same time as us - we're going 14th to 19th of August, then down to Orlando

On the Friday we're hiring a car and heading up to see Gettysburg for the day.
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Old 31 Mar 13, 11:03 AM  
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aims1982
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Getting Excited
 
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Originally Posted by wdw-wanderer View Post
It's worth emailing the national parks to get timed tickets to go up to the top of the Washington Monument on the Mall. Great views! If my memory serves me correctly I don't think there's a charge.
Thanks for the tip off, but the Monument is closed due to an earthquake in 2011, which is a real shame as the views would be fantastic.
__________________
1986, Disneyland Hotel California
1990, Polynesian Resort
1993, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
1994, International Drive- The Summer of Wet N Wild!
Christmas 1996, Fort Myers
Christmas 1997, Fort Myers
Christmas 2006, Emerald Island
February 2009, Bella Vida Villa and Contemporary Resort
August 2010, Newport Bay Club, DLP
Christmas 2011, Bella Vida Villa, Bay Lake Tower and Royal Pacific Resort
June 2012 New York pre 30th trip
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Old 31 Mar 13, 11:05 AM  
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#6
aims1982
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Getting Excited
 
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Originally Posted by Leyfy View Post
You'll be in Washington DC the same time as us - we're going 14th to 19th of August, then down to Orlando

On the Friday we're hiring a car and heading up to see Gettysburg for the day.
Ohh how exciting! Enjoy Orlando!

I've debated about getting a car to go to a park or the like but I can't decide.

What are your plans for 14-19th?
__________________
1986, Disneyland Hotel California
1990, Polynesian Resort
1993, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
1994, International Drive- The Summer of Wet N Wild!
Christmas 1996, Fort Myers
Christmas 1997, Fort Myers
Christmas 2006, Emerald Island
February 2009, Bella Vida Villa and Contemporary Resort
August 2010, Newport Bay Club, DLP
Christmas 2011, Bella Vida Villa, Bay Lake Tower and Royal Pacific Resort
June 2012 New York pre 30th trip
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Old 31 Mar 13, 11:17 AM  
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Leyfy
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Originally Posted by aims1982 View Post
Ohh how exciting! Enjoy Orlando!

I've debated about getting a car to go to a park or the like but I can't decide.

What are your plans for 14-19th?
Wednesday we'll arrive and head to the hotel. Flying with Virgin as well, on the same flight as you guys, but the next day

Thursday we're going to go to Arlington Cemetery in the morning (our hotel is right by it) then head to the zoo for the afternoon.

Friday we're off to Gettysburg, which is the whole reason we're going to Washington in the first place! This is mainly for my other half, but I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing it too now. Saturday we're going to go to the Smithsonian all day, then Fogo de Chao in the evening!

Sunday I'm hoping to get a decent flight time down to Orlando (mid morning, so we'll arrive about 1-2pm). Not booked this yet - it's the last thing to do as the price is best about 6 weeks before we go, apparently. Making me go a bit 'eek' waiting to book though, as if we can't get flights (which is silly because there are hundreds, and at a push we could go into Miami I guess) it will really screw up our plans!

We're flying home from Orlando so only need one way tickets.

Btw, I managed to hire a car from Enterprise at Ronald Regan Airport really cheaply. I got an intermediate (something like a Toyota Corolla) for $49, which is everything except fuel, plus hiring a Sat Nav for the day for $11.99. I will be driving (OH can't drive) so I am really nervous!
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Old 31 Mar 13, 05:31 PM  
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#8
aims1982
Thread Starter
Getting Excited
 
Join Date: Jun 07
Originally Posted by Leyfy View Post
Wednesday we'll arrive and head to the hotel. Flying with Virgin as well, on the same flight as you guys, but the next day

Thursday we're going to go to Arlington Cemetery in the morning (our hotel is right by it) then head to the zoo for the afternoon.

Friday we're off to Gettysburg, which is the whole reason we're going to Washington in the first place! This is mainly for my other half, but I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing it too now. Saturday we're going to go to the Smithsonian all day, then Fogo de Chao in the evening!

Sunday I'm hoping to get a decent flight time down to Orlando (mid morning, so we'll arrive about 1-2pm). Not booked this yet - it's the last thing to do as the price is best about 6 weeks before we go, apparently. Making me go a bit 'eek' waiting to book though, as if we can't get flights (which is silly because there are hundreds, and at a push we could go into Miami I guess) it will really screw up our plans!

We're flying home from Orlando so only need one way tickets.

Btw, I managed to hire a car from Enterprise at Ronald Regan Airport really cheaply. I got an intermediate (something like a Toyota Corolla) for $49, which is everything except fuel, plus hiring a Sat Nav for the day for $11.99. I will be driving (OH can't drive) so I am really nervous!
Thanks for the information re Fogo de Chao- that looks great; will try ad get a reservation there!

I'll bear Enterprise in mind.

Thanks
__________________
1986, Disneyland Hotel California
1990, Polynesian Resort
1993, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
1994, International Drive- The Summer of Wet N Wild!
Christmas 1996, Fort Myers
Christmas 1997, Fort Myers
Christmas 2006, Emerald Island
February 2009, Bella Vida Villa and Contemporary Resort
August 2010, Newport Bay Club, DLP
Christmas 2011, Bella Vida Villa, Bay Lake Tower and Royal Pacific Resort
June 2012 New York pre 30th trip
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Old 31 Mar 13, 09:08 PM  
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Spider666
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Air and Space Museum near Dulles airport is superb kids would love it has all the bigger stuff you can't get in the museum in the city inc Discovery one i would consider seeing if you have time. If you are looking for something to do in Baltimore found Aquarium to be good too.

Originally Posted by Leyfy View Post
You'll be in Washington DC the same time as us - we're going 14th to 19th of August, then down to Orlando

On the Friday we're hiring a car and heading up to see Gettysburg for the day.
I went to Gettysburg last year it was fantastic we brought CD tour from gift shop and followed that with map it was so easy to follow and so much to see.
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Old 1 Apr 13, 04:17 PM  
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aims1982
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Getting Excited
 
Join Date: Jun 07
[QUOTE=Spider666;8353059]Air and Space Museum near Dulles airport is superb kids would love it has all the bigger stuff you can't get in the museum in the city inc Discovery one i would consider seeing if you have time. If you are looking for something to do in Baltimore found Aquarium to be good too.


Thank you for this suggestion; I will look into the car hire!

I am leaning towards Baltimore & Washington aquarium tickets; think I may be good to escape the heat for a while!
__________________
1986, Disneyland Hotel California
1990, Polynesian Resort
1993, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
1994, International Drive- The Summer of Wet N Wild!
Christmas 1996, Fort Myers
Christmas 1997, Fort Myers
Christmas 2006, Emerald Island
February 2009, Bella Vida Villa and Contemporary Resort
August 2010, Newport Bay Club, DLP
Christmas 2011, Bella Vida Villa, Bay Lake Tower and Royal Pacific Resort
June 2012 New York pre 30th trip

Edited at 04:23 PM.
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