Please help with Washington DC

[NJGIRL]

So funny--I do very little planning anymore for Disney World trips (beyond hotel reservations and ADR's) but find myself poring over details for this DC trip.

Beth, I'm glad you are doing this because DC has so much to do, that everything can't be done in one or even two trips. I know so many people who have gone, didn't do much planning and never left the mall area.

[MNNHFLTX]

Beth, I'm glad you are doing this because DC has so much to do, that everything can't be done in one or even two trips. I know so many people who have gone, didn't do much planning and never left the mall area.

Rita, I think the challenge is in knowing that downtown DC is a walking city (along with the Metro as a back-up) and to keep each day's itinerary within a certain area and reasonable time limits (since so many of the museums and other attractions close at 5:30 p.m.) I am fortunate that I started planning enough ahead of time that I found out about booking tickets or reservations for some of the tours ahead of time. Even so, I still wasn't able to secure tickets for the White House tour (no biggie there, though) or the Washington Monument. We'll try to get secure Washington Monument reservations the same day, if they're available--otherwise we'll just do the Tower view in the Old Post Office pavilion.

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[NJGIRL]

Rita, I think the challenge is in knowing that downtown DC is a walking city (along with the Metro as a back-up) and to keep each day's itinerary within a certain area and reasonable time limits (since so many of the museums and other attractions close at 5:30 p.m.)

That is very true. I have no problem walking Disney, but my legs actually ache whenever we do DC. It's great exercise.