Cedar Point or Williamsburg trip? Suggestions welcome.

[cfc]

^Shuttles are a bit hard to come by in Williamsburg, although there is a city bus that goes out to BGW. The park is outside of town, and there are no hotels within easy walking distance. I know that the Kingsmill Resort runs shuttles to BGW, Water Country, and Colonial Williamsburg. There's some info here: https://williamsburgvacations.com/williamsburg-transportation/

 

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Pierce's Pitt--a great BBQ joint (and local institution) out on E. Rochambeau (not far from Great Wolf Lodge). Great pulled-pork sandwiches.

[bert425]

^Shuttles are a bit hard to come by in Williamsburg, although there is a city bus that goes out to BGW. The park is outside of town, and there are no hotels within easy walking distance. I know that the Kingsmill Resort runs shuttles to BGW, Water Country, and Colonial Williamsburg. There's some info here: https://williamsburgvacations.com/williamsburg-transportation/

 

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Pierce's Pitt--a great BBQ joint (and local institution) out on E. Rochambeau (not far from Great Wolf Lodge). Great pulled-pork sandwiches.

 

spent the morning booking, actually, so trip is all set.

 

we were considering staying on-site at CW, but found a comparable level (ie: sorta nice) hotel on expedia for $119 a night and grabbed it. It's 1 1/2 miles from BGW, and 2 miles from CW. . so right in the center.

 

also ended up buying the Bounce pass online, which gives 7 days unlimited entry to CW, BGW & Water Country, + free parking, for a price that was less than the Club TPR price (tho still going to use my Club TPR discount for King's Dominion ).

 

really, really looking forward to it.

 

got flights booked (ended up being less than $400 round trip!) AND snagged a hotel thats 15 minute walk from White House and 10 minute walk from Lincoln Memorial/National mall. . for $140/night.

 

some final details to work out (such as which Smithsonian to visit, and on which days ). . but for the most part, we are ready to go!

[bert425]

Trip booked, and Williamsburg/King's Dominion portion set.

 

so now have turned my attention to the Washington, DC portion.

 

Question for those into the "culture" aspect. . we've never been to DC, and as noted, were able to snag a hotel walking distance to White House/National Mall.

 

Unable to get tix online to enter the Washington Monument (which is kinda ok, since my partner doesn't like heights anyways. . and besides, we'll try walk up tix on day of), but we were able to book a tour of the US Capitol.

 

Our plans are basically to stay in the National Mall area for 2 full days, hitting mostly the Smithsonian Museums we're interested in, as well as the Lincoln, Veteran's, and other Memorial/Monuments, and possibly Library of Congress, and then on the 3rd day do the "satellite" Smithsonian Museums (Air & Space out near the airport, the Zoo) before checking into our final night hotel near the Pentagon.

 

We're going to meet a friend one night for dinner, and I'm seriously considering splurging on a touristy "Monuments by Moonlight" tour for one evening.

 

but my real question is: Does it make any sense to do a daytime tour in Washington DC? I see several of them offered, and, on paper, they seem to be a good deal. . . but as a planner, I'm wondering if it makes more sense to just plan things out myself, and if we WANT to stay longer at a museum, we can -- instead of having "30 minutes to explore" at each stop.

 

for those of you Culture folks. . how would you proceed?

 

Full day tours?

 

or just maybe the 1 evening tour (after all the monuments and museums have "closed" to the public). . but day on my own schedule to hit what we're interested in (and maybe miss out on something we arent' aware of?).

[GwaziBSRider1]

I wouldn't recommend doing any of the daytime tours. It's very easy to do everything on your own, and you're in full control of every place you visit. Almost every museum in DC is free, so you're basically only paying for the convenience.

 

I've done the Monuments by Moonlight tour, and it's decent. When I did the tour several years ago, it was daylight for part of it. Most of the time we had to explore was at the Lincoln, FDR, and Vietnam/Korea memorials, which it was daylight/dusk. Once it was dark, we drove past Jefferson Memorial, White House, and Arlington Cemetery, but you couldn't get off the bus to look around. Even though it was a nice tour to see everything, it simply wasn't what I had expected it to be.

[bert425]

I wouldn't recommend doing any of the daytime tours. It's very easy to do everything on your own, and you're in full control of every place you visit. Almost every museum in DC is free, so you're basically only paying for the convenience.

 

I've done the Monuments by Moonlight tour, and it's decent. When I did the tour several years ago, it was daylight for part of it. Most of the time we had to explore was at the Lincoln, FDR, and Vietnam/Korea memorials, which it was daylight/dusk. Once it was dark, we drove past Jefferson Memorial, White House, and Arlington Cemetery, but you couldn't get off the bus to look around. Even though it was a nice tour to see everything, it simply wasn't what I had expected it to be.

 

that's really what i was thinking about the daytime tours, thanks!

 

we're gonna be staying walking distance to Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials, so we'll spend time there anyways, but still, it does sound cool to see everything at night lit up!