Late August 2007 Hotel Help for 1st Timers Used to WDW
 

Hi!
Yes, we are planning ahead so we can get plenty of information to make our decision. We (I'll be with my husband and 11 year old son) plan on staying a week and will probably arrive via Amtrak, so we won't have a vehicle with us. We realize it will be hot, but we've done WDW many times during that week and survived.
As for the budget, I'd like to stay in the $300-400 a night range if possible. It could be a little higher if need be. When at WDW, we like the convenience of their monorail system and being able to walk to some places if you are staying nearby. We have stayed at the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Polynesian, Boardwalk Inn, and Yacht/Beach Clubs if you are familiar with any of those...
We are interested in the monuments, Mt. Vernon, the Spy Museum, Natural Museum of History, the American Indian Museum, Arlington Cemetery, etc. With only 3 of us it probably is impossible to get a White House tour, unless you have any suggestions...
So, knowing all of that, where do you suggest we stay? If you need any other information, let me know. Thanks!

You may want to repost with Washington DC in your title in order to get more responses. I read this as looking for recs for WDW.

Thanks for the suggestion! I guess I thought since I posted while in the Washington, DC section that my post would go there..... I can't see where I can edit the title to the original post....Any guidance is appreciated for the not computer saavy....

Don't worry, it's a little confusing. There's only one US board so even if you pick a specific city or state it all dumps into the same board. Unfortunately you can't edit your post so just go ahead and create another one.

GMTA!!! Thank you!

Contact your Congressman NOW for the White House tour tickets. That's the only way to get one these days as security is very tight.

The American History museum is closed for renovations for 2 years. The Natural History museum (the one with the dinosaurs and the Hope Diamond) is open. Your 11-year old will likely LOVE the Air & Space Museum, which is the most popular of the Smithsonian museums.

Here's the tour information for the White House, only groups of 10 or more but I think sometimes they try to combine tours to get the 10 people so it doesn't hurt to contact your Congressman's office but do it 6 months in advance as they suggest

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/tours/

If they can't get you the White House then they will probably try to set you up with something else, I got a VIP Capitol tour and into the Holocaust Museum which was just opened and a hard ticket to get.