National Gallery of Art: West Building

Date of Visit: March 21, 2017

Today was yet another day we planned to visit the Sackler Gallery and ended up going somewhere else instead. This time it was because we realized a new exhibit we're interested in opens at the Sackler next month and some exhibits we were interested in at the National Gallery of Art recently opened.

Finding the entrance to the museum seemed simple as their website says that the accessible entrance is on 6th Street. This is kind of a confusing way of putting it, though, because to me that would mean an east or west side of building entrance and not the north side where 6th Street dead ends at the building. Thus, it's really on Constitution if you ask me. Really it still is easy to located, especially since every other entrance directs you to the accessible one.

Now finding where we wanted to go inside the museum was truly not anywhere near as easy as I thought. I even grabbed a map, which is something we rarely do these days in the museums around D.C. because we tend to just be heading to one specific exhibit and know the floor/wing for it. This time I knew the floor and everything from the website and had grabbed a map and yet only found the exhibits without asking because I remembered 11 years ago there was a special exhibit over by the 7th Street entrance and that really is the temporary exhibit spaced called Inner Tier on the website. Of course, it would've just made sense to ask where the exhibits were when I asked at information for a map, but I really thought a map was all the information I needed.

The main exhibit we went to see was "East of the Mississippi: Nineteenth-Century American Landscape Photography." We found it an interesting look at early photography. Mik particularly liked the smaller ones because they were easier to see, which is probably since they weren't displayed and damaged by light as much.

This was Mik's first time visiting the West part of the National Gallery of Art, but he was too tired to explore more than the temporary exhibits on the Main Floor (and the gift shop, of course). He did get enough of a glimpse at the permanent exhibits to want to visit again and see more. In particular, we enjoyed the "Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection, 1700-1830" exhibit that we passed through to find the temporary exhibits.

Destination Info:
National Gallery of Art - West Building 
4th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC

Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden

Date of Visit: February 24, 2017

Yesterday we originally set out to visit the Sackler Gallery, but instead ended up at the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden. It's been on our list to visit for quite awhile and since it was nice warm day, we decided to enjoy the nice weather and save the Sackler Galley for when it may be too hot (or cold) to enjoy an outdoor activity.

Mik enjoyed checking out the various sculptures in the garden, In particular, he had fun playing with the different art modes taking pictures of the globe sculpture. It is also nice that while it isn't really any bigger than the National Gallery of Art one on the other side of the mall and may even have fewer sculptures, it seems more like more of an experience because of the tiered design.

The tiered design does mean there's stairs, but there are nice long ramps to access all areas.

While the garden is all concrete/brick paths, the ramp access is only from the mall, which is a packed dirt/little bit of gravel path.

Another one of Mik's favorites was the vertebrate. I thought they looked like noses and Mik thought they looked like bones, which we found they were when we found the sign (this is the one thing that was sometimes annoying because they aren't always right there and some are hidden by overgrowth).

We also enjoyed playing Pokemon Go here as there was a gym that you could easily battle while also enjoying the music that plays in the one area. Also, you could get three Poke stops at once in the other part of the garden. Mik even thought this statue looked kind of like a Pokemon.

Destination Info:
Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden
7th St SW & Jefferson Dr. SW
Washington, D.C.

Frozen Sing-Along Celebration at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Date of Visit: February 7, 2017

At first I thought Mik just agreed to do the Frozen Sing-Along fastpass+ because it was what the rest of the group was doing and it was one of the few things he could actually do. Turns out that he was actually interested in checking it out even though he wasn't sure he'd like it.

We ended up entering the fastpass+ queue before the rest of our group because Mik wanted to avoid the noise of the March of the Order going on. We figured our group was big enough to be split up inside anyways, but they ended up catching up and being allowed over to the area we were waiting for the upper accessible seating. It seems it's similar to Fantasmic in that they keep the row in front of the top row clear for the whole group to be "together," although we all were able to sit in the top row with Mik since there was room.

 
We had the option to go up front, but from recent experience with only having front row for Country Bear Jamboree and past experience of choosing front for the Mickey's Magical Map show led Mik to choose the back. At the end when it snowed, Mik was particularly happy that he choose the back as it only happens in the front two-thirds or so of the theater.

Overall we all enjoyed the show more than expected mostly because of the humor. I thought it was too much story and not enough singing considering the show's name, but at least it is a different way of experiencing the story with the historian narrator characters.

The only thing we found disappointing was that there are screens in the area you wait for the doors to open, but not by where they have the upper wheelchair section and we felt like we missed the preshow experience, which could easily be fixed with just installing one TV. I mean, after all we think the best part of Soarin' is the preshow now that they changed the attraction to be around the world.

Destination Info:
Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
Hollywood Studios
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall at Epcot

Date of Visit February 6, 2017

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall has been on our list to try for awhile. We even had a reservation to go on one of our trips last year, but decided to cancel a few days before because we weren't sure about the whole character dining aspect. To some extent, I am glad we saved it for this trip as at least we had one person into the princesses/characters, but I also kind of wish we had already done this place and realized it isn't worth it when it was just us and done something different (i.e. at least cheaper and likely much better experience) for our larger family trip.

The main thing that appealed to us about Akershus is the Norwegian inspired menu. It didn't really disappoint in this regard, especially for the meatball lovers. However, I had thought it was entirely a buffet and it was only the appetizers that were. This didn't bother us so much except that it was fixed price per person and then dessert was a specific trio of desserts for the table rather than each ordering your own or a buffet.

We were mainly disappointed in Akershus because there wasn't much of a character experience, which was why we had chosen to even do this restaurant after we took too long to plan dining and couldn't do the character breakfast we wanted. There are several princesses that come by, so the number of characters is nice. However, they seemed to be in a rush and there was barely time to have them sign the autograph book and take a photo with the kid. Thus, by the time the kid got used to the concept they were already done. All other places we've done the character dining with her, the characters came around more than once. I kind of remember this was the same way the time Mik, my Dad, and I ate at Cinderella Royal Table, but at least there you have a fun castle atmosphere and we had service.

One of the reasons we did not like Akershus was the price. We knew that going in it would be expensive, but somewhere I had gotten in my head that lunch was never more than $50 and it was $57 per person (at least that was before the annual pass discount). The price wouldn't have really bothered us if at the same time we had gotten the character experience we expected (or even just some attentive service...never saw waiter after ordering until they were trying to rush us to finish and clear the table at end, so drinks never got refilled, and they force you to pay 18% gratuity for nothing).

Add to all that, they squeezed way too many tables into the space that it is almost impossible to even dine there with Mik. In order to get him into the table I had to lift and slide the chair sideways up to his spot. It wouldn't have been too bad if it was a regular table dining experience, but since there is a buffet aspect it was extremely annoying to get out around him (and almost impossible). This was the only reason we were glad the whole meal wasn't a buffet, but then we kind of wish none of it was.

Bottom line is I better just book that character breakfast six months out next year. Also, for princesses, Mik and I recommend Cinderella Royal Table over this. I don't remember the food being anything special and we had the characters skip us, but we still really enjoyed that dining experience simply for the castle atmosphere.

Destination Info:
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Epcot
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Be Our Guest Restaurant at Magic Kingdom

Date of Visit: February 5, 2017

For years we've been wanting to try the dinner at Be Our Guest, but never seem to be able to plan out our dining soon enough to manage a reservation (we did the quick service lunch back before they did reservations for that). This time I only managed a reservation because I couldn't get one when planning our November trip and booking for February had just opened. I am glad we ended up finally doing it this trip as while it would've been enjoyable on our own, it turned out to be a great dining experience for our family trip.

There are three different rooms you can end up being seated in. We were in the main dining room and really enjoyed the atmosphere, although either of the other wings seem just as good and it would be interesting to end up in a different one if we go again.

We all enjoyed the appetizers and entrees we ordered and found the portions to be good. Mik had the potato leek soup and the pork chop. I had the sauteed shrimp and scallops.

For dessert, since no one else ordered it, I just had to try the grey stuff. Sadly, it was not delicious, but only because I don't like frosting. The tart it was on top of was good, though. Mik ordered the Elcair a l'Orange and that was very delicious.

Before leaving, we visited the Beast for a group photo minus Mik who didn't want to do it.

Overall we really enjoyed Be Our Guest. We liked that it had a good themed atmosphere and that while there was a character opportunity, it was very easy to skip if you wanted because it was separate rather than being something they send you through before seating you or having the character(s) come around. Not sure if we would go for dinner next time, but only because the breakfast menu looks interesting.

Destination Info:
Be Our Guest Restaurant
Magic Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Epcot International Festival of the Arts

Date of Visit: February 5, 2017

When we planned our trip the Epcot International Festival of the Arts hadn't been announced. Finding out we would be able to enjoy it when it was announced was exciting, but we were kind of disappointed it's only a weekend thing because we had already booked our two dining reservations for our week trip 2 of the 3 days we could've enjoyed eating at the festival. We did fit in trying a few things on Sunday for lunch before our early dinner at Be Our Guest, but Mik was disappointed we didn't instead eat at the festival booths on Monday, especially since it was the park we were in for our lunch and it turned out to be our worst Disney dining experience ever (not actually bad, but disappointing...will try to remember to do review later).

On Sunday, Mik and I park hopped by boat from Hollywood Studios and were planning to grab some lunch with my Starbucks gift card on the way over to meet up in Magic Kingdom for dinner. We had forgotten about the festival until we spotted the booth in Canada and then we picked up the little booklet that lists what all the booths have. Mik quickly spotted a picture of doughnuts and when I found the description we knew what we had to have for lunch.

On the way to get the doughnuts, we stopped at the E = AT^2 booth for some cold drinks. Mik enjoyed the Deconstructed Breakfast (non-alcoholic version), which is a spiced apple chai tea shake with maple syrup, a waffle crisp, and candied bacon. It reminded me of the pumpkin one they had at the Food & Wine, which was my favorite last time.

The Trio of Savory Croissant Doughnuts at the Painter's Palate did not disappoint. Mik enjoyed the chicken mousse one and I enjoyed the herb cream cheese with sea salt one. We split the tuna one. Mik's favorite was the tuna and mine was the herb cream cheese.

We also enjoyed the exhibits in the Showcase Plaza where Painter's Palate was located. In particular, we enjoyed seeing the Mary Blair art. However, they were rather small and left us wanting more of a real exhibit to experience.

Overall we enjoyed our little taste of the Epcot Festival of the Arts and hope to enjoy a lot more of it on Friday. In particular, it would be fun to get a photo in one of be part of the paintings displays.

Destination Info:

Epcot International Festival of the Arts
Lake Buena Vista, FL

National Gallery of Art: East Building

Date of Visit: January 22, 2017

Somehow after all these years of visiting and living in the D.C. area the National Gallery of Art is one place Mik has never been except their sculpture garden, which reminds me I still haven't taken him over to the Hirshhorn one. The East Building in particular has been on our list to visit ever since it reopened in November.

 
One of my favorite parts of the museum is the Terrace, where they have a few sculptures on display and you can get a good view of Pennsylvania Avenue. Mik liked the giant rooster, but he thinks it should be repainted red.

He also really enjoyed the Alexander Calder pieces on display in one of the exhibits on the Terrace level.

Mik also had fun taking this picture of our cousin, Kirsten. He thought this art looked like a tongue and he knew if he asked her to stick her tongue out for a photo she would without question.

We did not have much time to explore the whole museum because Kirsten had to get on the road home, so we kind of bounced around to a few of the different towers and levels to get a general feel of what was on display currently. This did still allow us to experience what I think is the most interesting thing to do at this museum - the elevators.

The elevators vary greatly in size depending on where you are in the museum, although thankfully there are none that are like the tiny one at the National Portrait Gallery. The most fun in the giant elevator in Tower 3, especially if you can get it to yourself, which we did the first and last time we used it. The second time we were on it there were other people and Kirsten said that if there weren't any people in the elevator she could probably do a cartwheel in it. Thus, when we got on it to go back to the ground level to leave and we had it to ourselves I told her now she could do a cartwheel.

If you want to experience the terrace you have to go to that level from Tower 1 or 2. These towers both have elevators have a sort of hexagon shape and are quite small, but were still adequate for a wheelchair and probably five people. Tower 2 also has a second elevator near the stairs that is a good size for those that want to access the terrace and not experience the small elevators that can be kind of claustrophobic.

Mik's favorite piece of art was this one that reminds him of the art he has hanging in his room.

Overall it was a fun visit to the museum and Mik wants to go back to see the parts we missed this time.

Destination Info:
National Gallery of Art - East Building 
4th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC

National Postal Museum

Date of Visit: January 12, 2017

I thought it had been awhile since we visited the National Postal Museum as we probably hadn't gone since moving to D.C. in 2013, but Mik then thought it hadn't been since I went to American University for a semester in 2006. While I definitely have been since then, it really may have been that long ago for him considering it seems we never have posted about it on this blog. Also, last we remember the museum was all on the lower level and the exhibit space on the level you enter apparently has been there since September 2013.

Despite the museum now at least partially existing on the level you enter, it still remains the most awkward of the Smithsonian museums to enter because it also an active post office building, which makes it a government building with security you actually go through versus the Smithsonian museums often just checking bags. While I ignored Mik pointing out the accessible entrance for the actual post office, I did find out that in fact you can go through there to get into the building for the museum, although it seems easier to just use the entrance we always use on 1st Street.

Our focus for this visit was the temporary exhibit "Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks," but we also spent some time exploring the permanent exhibits in the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery since that exhibit space was all new to us, although to some extent it seemed to be just a refresh of exhibits that used to be downstairs. Overall we really liked the area and even enjoyed the interactive parts, although Mik couldn't really use them on his own.

Of course, the "Trailblazing: 100 Years of Our National Parks" exhibit did end up being our favorite. The layout was interesting with it having different display cases about the various types of national park units including National Historical Parks, National Seashores, and obviously actual National Parks. We also enjoyed experiencing the old postmaster's suite, which is an area they now use as temporary exhibit space. The interactive part of making your own national park stamp was particularly fun as you even got to crop the photo, but we were disappointed you couldn't email it yourself like you could the stamp collection in the permanent exhibit area.

Destination Info:
National Postal Museum
2 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20002

U.S. Botanic Garden: Season's Greenings 2016 - National Parks and Historic Places

Date of Visit: November 24 & December 5, 2016

I misremembered what day we had gone last year and we ended up only seeing the Christmas tree (and Yellowstone model) in the West Gallery on Thanksgiving because there was no way we were going to wait in a line out the door and around the building to see the trains when we've always seen it with no wait and it's crowded enough in the exhibit then.

Today we visited right when it opened and enjoyed it at our own pace without too many other people in the exhibit, although there were quite a few little kids that I kept almost running over because I couldn't see they suddenly got in front of Mik.

We particularly enjoyed the exhibit this year with the theme being National Parks and Historic Places. Mik did not have a favorite this year, but only because he truly liked seeing all the different models representing the places. My favorite was the Grand Canyon National Park display because they featured the train station, which totally fits the model train theme and is also the only way we have ever visited the Grand Canyon.

We enjoyed seeing the models of some of the National Park units we've already visited and other National Parks and historic places we still want to see, such as what we call the other Monticello (the real one...not our home/boat).

Overall this was our favorite Season's Greeting theme, yet, but the tunnel area really disappointed us. They always have a tunnel and in general it is a great feature, especially for kids. However, Mik is always afraid he won't fit under and this year in fact he couldn't. He was still able to mostly see the little scenes by looking in from each end, but it's not the same, especially when it's meant to resemble the drive through tree experience. At least we have actually done that for real.

Destination Info:
United States Botanic Garden
100 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20001

Walt Disney World: Epcot - Disney Vacation Club Lounge

Date of Visit: November 17, 2016

We meant to check out the lounge last trip, but forgot (and it probably would've been too crowded to enjoy like the rest of Epcot was most of that trip since it was during the Food & Wine Festival). Since not even the holidays had really started at Epcot, it ended up being a good time for regular Epcot stuff including checking out the DVC Lounge.

To access the lounge there are steps and to take the elevator up they have someone bring it down as it apparently is set up to only be called by the button from upstairs, which makes sense as a way to control access to the lounge since check in is downstairs. Mik liked the interior styling of the elevator and it's unique shape (reminds me that I have to take him to the National Gallery of Art East one of these days as he'll really like those ones).

We enjoyed taking a break in the lounge, especially since they have almost more outlets than seating so you can recharge your devices. We also enjoyed that they not only have free fountain soda, but it is the Coke Freestyle machines. They also came around once while we were in there with a snack cart that you could choose something from for free including gummy bears, chips, and Cheez-its.

Destination Info:
Epcot
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdom - Country Bear Jamboree

Date of Visit: November 21, 2016

Finally got Mik to see the Country Bear Jamboree this trip. He enjoyed the show for the most part, but didn't like the wheelchair seating only being up front, especially afterwards when he realized it resulted in him missing one entire segment.

To enter the show there are turnstiles. We were confused what to do because unlike most attractions with turnstiles there is not an area right there with a rope and a wheelchair symbol to know where to go. After a few minutes a cast member showed us over to another door around to the left that leads you inside to wait in a separate part of the lobby for the doors to open.

The only option for wheelchairs is to sit in the front row. Since usually you end up in the back, it is kind of a nice change from most shows. However, for this show in particular it means enjoying some of the best parts is hard to impossible to do.

One part I wasn't sure Mik would be able to enjoy was the animal heads on the wall to the right. Once I pointed them out to Mik, he did glance at them, but you don't really get the same experience when you have to remember to look back up at them as when you sit up on the higher rows.

Overall Mik enjoyed the show, but when talking to him later I asked what he thought of the view of the part when the bear is singing from a swing and he didn't know what I was talking about. Turns out he was totally confused by that part of the show because he thought it was just singing with no bear to be seen because he didn't know he had to look up to see it. Not that he really missed anything because from the front all you can do is look up at her butt.

Destination Info:
Country Bear Jamboree
Magic Kingdom
Lake Buena Vista, FL

Walt Disney World: Disney's Polynesian Villas - Deluxe Studio w/ Roll-In Shower

Date of Visit: November 15-21, 2016

We picked Disney's Polynesian for this trip because it was on the monorail and thus would be easy to get over to the Contemporary for the Destination D event. In the end, it really wasn't all that convenient for that as we really aren't fans of the ramps up to the monorail at the Transportation & Ticket Center and Magic Kingdom in the first place and then found we really hate the setup for the station at the Contemporary and to some extent also the Polynesian (not enough elevators for the traffic in the Great Ceremonial House at peak times). For the most part, we just used the ferry boat from the Ticket & Transportation Center to get to the Magic Kingdom and then walked to the Contemporary, but we found the Resort Monorail was the only option to get to the morning sessions.

Despite not being a fan of the monorail, the Polynesian is now our favorite DVC resort (at least when it's just us and we can do a studio). If we do Destination D again, we probably would stay somewhere else and do the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then walk to Contemporary, but for regular Walt Disney World trips the Polynesian works because as long as we weren't going to the Magic Kingdom before park opening we found the ferry to be an option, especially since we were in Pago Pago, which is the closest building to the Ticket & Transportation Center. While Epcot is still only accessible by Monorail from the Polynesian, we avoid having to go up the ramp at the Transportation & Ticket Center by usually starting our day with Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios and then taking the boat to Epcot and at Epcot the Monorail station has an elevator along with much lower grade ramps, so we only have to deal with the steep ramp going down once.

The main reason we are a huge fan of the Polynesian is that the doors are set almost like the ones that we love on the Disney Cruise ships. The door doesn't automatically open when you unlock it with your Magicband, but it does once you push it slightly and when you pull it slightly to leave. There is also a button inside, which I assume is supposed to activate it open to leave, but Mik was quickly disappointed that it did absolutely nothing when he pushed it. We didn't get around to asking about it, but it was either broken or it could be something that you have to ask to be activated for your stay.

We also mostly really liked the layout of the studio. It is nice how the studios here have a bathroom as well as another room with a second sink and shower. As just two people, we don't need that extra area to get ready, but it was nice to have roll-in shower in the main bathroom and still also have a regular shower for me to use instead of having to use the roll-in shower, which is often not that great of an experience.

Mik particularly liked the bathroom layout as he quickly discovered he could easily roll up next to the toilet to park his chair. He also found the space easy for going to the bathroom on his own, which isn't always the case for him in "accessible" hotel bathrooms.

We also liked the bed that folds down from below the TV as I used that and Mik used the queen bed, so we didn't have to deal with the fold out couch and always had plenty of floor space to maneuver around.

The only problem we had with the room was the kitchen area. It was not at all designed to be accessible. For the most that didn't matter to us, but the microwave is even higher than a regular home kitchen that has one mounted above a stove that even I almost couldn't use it at all. This was extremely disappointing to us in that the first time (and possibly only other time) we've done a DVC studio was the only time Mik has ever been able to use a hotel microwave because it was below the counter.

Overall, though, we really enjoy the room and the resort location. The only other thing that we didn't like was that the beverage and food options for grab and go are extremely limited, especially compared to what we got used to from the cafeteria option on our last trip when we paid to stay at a value resort, but it was also more limited than we have found at the other DVC resorts shops in terms of beverages and grocery type items. However, you can't beat that the Polynesian Resort has Dole Whips, so it's sort of a wash.

Destination Info:
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
1600 Seven Seas Drive

Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830-8423

Walt Disney World: Moana at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

Date of Visit: November 18, 2016

Every time Mik has seen a preview for Moana, he has been excited to see the movie. We were planning to try to see it in the next few weeks, but first we want to find time to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Thus, as soon as I noticed the email to RSVP for an advanced screening of Moana at the resort we're staying at I signed us up.

The movie was shown in an outdoor setting on the beach in front of the bungalows at the Polynesian Village Resort. Mik was worried when we walked past it to check in that he would have to go in the sand and was ready to bail until he noticed some boards put on one side that looked like they had some wheelchair access on the beach, which they did.

Overall we enjoyed watching the movie, but it was kind of awkward how they had the wheelchair area raised up with a large slant edge so that I was several feet from Mik when I sat in the chair next to him. Mik also didn't like the sound partly because it was loud, but mostly because there was an echo at times (more so during the pre-show content than the actual movie). We're glad we did it, but it really wasn't that special like the D23 movie events we've done and in the future we probably will just wait a week and pay to see it in an actual theater.

Destination Info:
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort
1600 Seven Seas Drive

Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830-8423