"Successful Quick Thinking"

With the inauguration having abruptly changing the direction of the event while causing the closure of some locations for security or weather reasons, WorldStrides did a great job thinking on their feet! They handled the weekend with great success. Troubleshooting and finding solutions!

Although it was not our original itinerary, they did a great job in making sure everything we wanted to accomplish got met. Great job!

"DC Inauguration Trip"

The organization of travel and hotel was very nice. Made the airport and hotel experience easy and smooth. Inauguration was very hectic with things being cancelled, as well as handling the weather cancellations. Mike S. did a very good job staying on his toes and finding new things to fill into the schedule.

The communication of the schedule changes was not very clear, which made it hard to prepare the kids and keep them informed on what was coming. The food situation was frustrating. The pre-determined food was not good, and not very plentiful leaving kids hungry when we got back to the hotel. We ate lunch late and then went to early dinner so it was just hard to make sure the kids weren't hungry and fed properly throughout the trip.

Our bus driver was absolutely incredible and made the trip wonderful. I was not a fan of how far away our hotel was. It forced us to spend a lot of time in transit on the bus rather than enjoying DC and spending time doing activities as a large group. There were also limited food options near the hotel which made the evenings difficult for kids who were still hungry.

Mike S. is incredibly knowledgeable about DC. He shared some great insights about the memorials and museums. The Army museum and Udvar-Hazy were incredible! The first day being dropped off at the national mall with little direction was not ideal. Had we known that in advance we could have prepared to do things as a group and given our students more direction to make sure they were seeing all of the important sites. The freedom was nice, but knowing that in advance would have been beneficial.

Finally, while the travel was very organized and made the transitions smooth and easy, the timing of the schedule was very difficult on our kids. We had to meet for our flight at 2:30 am and the schedule of the first night had us out until 9:00 pm. The students were absolutely exhausted by the end of that day which didn't set them up for success. The team bonding bowling should have happened at the end of the trip, once the students had gotten a chance to get to know each other.

Mike S. was knowledgable, but his information at the sites was delivered a little frustratingly. There was a lot of standing and listening to him talk, rather than letting the students explore and encounter the information. His questioning was a little elementary for juniors and seniors in high school. On the days when we had a time crunch I would have preferred for the students to experience the monuments and memorials with fewer stories and talking from Mike S. Stories and information are great! But the talking was too long and it was information overload. It also forced the students to stand when it was cold, which didn't help with the cold weather.

Overall, it was a good experience. The kids enjoyed themselves. But there are definitely changes I would make to our trips in the future.

"Flaws"

Flaws
No inauguration
Didn’t go into Arlington house or amphitheater
Couldn’t go into ford theatre
Did not get to go around American History museum
Couldn’t go to the archives on correct day and only got 8 minutes there
Didn’t get to go to national history museum
Mt Vernon tour cancelled
Went to Old town Alexandria too early and nothing at all was open
Cards to pay for food at mall didn’t work, nobody’s did
Did not get to see white house
No natural history museum

This is a list of flaws that I recorded as we went through the trip. Many of our plans were changed and shifted. Most of the museums or indoors attractions we were supposed to go to did not happen, and even then, one of the most important ones, the archives, was cut short and we only had five minutes inside.


Our tour guide, Robert, was amazing though.

"It was my first time in DC"

It was my first time in DC and I enjoyed the experienced going to different places except the Pentagon and the new Veterans Memorial. The weather was bad and we left a day ahead of our schedule. My family got a separate trip from the group and I’m waiting for the company for a refund. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and she was nice. The comments I had was about the teachers that escorted the students should have been given the straight flight to Houston instead of going through Chicago . Thank you and waiting for a refund.

"The experience was truly amazing"

The experience was truly amazing. Our tour director and guides were just fabulous and the training session was very helpful. I have already started using some of the materials that I received during the training!

"There is no reason to look anywhere…"

There is no reason to look anywhere else. WorldStrides is the top! If you want a quality trip for your students and you want to work with amazing professionals. This is the place!

"Great Experience!"

The organization of all activities was excellent from beginning to end. The changes that were required after the Inauguration was moved inside were swift and very good. Walter was a great guide throughout!

"I would not recommend this company to anyone. "

“Our tour guide was pleasant and reasonably well informed. The transportation and lodgings were adequate, though the hotel was very remote requiring excessive unnecessary travel time back and forth to D.C. While mealtimes were announced, the cutoff time was not which resulted in many children being denied access to breakfast. The structure of the tour itself was poor. No access to the interior of the Library of Congress, Supreme Court, or Capitol Building. No tickets reserved for the National Archives. Short time allotment for high value locations, including the Smithsonian museums, while too much time was spent at less interesting locations. The money cards did not cover what they said they would cover and were all declined after they were issued. Even the kids were disappointed spending time at a bowling alley instead of taking advantage of the limited time in our nation’s capital. Also, several hours were spent in a shopping mall over two days, instead of visiting attractions. The highlights of the trip (including a guided tour through the US Capital on Inauguration Day) were deviations we proposed and organized privately without WorldStrides and despite some pushback. I would not recommend this program. I would, instead, organize a parent group to organize a private trip and hire a local guide if the free tours offered at the locations prove unsatisfactory. No offense to our pleasant guide, but it was a very expensive trip and could easily have been done at half the price with half the frustration.”

"Will definitely do it again "

It was a great trip the Washington DC. Everything went smoothly and I will definitely take another trip with this company.

"D.C. tour— a great experience for all "

Our tour guide, John, was incredible. I think our high school students had a very educational and fun time on the well-planned itinerary in D.C., and even when certain activities had to change due to weather and closures, they were replaced with equally valuable experiences. I hope our school utilizes WorldStrides again!