Multi-City Class Trips and Educational Tours with Winged Victory USA

WV USA- 2004-2005
New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC Student Field Trip Itinerary

Click here for a printable PDF of the New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC Itinerary.
Day 1
12:00 PM	Arrive at the Smithsonian Mall, in Washington, DC, where you will meet your Winged Victory USA tour guide, and proceed to your choice of Smithsonian Museums (keeping in mind you will visit the Air & space Museum tomorrow). Here, you will have lunch at your own expense in your museum's cafeteria. Afterwards, you will spend the afternoon at your favorite exhibits.
3:30 PM	Meet the bus and transfer to the hotel for check-in.
4:00 PM	Arrive at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel to check-in, freshen up and dress for dinner. The hotel is nestled on a private 16 acre landmark estate in Northwest Washington, D.C.- the prestigious Woodley Park neighborhood. As guests arrive at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, they enter grounds that have been home to more historical figures than any other building in Washington, DC. Past residents include U.S. Presidents, Vice Presidents, Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, Presidential Cabinet Officers and members of Congress, as well as famous spies and national news broadcasters.
5:15 PM	Reassemble in the lobby, then board your bus and depart for dinner.
6:00 PM	Enjoy dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. For 10 years now the Hard Rock Cafe in Washington D.C., has been rockin' the scene in the city on the Potomac. Enjoy the decor of the huge main bar shaped like a Fender guitar and the stained glass windows honoring such rock 'n' roll greats as Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis. Hard Rock Cafe, D.C., is a favorite of lobbyists and bagmen alike.
7:15 PM	After dinner, meet the bus and depart on a brief illuminated tour of the monuments and institutions of Washington, DC. The tour will begin with a visit to the new World War II Memorial, which is located between the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Mall. Afterwards, transfer to the Jefferson Memorial. Upon arrival, you will find the view from the monument's steps truly spectacular, especially at night, when a halo of blue light crowns the dome. Inside the colonnaded monument, a National Parks Service Ranger will give a 15 minute talk about the John Russell Pope designed structure, and about the man to whom it is dedicated, the third United States president, statesman, scholar, architect, and principal author (at the age of 33) of the Declaration of Independence. Transfer to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, one of the most beautiful and expansive memorials in the nation. Its landscaped grounds are divided into four outdoor galleries, one for each of FDR's terms in office, and each conveying, in its own way, the spirit of this great man.
8:45 PM	Meet bus and return to the hotel.
9:30 PM	Overnight Security Begins.
Day 2
8:00 AM	Breakfast in the hotel which includes: Assorted Chilled Juices, Seasonal Selection of Fresh Fruits & Berries, Assorted Individual Yogurts, Assorted Cold Cereals, Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Hash Browns, Bacon, Grilled Breakfast Sausage, Omelets, Mini Waffles, Pastries, Muffins, Bagels, Coffee, Tea.
9:00 AM	Meet your guide in the lobby, meet the bus and depart for the remarkable United States Holocaust Museum.
10:00 AM	Begin your visit of the United States Holocaust Museum which memorializes the six million Jews who died during the Holocaust. This stunning museum, created by a unanimous act of Congress, contains oral histories, documentary films, photographs and artifacts of the Nazi genocide, donated by survivors and liberators of the Nazi death camps.Your visit will begin with an exploration of the roots of Nazism and Adolf Hitler's rise to power, and will endby focusing on the efforts by the liberators and the survivors to find new homes in the United States, Israel and elsewhere.
12:15 PM	Meet the bus on Raoul Wallenberg Place and depart for Union Station.
12:45 PM	Enjoy lunch at your own expense in the food court at Union station, one of the oldest working train stations in the United States. Then you'll have about a half hour to browse in more than 100 interesting retail and specialty stores.
2:00 PM	Reassemble in the main hall, then walk two blocks to the Grant Memorial.
2:15 PM	You will have group photograph taken in front of the United States Capitol.
2:30 PM	After the group picture, walk to the United States Capitol.
2:45 PM	Arrive at the United States Capitol, the very symbol of American democracy. Upon arrival, you'll take a guided tour that will include the magnificent 180-foot high rotunda, the old Supreme Court Chambers, and if not in session, the House and Senate galleries. NOTE: THIS TOUR MUST BE ARRANGED DIRECTLY BY THE SCHOOL---WINGED VICTORY USA IS UNABLE TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR SCHOOL GROUPS!
4:00 PM	Walk to the Air and Space Museum, where, among many other things, you can touch the actual Mercury 7 capsule in which John Glenn first orbited the earth, see a mockup of the Apollo XI lunar module that landed on the moon, and the actual Apollo XI Command Module that returned to earth after making the first lunar landing. You can also see the Wright Brothers' "Wright Flyer" airplane that made the first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, the Voyager that made the first nonstop flight around the world, and you can actually touch a moon rock that the Apollo 17 astronauts brought back from the lunar surface!
5:30 PM	Meet the bus and depart for dinner.
6:15 PM	Enjoy dinner at the ESPN-ZONE in DC! Step into ESPN Zone and you've entered a world where sport is king! ESPN Zone boasts an arena of interactive games and attractions and an unparalleled sports viewing experience.
7:30 PM	Meet the bus and transfer to the western end of the National Mall. Your visit will begin at the Korean War Veteran's Memorial, and then you will walk to the adjacent Lincoln Memorial, the site of such memorable events as Martin Luther King Junior's "I Have a Dream" speech. Finally, walk to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a V-shaped black granite wall, designed by Maya Ying Lin, then a 21-year-old student at Yale University. The 500-foot wall, intended as a symbol of healing, is inscribed with the names of the 58,192 people killed or missing in the Vietnam War, and is now one of the most cherished monuments in the United States.
9:30 PM	Return to the hotel.
10:00 PM	Overnight Security Begins. DINNER OPTION #2 (approx. $3 less/person than ESPN): Enjoy dinner at The Tombs Restaurant situated in Georgetown. The Tombs is legendary among Georgetown University students, faculty and alumni. It has the characteristic look of a great sporting saloon with high-backed booths, colorful sweeps and vintage leaded glass. Classic crew and sporting prints add perfect accents to the college atmosphere. ACTIVITY OPTION #2: (approx. $5 more/person than Memorials): You and your group will enjoy a one-hour walking tour through the brick-lined streets of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. You'll follow an 18th century costumed guide as they lead you by lantern light telling you stories, legends and folklore. You will hear about unsolved mysteries, tales of romance and angry ghosts looking for revenge. You'll be entertained by the stories and charmed by the city's streets brimming with 18th cnetury houses. And each tour ends in a colonial church graveyard. It's the perfect way to cap off a day of sight-seeing in DC!
Day 3
7:15 AM	Breakfast in the hotel which includes: Assorted Chilled Juices, Seasonal Selection of Fresh Fruits & Berries, Assorted Individual Yogurts, Assorted Cold Cereals, Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Hash Browns, Bacon, Grilled Breakfast Sausage, Omelets, Mini Waffles, Pastries, Muffins, Bagels, Coffee, Tea.
8:15 AM	Reassemble in the lobby, meet your guide and depart for Mount Vernon.
9:00 AM	Arrive at Mount Vernon for a tour of the Potomac River estate of George Washington. Your visit will begin with a walk through the elegant grounds, under the boughs of trees planted by George Washington himself, and then through America's most visited historic house, which still contains George Washington's bed, his black leather presidential chair, and many, many other personal effects. After your tour of the house, you can walk to George and Martha Washington's grave, and finally to a memorial to the 341 slaves that the first president owned and set free at his death in December, 1799.
11:00 AM	Meet the bus and depart for lunch.
12:00 PM	Arrive in Pentagon City and have lunch at your own expense at one of the dozens of fast food resaturants in the tree-lined food court at the Fashion Center.
1:30 PM	Meet the bus and transfer across the Potomac to Washington, DC for a tour of Embassy Row that may include a drive by the magnificent National Cathedral, the seventh largest church in the world.
3:00 PM	Your tour will end at the White House, where, from the south lawn (where the annual Easter Egg Hunt takes place!), you can take photographs of the most recognizable residence in the United States.
3:45 PM	Return to your hotel and freshen up for your evening activity.
6:00 PM	Reassemble in the lobby, then board your bus and depart for your evening dinner cruise.
7:00 PM	Arrive at Pier Four for check-in for your cruise.
7:30 PM	Depart at 7:30pm from Pier 4 on the DC Waterfront where you will board the Spirit of Washington for a three-hour dinner cruise on the Potomac River. During your cruise, you'll have breathtaking views of the Washington Monument, Washington National Airport, Old Town Alexandria and the historic homes on General's Row at Fort McNair (where John Wilkes Booth's co-conspirators were hanged). After a buffet dinner, you'll have a pep rally and dance, with contests and prizes, and you'll return to the dock at about 10:30pm.
10:30 PM	Meet the bus and transfer back to your hotel.
11:00 PM	Overnight Security Begins. EVENING OPTION #2: (similar pricing as dinner cruise) Reassemble in the lobby and depart for dinner at the KC Café at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, where you’ll begin your visit with a walk through the 600-foot Grand Foyer, one of the largest rooms in the world. Then, walk with your guide to the Theater Lab for a performance of Shear Madness, a very funny Murder Mystery set in Washington, DC. The outcome of the play changes from day to day, and will depend upon which of the characters you and your classmates believe (or which one you don't).
Day 4
7:00 AM	Breakfast in the hotel which includes: Assorted Chilled Juices, Seasonal Selection of Fresh Fruits & Berries, Assorted Individual Yogurts, Assorted Cold Cereals, Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Hash Browns, Bacon, Grilled Breakfast Sausage, Omelets, Mini Waffles, Pastries, Muffins, Bagels, Coffee, Tea.
8:00 AM	Check out of your room, place your bags on the bus, meet your guide in the lobby and depart for Arlington National Cemetary.
8:45 AM	Arrive at the Arlington National Cemetery, the 600-acre national burial ground that shelters veterans from every war that has involved our nation. During your short visit, you will visit the Memorial Amphitheatre and you'll attend the timeless 21-step, 21-second Ritual of Honor at the Tomb of the Unknowns, where the U.S. 3rd Infantry maintains an around the clock vigil. Before you leave, you may want to visit the memorial to the seven Challenger astronauts, and you will certainly want to pause at the eternal flame at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy to read and reflect on some immortal passages (etched in Cape Cod stone) from his inspiring inaugural address.
10:15 AM	Meet the bus and transfer to the International Spy Museum.
11:00 AM	Arrive at the Spy Museum and begin your visit. The mission of the International Spy Museum is to educate the public about espionage in an engaging manner and to provide a dynamic context that fosters understanding of its important role in and impact on current and historic events. The Museum focuses on human intelligence and reveals the role spies have played in world events throughout history. AFTERNOON ACTIVITY OPTION #2 (approx. $9 less/person than Spy Museum): Begin your visit to The National Zoo! This is a 163-acre zoological park set amid Rock Creek National Park in the heart of Washington DC., which is home to more than 2,700 individual animals of 435 different species. The best known residents are the giant pandas, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang. Here at The Zoo people can gaze at the wonderful animals, learn about wildlife and its conservation, the gardens.
12:45 PM	Transfer to the Old Post Office Pavilion's atrium Food Court. Here you will eat lunch at your own expense.
2:00 PM	After lunch, time permitting, you can walk to Ford's Theatre. There, upon arrival you'll get a very good look at the box in which the President and Mrs. Lincoln sat, and the flag-draped railing over which John Wilkes Booth leaped while making his escape before a bewildered audience on April 4, 1865.
2:30 PM	Meet the bus and depart for your hotel in Philadelphia, PA.
5:00 PM	Arrive at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Philadelphia to check-in, freshen up, and dress for dinner. This hotel is one you'll appreciate, from their central location to their superior dining. The moment you enter the hotel, you'll feel the pulse of an energetic, richly appointed meeting hotel, with a refined, classic sense of style. Warmth, spirit, style and substance. The remarkable Adam's Mark Philadelphia.
5:45 PM	Reassemble in the lobby, then board your bus and depart for dinner.
6:15 PM	Enjoy dinner at Dave and Busters Restaurant, located at Pier 19 North.
7:15 PM	After dinner, you will be given a prepaid PowerCard to experience firsthand why a big part of the experience is The Million Dollar Midway and its incredible variety of the latest interactive games, simulators, and classic favorites such as world class picket billiards and shuffleboard. A unique experience that has something fun for everyone!
7:45 PM	After dinner, meet the bus and depart for the PECO Energy Center where you will check-in at 8pm for your evening activity.
8:30 PM	Begin your Lights of Liberty show: Here you will Experience the American Revolution, as it happened, where it happened – through state-of-the-art technology. The story is told through beautiful hand painted images that are projected up to 50 feet high onto the buildings where the events actually took place over 200 years ago (not offered Sun/Mon nights---and also not on Tues/Wed nights during "slow" seasons)
9:45 PM	Meet your bus, say goodbye to your tour guide for the night, and return to your hotel.
10:00 PM	Overnight security begins.
Day 5
8:00 AM	Breakfast buffet in the hotel, which will include: scrambled eggs, french toast, bacon, sausage, home fried potatoes, fresh fruit, assorted pastries, bagels, cereal, freshly brewed coffee, assorted juice, milk, and iced tea.
9:00 AM	Check out of your rooms, place your bags on the bus, meet your guide in the lobby and depart for the Independence National Historic Park.
9:15 AM	En route, you will make a quick stop at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, where you can quickly climb the steps that Rocky made famous!
10:00 AM	In downtown Philly ("center city"), Independence National Historic Park is often referred to as the birthplace of our nation. At the park, visitors can see the Liberty Bell, an international symbol of freedom, and Independence Hall, a World Heritge Site where both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Consitution were created.
11:30 AM	Transfer to lunch!
11:45 AM	Transfer to the Historic Bourse food court for an inexpensive lunch at your own expense. Just 50 yards from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, The Bourse was the first Commodities Exchange built in the United States in 1895, and one of the first built utilizing steel frames. Their Victorian design, with Corinthian columns, magnificent atrium, skylight, and wrought iron stairways, is the reason they have won many architectural awards.
12:45 PM	Depart for the brand new National Constitution Center.
1:00 PM	Begin your visit to the only museum in the world dedicated to the U.S. Constitution. This Center will help students with understanding the Constitution, the document’s history and it’s current relevance to people’s daily lives.
2:45 PM	Meet the bus and depart for your hotel, the Sheraton Meadowlands.
4:45 PM	Arrive at and check-in to your rooms at The Sheraton- Meadowlands, right across the river, in New Jersey! The newly renovated, 21-story Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel and Conference Center is right by the Meadowlands Sports Complex - New Jersey's premier center for sports, entertainment and special events. The 427-room hotel has a large amount of meeting space, including a conference center and the largest ballroom in all of northern New Jersey.
5:30 PM	Reassemble in the lobby, then board your bus and depart for dinner at Bubba Gump in Times Square. You will meet your guide en route, at the corner of 10th Avenue and 42nd Street.
6:30 PM	Enjoy dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant in the heart of Times Square! Life is Like a Box of Chocolates...Bubba taught Forest Gump all he needed to know about the shrimpin' business! The restaurant shares recipes from his mama, Bubbba's mama, Lieutenant Dan and Jenny!
7:45 PM	After dinner, you'll walk across the street, into the center of Times Square, where you will stop briefly for a group photograph, then walk back to the 75,000 square foot Virgin Megastore, the largest record and entertainment store in the world.
9:30 PM	Meet the bus and transfer back to your hotel for a good nights rest!
10:00 PM	Overnight security begins.
Day 6
7:00 AM	Full American Breakfast Buffet in the hotel, which will include: Scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, home fried potatoes, french toast, bakery items, cereals, yogurts, fruits, juice, coffee, tea.
8:00 AM	After breakfast, reassemble in the lobby, meet your bus and depart for Manhattan. You will meet your guide en route, at the corner of 10th Avenue and 42nd Street. You will then begin a New York City sightseeing tour that will end at The Met.
10:00 AM	Arrive at The Metropolitan Museum of Art: There are several large museums in New York but the Metropolitan Museum of Art is truly gigantic. From the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue, the Met, with its tall columns and windows, immense stairways and water fountains, looks like it could be an emperor’s palace. The size and diversity of the artwork on display is even more impressive; the museum’s collection contains works from every part of the world, spanning the Stone Age to the twentieth century. The Egyptian Art gallery includes a whole temple that was shipped to America as a gift. You will be free to view some of the icons in the American Wing, including George Washington Crossing the Delaware, and a number of other very familiar works by Grant Wood, Edward Hopper and Georgia O'Keeffe. Afterwards, head to your favorite exhibits! In short, there will be something here to inspire every member of the group.
11:30 AM	Transfer to the Trump Tower for lunch.
12:00 PM	Arrive at The Trump Tower. There, you can have lunch at your own expense in the lower level, or you can easily walk to McDonald's on 57th Street. After lunch, you’ll be free to explore Fifth Avenue.
1:30 PM	Meet the bus between the IBM Atrium and Sony Plaza, and depart for the United Nations.
2:00 PM	Arrive at the United Nations, where you will briefly leave United States soil as you step onto the grounds of the United Nations Headquarters, an international zone with its own post office and postage stamps.
2:30 PM	Depart on a guided tour that will provide very good views of the Security Council Chamber and the familiar speaker's rostrum in the 2070-seat General Assembly Hall, in which each of the more than 180 member states has one vote.
3:30 PM	Return to your hotel to freshen up and dress for dinner.
5:30 PM	Meet the bus and depart for dinner.
6:15 PM	Enjoy a visit to Greenwich Village where you'll have dinner at Gonzalez y Gonzalez, a popular Mexican Cantina that is well known for its authentic food and its extensive collection of traditional Mexican folk art. There, upon arrival you'll have a three-course Mexican dinner beginning with sopa de tortilla (corn and onion bisque baked with tortillas and cheese), a fajita platter and dessert.
7:30 PM	After dinner, meet the bus and depart for the Empire State Building Observatory.
8:00 PM	Arrive at the world famous observatory at New York's famous Empire State Building, a New York City Landmark and a National Historic Landmark, which soars more than a quarter of a mile into the atmosphere above the heart of Manhattan. Located on the 86th floor, 1,050 feet (320 meters) above the city's bustling streets, the Observatory offers panoramic views from within a glass enclosed pavilion and from the surrounding open-air promenade. Since the Observatory opened to the public in 1931, almost 110 million visitors have thrilled to the awe-inspiring vision of the city beneath them. Each year over 3.5 million people are whisked to the 86th floor to be where Cary Grant waited in vain for Deborah Kerr in an "Affair to Remember", while Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan had their fateful meeting in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle." The observatory is handicap accessible. All in all, the feeling and spirit of New York City is embodied in the Empire State Building. From the people who fell in love here, to the ones who have returned with their children and grandchildren, everyone recognizes the building not only as an awe-inspiring landmark which offers one of the most spectacular views on earth but an unequaled symbol of American ingenuity and Art Deco architecture.
9:30 PM	Meet the bus and return to your hotel.
10:00 PM	Overnight Security begins. EVENING OPTION #2: (price dependent upon show cost) After dinner, depart for your choice of Broadway shows. EVENING OPTION #3: (approx $18 more/person than Gonzalez and Empire) Depart on your Spirit Dinner & Dance Cruise at 7:30pm for a 3 hour journey around the tip of Manhattan: Dinner, music and spectacular views of the Manhattan Skyline are just the beginning of the entertaining evening ahead of you!
Day 7
7:00 AM	Full American Breakfast Buffet in the hotel, which will include: Scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, home fried potatoes, french toast, bakery items, cereals, yogurts, fruits, juice, coffee, tea.
7:45 AM	Check out of your rooms, place your bags on the bus, and depart for Manhattan. You will meet your guide en route at the corner of 10th Avenue and 42nd Street. Then transfer to Battery Park.
8:45 AM	Arrive at Battery Park, the birthplace of New York City, in Lower Manhattan. At 9:30am, board the Circle Line ferry for a short ride to Liberty Island, where you will have about 10 minutes to take photographs of the 300-foot-high Statue of Liberty. It's copper skin is hung on a central tower designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who is somewhat better known for the Eiffel Tower in Paris. At 9:55am, re-board the ferry to Ellis Island. There, you'll visit the magnificently restored immigration depot through which seventeen million people passed between 1892 and 1954, during the greatest wave of migration the world has ever known. At 11:50am, after your Ellis Island visit, you'll board the Circle Line ferry for the last time, and return to Battery Park, during which you'll get quite a magnificent view of Lower Manhattan.
12:15 PM	Meet the bus and transfer to South Street Seaport.
12:30 PM	Upon arrival at the historic Seaport you will have an inexpensive lunch at your own expense and then be free for 1/2 hour for souvenir-shopping and picture-taking at one of New York City's most popular attractions.
2:00 PM	Meet the bus and begin your journey home, exhausted yet forever enriched.
Your trip also includes:
A customized, keepsake DVD for each student and group leader, made from photographs taken with a camera that we will loan you for your trip. The images are downloaded, set to music, and then mailed back to you on a DVD to enjoy for years to come! A comprehensive Travel Protection Plan, underwritten by Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company and administered by Trip Mate, Inc. is included in the price of the trip. This Plan provides benefits such as Pre-Departure Trip Cancellation, Medical Expense Emergency Assistance, Travel Delay, Baggage and Baggage Delay. A Travel Insurance Certificate will be provided to your child’s teacher for each child on the trip. Liability Insurance - WINGED VICTORY USA carries $2,000,000 in Professional Liability and Errors and Omissions insurance.