Washington DC experts - is there a VIP Guide service
 

Hi there, Is there a company that will give you guided tours of the sites and special entrances, etc in Washington DC. When we were in Italy we did a Rome in a day tour and all the entrances were taken care for us and we never had to wait in line - anyone know of a service like this? Thank you!

There are no "special entrances" for tourists in Washington. Either things are open to the public, or they are not.

If you want a very special personal guided tour of the White House, I hope you contributed very generously to Mr. Bush's campaign and to the Republican Party or are a personal friend of his.

Your Senator or Congressperson can get you visitor passes to the House and Senate Chambers in the Capitol, but these are required for admission for all people except Members of Congress, the Press, and Congressional Staff. You can make an appointment to meet with your Senator/Congresscritter if you have business with them, otherwise their staffs are happy to give you pictures and brochures.

Smithsonian museums are free and open to all with many points of entry. Storage/backstage areas are only open to researchers with appropriate clearance and credentials. Being a major donor will probably let you skip lines.

Ditto for the National Archives, perhaps Nicholas Cage can sneak you in.

Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials are open-air, no lines.

The Washington Monument is teeny-tiny inside with very limited capacity. Disabled people can cut the lines, I believe.

You will wait in a lot of lines in Washington because of SECURITY. This problem will stop as soon as terrorism is completely eliminated, which is to say, never.

Pack light and expect airport-style metal detector checkpoints at almost all attractions for the forseeable future.

It depends on the time of year you visit. I was at the Smithsonian museums/Capitol on Mon-Tues-Wed this week. No lines whatsoever, like being at DIsneyland when it is deserted! Of course it was freezing and snowy.
The metal detectors werent even being used at Air and Space and American History museums. The National Gallery just does a cursory visual inpection, no detectors.

Airport-style metal detectors were in use at the Capitol, Archives, Botanical Garden, Library of Congress, Senate buildings.

The Washington Monument is still closed to visitors due to renovations.

QC is right - you have to stand in the same lines whether you are on a $200/hour tour or just decide to pop in. Although there have been excpetions for movie stars and heads of state.

If you have to ask you don;t qualify as a VIP - they are invited.

No lines at FDR, Viet Nam War or Korean War Memorials...each wonderful venues. And...re security screening, leave the underwire bras at home. They have been known to set off buzzers in the House and Senate Galleries. :-)