Advice for White House visit

I am planning a trip to Washington D.C. for late August 2010. I would love love love to be able to visit the White House. Has anyone ever pulled that off and if so, can you provide me with some advice as to how to do that?

Thanks so much!!!

Click here. That's the official White House tourism site and tells you how to get a tour.

Just remember to show up a day early for the tour to get a meal with the president :)...

Google "white house visit georgia couple" for details. I feel like there might be some security issues in Washington DC lately.

You need to contact your senator or congressman now to get help to get into the white house. You will need to submit your social security numbers and other info. We were a party of 6 and we were able to get in 3 years ago. Be aware, you are not allowed to bring camera bags, purses, packs of any kind. I don't remember to being able to even bring a camera. I am not sure.

We did the White House tour years ago before all of the security issues. IMO I would skip it for a couple of reasons. First it takes up alot of time and you don't get to go into rooms that the president really uses. I didn't find it all that interesting and you can't take pictures. Most of all (and this is only my opinion) there are so so many things to do in DC that you probably won't have time to do all of them and I just think that the White House is not among the top "attractions" in DC.

You can still see the outside of the White House without doing the tour and you can get some nice pictures then. If you really do want to take the tour (as Daisy mentioned above) you have to get in touch with your representative, but just so you know they only can give out a certain number of tickets for each day so try to contact them as soon as possible.

I find a nice alternative to the White House to be Arlington. The tour there is very interesting and not to mention moving. That IMO needs at least 3 - 4 hours.

Let us know how you do.

Thanks for all of the advice. I will see what the rest of the group wants to do. We may actually skip the tour, especially if we can't take pictures.

We took our two youngest grandchildren to Washington DC when they where 8 and 10. DH's knees were bothering him. We were on a camping trip - had our big one ton truck. Between the thought of parking that large truck around DC (DH and I had been there several times) and the amount of walking DH's knees would take, I was wondering how we were going to manage.

What we wound up doing was getting a tour with Gray Line. We were picked up at our campground (Gray Line has several hotel pick-ups as well) and saw many familiar sights - Arlington, Lincoln, Viet Nam Memorial - and some we had not seen previously - Embassy Row and the Iwo Jima Memorial.

At the end of the tour, we were taken back to our campground. Our granddaughter said her "brain was full up" She said that the tour had just enough information. We didn't have any parking difficulties and DH's knees weren't worn out.

We were in DC in June and had the tour almost entirely to ourselves. If memory serves, we did the half day tour.

I agree with NJGirl - much rather see Arlington and the changing of the Guard than the White House. If you have kids in your group - do Arlington. They should know that they must be quiet and respectful during the ceremony, if you're lucky enough to be there then. It will impress them enormously. There is nothing like it.

Btw, when we went there was no visiting the White House at all, unless with a school group. We did get a view of it as we drove by.

Jan

We just got back from a great trip to DC.

As far as the White House Tour, I did apply for it through my Congressman. They all have websites and I had to submit all of our social security numbers.
Now, we did not get the tour because the Obamas were gone and when the First family is gone they take most of their staff with them, therefore no tour.
We did get a Capitol tour which I booked through my congressman.
Also, we did a trolley tour around the city, 1 price for two days. It was a good way to see stuff, and in the afternoon my kids were tired and snoozed for an hour on the tour, that was fine!!
We went to Arlington. That was very moving. You should make that a must do.
Enjoy your trip to DC... there is so much to do there!
Julie:mickey:

I couldn't disagree more with some of the above opinions. I visited the white house in the mid-90s and it was one of my most thrilling memories from our DC trip. It's amazing to be in a place of such American history. I was only a teenager and my sister only a pre-teen, but we LOVED it. For some reason, it was obvious to us that we would not get to see the oval office and also that we probably wouldn't get a chance peek at the Pres. or the First Lady. But, it didn't matter. The White House tour guides are usually great and many have wonderful stories. I would definitely try to go if you get the chance.

You may also want to check out a trolley service we used - I believe they were the only trolley at the time in D.C. I can't remember the name, but we used them based on the recommendations of a friend and also of a family member. They make the rounds to all the major historical attractions. However, you're not on a tight schedule. You simply get off, check out everything and then hop on a later trolley. This way, you can do everything at your own pace. I can't remember waiting very long once we wanted to leave and it worked out perfectly. We never felt rushed, and we never felt "stuck" anywhere. For example, we spent a lot of time at Arlington and also at all the prominent Lincoln historical locations.

Also check out the Smithsonian museums if you can. I think they're impossible to do in one trip, but they're AMAZING!

Have a great time!