Wabi Sabi Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 My kids are begging to see the White House. Apparently you have to go through your Congressman in order to request a tour. Has anyone done this and if so, were you successful? Is there anything I should know before writing to my Congressman? Think we would have better luck if the kids sent in letters instead of me or does it really matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aiden Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 It doesn't much matter who writes the letter; it's an easy enough request that your congressman will grant it if he can. The problem, though, is that the slots fill up. If you're looking to go anytime this summer, it may be too late. Contact your congressman as soon as you know the dates you'll be there, and be flexible about when you can do the tour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 It doesn't much matter who writes the letter; it's an easy enough request that your congressman will grant it if he can. The problem, though, is that the slots fill up. If you're looking to go anytime this summer, it may be too late. Contact your congressman as soon as you know the dates you'll be there, and be flexible about when you can do the tour. We were thinking October or November. No particular dates in mind- if we got tickets we would just drop everything and go to DC! We've got quite a bit of flexibility in our schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Did it (and a private tour of the Capitol) two years ago. Sent an email to both our Congressman (White House) and Senator (Capitol), and aides from each were super about responding, getting us scheduled, providing all necessary info, and sending reminders. We scheduled 5 months in advance for May, had no problems. Our Congressman surprised us by meeting us at the White House gate, chatting a while, and escorting us in. Our Senator met us at his office, and he and an aide rode with us on the underground tram to the Capitol where the aide gave us a long tour. Tips from our Congressman - (1) Although the WH is a self-guided tour, the guards in every room are extremely knowledgeable about that room (they knew every painting and artist, for example) and WH history and quite willing to answer questions. (2) Most people seem to move through the WH at a certain pace, but you don't have to move along with them. We turned the White House into a 2-hour event. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Many years ago, my dh was on a White House tour with his first wife and their daughter. Dh was holding D in his arms, and she puked all over him. The security detail launched into action, escorting dh to a private room, where they took his shirt, tie and jacket. He said it was only a matter of minutes before they were returned to him, all cleaned up. He loves to tell people about doing his laundry at the White House, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 i ended up calling the congressperson's office, and asking how to do it. they were very helpful. it was just a week before we travelled (last minute opportunity to travel with dh), and they did it all over phone and email. in the end, we missed going because the day we were to go, the whole city - and the white house tours - shut down due to snow. but we did tour the capitol building, etc, etc, and it was a wonderful learning experience. hth, ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 I discovered that my congressman has an online form to submit for tour requests, so I did that this morning and within 30 minutes got a phone call from one of his aides wanting to clarify our dates! No guarantees, of course, but it looks like we might be spending Halloween at the White House! ETA: The tricky part is that we won't know for sure whether we get tickets until 1-2 weeks before our date, so that will make trip planning much more difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 How cool is that?! If I lived a little closer, I'd love to do that. Visiting DC is still on my bucket list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Did it (and a private tour of the Capitol) two years ago. Sent an email to both our Congressman (White House) and Senator (Capitol), and aides from each were super about responding, getting us scheduled, providing all necessary info, and sending reminders. We scheduled 5 months in advance for May, had no problems. Our Congressman surprised us by meeting us at the White House gate, chatting a while, and escorting us in. Our Senator met us at his office, and he and an aide rode with us on the underground tram to the Capitol where the aide gave us a long tour. Tips from our Congressman - (1) Although the WH is a self-guided tour, the guards in every room are extremely knowledgeable about that room (they knew every painting and artist, for example) and WH history and quite willing to answer questions. (2) Most people seem to move through the WH at a certain pace, but you don't have to move along with them. We turned the White House into a 2-hour event. Have fun! Thanks for the ideas! We did the standard tour of the Capitol last November and had a horrible time. It was on a Saturday (big mistake). We were trapped in front of one painting in the Rotunda for ever, it seemed, and the guards would not even let us move abound to see the other paintings. At the end, we were told that we would not see the Senate or House chambers, because they were closed for the weekend, according to the guides. Next time, we will do it your way…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I discovered that my congressman has an online form to submit for tour requests, so I did that this morning and within 30 minutes got a phone call from one of his aides wanting to clarify our dates! No guarantees, of course, but it looks like we might be spending Halloween at the White House! ETA: The tricky part is that we won't know for sure whether we get tickets until 1-2 weeks before our date, so that will make trip planning much more difficult. Ah, but DC is a great place for that kind of uncertainty. You can just walk a few doors down and see something else! It's easy to fill your visit with cool activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 http://coach-and-six.blogspot.com/2013/11/washington-dc-day-6-white-house.html?m=1 We were in the White House just last fall. IIRC, dh filled out a form on our senator's website. It does ask a lot of information (I think they do a background check on you). Your name goes on a list, then you show up to the White House and check in. You can read about our very close brush with President Obama on my travel blog, linked above. (I'm on my phone and can't figure out how to place a link where I want it. Sorry!) I would be so bummed to have missed that!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I hope you get them! I toured the White House myself years ago, back before all the security rigamarole, but this past February I requested tickets for the family through our Congressperson's office for May and did not get them. Next time, hopefully. I also requested tickets through the same office for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and we did get those, which turned out to be a great tour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 They don't give you much control over the date. We tried to request one for a group and now we won't be able to go, despite being the organizers. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 They don't give you much control over the date. We tried to request one for a group and now we won't be able to go, despite being the organizers. Oh well. How do you go about getting tickets if you live in DC? You don't have congress people or senators, do you? I guess you have a non-voting member. Is that how it works? (My mom's best friend lived on Wisconsin Ave in Georgetown all of her adult life. She loved her taxation without representation license plates.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 How do you go about getting tickets if you live in DC? You don't have congress people or senators, do you? I guess you have a non-voting member. Is that how it works? (My mom's best friend lived on Wisconsin Ave in Georgetown all of her adult life. She loved her taxation without representation license plates.) Eleanor Holmes Norton is our non-voting representative to Congress. Not having the right to vote really bites most of the time... but in this case, she has the same privileges as other Congress members and can schedule tours and things like that - the constituent service type stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Eleanor Holmes Norton is our non-voting representative to Congress. Not having the right to vote really bites most of the time... but in this case, she has the same privileges as other Congress members and can schedule tours and things like that - the constituent service type stuff. Thanks. I didn't know where her privileges ended. It would be nice for her to have real voting privileges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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