Some advice for those considering a timed entry ticket for the Washington Monument, because it took me a couple tries to get it right:
Timed entry tickets go on sale at recreation.gov exactly 3 months in advance, and PRECISELY AT 10:00AM ET.
Not 10:01. Not 10:03. EXACTLY 10:00.
I learned the hard way that tickets for the summer tourist season can literally sell out in just 3-4 minutes… makes Disney ADR bookings look like child’s play. Third time was the charm for me- frantically kept hitting refresh at 9:59 and then grabbed tickets the very second they went on sale.
Crazy, huh?
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Actually, in our vacation planning experience there are many things that work this way, and if you miss the window you are either out of luck or stuck with undesirable times. Getting timed entry tickets for Pearl Harbor or the Statue or Liberty and booking a room at the Ahwahnee in Yosemite spring to mind. That is why things like the UG, which give you all these tips and strategies, are worth their weight in gold. 
I would not want to go up in the Washington Monument. I lived in the DC suburbs for 12 years and I think every week there was a news story about people getting stuck in a broken down elevator.