NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - It's the thick of the summer entertainment season, that time of year when it takes a 40-minute line to take a 2-minute roller coaster ride.

But as you stand there sweating in the theme park sun, consider this: some folks get special treatment, like expedited entrances or cushy customer service. You could be one of them.

If you're not a supermodel, movie star, or some other kind of celebrity, the chances of receiving VIP treatment in everyday life is usually directly proportional to the size of your assets -- most people have to pay plenty for pampering.

But in a handful of venues, just a little bit of money can go a long way toward bringing a little luxury to your life.

Among the more-than-petty annoyances of amusement parks are the long waits. Want to go on Disney's Space Mountain during a school holiday? Get on the back of a line that will snake around for 40 minutes before you climb aboard.

Wouldn't you love to get whisked straight to the front? You can.

"Back in the 1990s, we came up with the idea of 'Fast Pass,'" says Disney spokeswoman Michele Nachum. "People love it."

Now, you can just put your admission ticket into a scanner at the ride and find out how long before you can board. There are two times: one is for the wait if you get on the standby line and the other is for reserving a time when you can return and get on board almost immediately. If you choose the fast pass option, you're free to do other things – take a less popular ride, eat, shop, anything – until your time comes up. What's more, the service is free.

Other theme park operators have expanded the concept. Six Flags created Fastlane, also a service that also allows visitors to return when their board time comes due. "It's not skipping a line," says company spokeswoman Debbie Nauser, "it's a virtual queue."

A half dozen Six Flags parks even provide pagers to notify customers when their turn comes. The service costs an additional $10.

SeaWorld in Orlando has the Adventure Express, which it launched several years ago. A spokeswoman says the six-hour tour not only saves time by giving customers back-door entry to rides (no waiting at all), it also provides reserve seats for shows, and access to special animal feedings and other animal interactions.

This VIP treatment costs adults $89 on top of the regular admission price of $54 and children's admission goes for $79 plus $44.

The Loews movie chain has several theaters where, for a few extra few bucks, you can order a reserved seat. For popular films, that means you can show up just before the feature starts and still have one of the best seats in the house. At the Loews Cineplex on 34th Street in Manhattan, this star treatment costs $15, compared with the regular $9, according to a spokeswoman for the chain.

That extra $6 not only buys a primo view of the screen, but it gets you a chair that's three inches wider than the cheap seats. Ushers not only seat reserved customers, but they bring them their popcorn from the concession.

At the Premium Cinema in Framingham, Mass., the popcorn and soda comes free with the $17.50 reserved ticket price, which also buys table service for appetizers and drinks.

At the newly re-opened Statue of Liberty (it had closed after 9/11 for security reasons), visitors will be able to get an inside view of the statue on a tour led by park rangers. They'll also be able to walk out onto the pedestal's observation deck and see the panoramic views of lower Manhattan.

To ensure you can receive this guided tour on crowded days and bypass the line on normal ones, the Park Service will reserve a place. The reservations cost $1.75 a ticket, in addition to the regular entry fee of $10.00 for ages 13 and up, $8.00 for senior citizens (62 and over), and $4.00 for children (3 to 12). That includes round-trip ferry service to Liberty and Ellis Islands and entry to the museums on each.

Often, rather than buying time, people look for a pleasant way to spend it. For an air traveler, that can be a particular challenge, as anyone who has spent a few hours in an airport waiting room can attest.

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For the price of an American Express Platinum card ($300 to $400 annually, depending on which type you get), a traveler can often leave the waiting room behind and step into a VIP lounge. A Platinum card gives access to the more than 400 airport clubs of Continental, Delta, and Northwest Airlines, when the passenger travels on one of those carriers. Simply present a ticket and card at the entrance.

Inside, the traveler can plunk down in a plush chair, get snacks and drinks, make phone calls and photocopies, peruse magazines and newspapers, and access high-speed wireless Internet service (where available) – all free of charge. Maybe even grab some zzzs in a comfy chair.

Just the pampering needed to lift the spirit during a long wearying day of travel.