The first show I was able to get tickets for was Disney channel's "Jessie". We had just moved to California and my daughter was chomping at the bit to go! So, off we went...
TICKETS:
Tickets are free and can be obtained through http://www.tvtickets.com/. The Audiences Unlimited company releases them 30 days before taping. Just find the page that lists the future showing dates and log in 30 days before at 8:30 am PST. Be ready to fight the error page for those tickets! The server gets bogged down with so many people on the webpage. Due to security reasons, each individual must have their own ticket with their name on it. This means that if you are lucky enough to enter the form and get a ticket, you must hurry and do the process again for any companions; since this is a kid's show, obviously you'll be taking a kid or two with you. So getting tickets for your whole group can be tricky but most certainly can be done!
There are two types of tickets: VIP and Priority.
Priority tickets are NOT guaranteed entrance and these are the tickets you are issued from the website. This is important because since most of the stars are children, the studio will probably have a high number of VIP's attending the taping (and friends of the crew/cast will want to take their kids too!) Priority ticket holders are turned away due to not having enough seating left in the studio. The studio can't predict how many VIP's will be there so it's really an uncertain type of experience. Even with a priority ticket, there's no telling if you'll make it in.
STUDIO LOCATION:
HOLLYWOOD CENTER STUDIOS
1040 N. LAS PALMAS, HOLLYWOOD, CA
PARKING:
Parking is a mess! There are spots along the street but there is a sign indication a 2 hour time limit. You WILL be here for more than 2 hours. You can take your chances or walk a few blocks to secure a less chancy spot. This is the worst parking situation I've seen at any of the tapings. So show up early just to take your time finding a spot.
LINE:
We arrived at 12:30 pm and were the first ones on scene. Another family showed up right afterwards, and we all were waiting in the wrong spot for over 30 minutes. Don't do that!
This is the part of Romaine St that you'll be lining up at
Even better:
Look for this sign and line up at the sidewalk below it.
There is nowhere to sit so grab some sidewalk and be prepared to wait. There are no restrooms or vending facilities either. On the day we went, a guy with a push snack cart showed up and everyone pounced on his goodies. Take snacks and drinks or you'll be starving in no time.
ENTRANCE INTO STUDIO:
At around 3:30 pm, an audiences unlimited member came out and broke us into the two groups based on our tickets. Around 50-60 VIP's went in first. We were numbers 9 and 10 in the priority line and we made it in! Stories from the other guests indicated that sometimes NOBODY from priority makes it in.
Upon being told you're making it in, you'll proceed through medal detectors and a bag search. This is the holding facility when you're first admitted into the studio. Benches and restrooms are available once you're admitted.
After a short wait, AU staff escort the group to the studio. You pass by the stages of Liz and Maddie and a few others. Here's the entrance to Jessie! We were inside by about 4:30 pm.
AU staff will then seat you. We were in the back row (there are 5 rows of chairs). You don't know what scenes they will be filming so you could have bad seats or you could have good seats! From left to right in the photo below are the kids rooms, the lobby, the kitchen, the downstairs living room, then the balcony. Seats are only in front of the kitchen/living room and a smidgen of the balcony.
As you can tell, the view is pretty good!
Overhead is where the monitors and microphones are. When they are filming a scene, the cameras view is displayed so you always know what is going on so you can laugh :) Before the actors came out, the staff showed us an episode that had not been aired yet. Then you're informed that the episode you're about to watch being filmed will take place months from now (on our date, the episode is set to be aired in June.)
The scenes take awhile as they do the same scene over again a few times before moving on. That means you must laugh just like it's the first time you've seen it. Often, if there's not enough of a reaction, the writers will make changes and tape it again. It's fun but a very long process.
During the waiting time, there is a funny Emcee that keeps you entertained. He engages both the parents and the kids and everyone was having a good time. If you participated then there was a chance to get prizes such as dvd's, other gifts and a signed photograph of the cast. Not too shabby. Halfway through the AU staff passed out a baggie of snacks and a water.
Here is the cast after the show. Each and every actor was amazing. They came up into the stands with us and answered questions and talked a bit. Debby Ryan was so personable and as everyone was leaving, she thanked the audience for coming. My daughter got a high five from her! Additionally, the audience received a signed copy of the cover of the script. It was a very nice gesture and my daughter loved it.
When exiting the stage, you walk by some of the sets.
All in all, a great experience but full of uncertainty. I prepped my daughter for the instance if we weren't able to make it into filming. But once we did, it was a fantastic adventure. We were there until about 9:45 pm. It was a veeeeery long taping and we were exhausted!
**TIPS**
*Bring snacks. You're there for hours without food
*Bring a sweater. It's freezing in the studio.
*Bring something for the kids to do. Hours of waiting is boring for them! (We were there a total of 9 hours; 4 of those hours waiting.)
*Cell phones are allowed to be brought in, they'll just have to be turned off.
And last but not least, have fun!
Feel free to ask questions or share experiences. Got any tips of your own?
No comments:
Post a Comment