Growing up, I used to watch The Price is Right every morning at 11 A.M. during school break. Watching the show tape with host Bob Barker was on My Adventure List – until he retired. However, I’ve always been fascinated with the Entertainment Industry and love watching how the magic happens. On Sunday I had the opportunity to watch The Ellen Show tape at Universal Orlando. This was my first television taping experience. So I’ve created some tips to help your first taping be successful.
1. Get Your Tickets
Tickets go quick. They weren’t available day-of. Planning is the key here. Since seats are often limited, you’ll need to get those tickets early. And by early, you need to sit at the computer at the second they come available. My friend Erin was project manager of snagging tickets. And while the reserved seats were all gone, she was able to get 4 Standby tickets. Standby tickets mean just that, there’s no guarantee that we’ll even get to see the show. See #’s 2 & 5.
In short; Sometimes it’s a matter of luck combined with your Internet Speed and quick typing abilities that get those tickets.
Sorry kids, there’s no secret workaround here.
2. Arrive in line early
I hate waiting in line. But sometimes you have no choice – and this is one of those occasions. Since we weren’t sure if we’d have seats, we needed to arrive at the park early. How early should you go? The earlier the better. We arrived at 10 A.M. for a 3 P.M. taping, a full 5 hours before the event. The first person in line told me he was there since 6:30 in the morning. That’s 8.5 hours of waiting. So, depending on your patience level, arrive early. See #3.
3. Go with friends; Make some friends
You’ll be waiting around in the same spot for a long time. We didn’t move from the same spot for a full 2.5 hours. These aren’t the kinds of events you’ll be okay with going alone. Friends are good because they’ll save your spot in case you need to run to the restroom, grab some food (see #4) or explore. Plus they’re good to socialize with. Thank you to the iPhone, we played Words With Friends together. A Scrabble-like game that happens on multiple phones.
When you’re through playing games, strike up a conversation with the people in front and behind you. Chances are they are just as bored as you are. You may meet some fun people and the time will pass much quicker. Misery loves company, so you can always start your conversation talking about how long the line is or something bland like that.
4. Plan breaks accordingly
You’ll never know when the line will move, so eat a big breakfast and don’t drink too much. A venti ice tea late in the game makes for a tortuous decision – go to the bathroom and possibly lose your place in line if the queue advances OR… stay in line and ensure your admittance, but have to wee real bad. Fortunately for The Ellen Show, dancing is the motion du jour. Who cares if your version of the dance is the Pee Pee Dance!
Eat and drink early so the only focus the rest of the time you’re waiting in line is getting those seats.
5. Manage your expectations
Remember, you have Standby tickets! You may not get in. Part of the adventure is the waiting around. So have some fun. Don’t be upset if you can’t get in. The Ellen Show may put you in “The Riff Raff Room” as a consolation prize…unless of course you’re lucky enough to have those standby tickets turn into SEAT TICKETS!
6. Have fun!
You’re here to have fun. Remember that. Don’t let the rain stop you. Dance your little heart out to every tune that Tony the DJ plays. Stand up, cheer, clap and dance dance dance. This is what it’s all about.
Everything was done in almost real time. We had breaks for commercials and filmed in order (except for the closing being done before the musical guest – I think because the rain was getting worse). We were prepared as Ellen gave out ponchos and water to keep us comfortable for whichever climate we’d encounter.
Oh, and what exactly did we see? Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise. You’ll have to watch the show to find out.
I’ll have to say, Ellen is fantastic. Funny, smart, approachable…She’s the whole package. She has non-stop energy, a great smile and during the pauses for commercial breaks, would always wave (and dance some more until a producer would share her notes for the next segment). At the end of the filming off-camera, she thanked all of us and shared how much she appreciated our excitement during a very wet afternoon.
A true professional. Thank you Ellen for a terrific afternoon.
I’ve posted a few more photos on my Facebook fan page. You can view them here (and why not become a fan too?)
Do you have any tips on how to score tickets for your favorite television show taping? Share them here by commenting below.
I’ll see you out there…! (and you might see me on The Ellen Show, Friday, April 2nd)
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Sounds like it was fun. Also I noticed you have the same smile in all your pictures haha.
It’s my brand! Thanks for noticing.
Hey did you end up making it in? I have standby tickets for this Sunday and I dont know how early we should go :/
We’re planning on getting there at 730/800 ish. We have tickets again for this year.
So jealous!! I love watching Ellen. She does have a great, happy character that makes everyone feel good.
Natalie recently posted something special..Turkish Women – Meet A Mother Called Hatica
I think that’s why everyone enjoys Ellen. No one likes a downer. Ellen’s positivity makes us all feel great! Thanks for commenting.
Hey Ben! I’m not sure if you will see this or not because it looks like you wrote this post last year but I was wondering about the standby tickets? Did the show call you and tell you you had specific standby tickets and not actual tickets or did you just show up extra early to “stand by” and hope you would get the tickets?
I requested tickets the day after they were put up online and never got a call back
I live here in Orlando, and actually work at Citywalk so it would be no problem for me to go up there extra early to attempt to get into the show. Do you know if I can just show up and try that?
I didnt get tickets last year and its been my dream to see a taping! the concert part was fun but its just not the same as being in the audience so I’m trying to find any other way to possibly make it into the audience even though I didnt get a call.
I would love you advice.
Thanks again!
-Kendra
We had standby tickets I believe. It was a friend of mine who had arranged it all.
Hi Ben, Great blog about The Ellen Show. She is returning and I am excited I got two tickets to the show! Will I have to wait in that big line to clam my seat or was that huge line for Standby only??
If memory serves me well, the big line was for people who were going standby.
If you have tickets, I think you’ll be okay. The long line was for standby ticket holders – if memory serves me well.
Very awesome post. I just stopped by by your site and wished to state that I have really loved browsing your posts. Any way, I’ll be subscribing to your RSS feed and likewise I hope you put up once more quickly!
Hello. Great post! I have standby tix for a show in May. Was wondering what time it was when the taping ended? Am trying to a make a dinner reservation. Haha. Thanks!!
Hey Sandy. Sorry for the delay in my response. I’m currently in South Africa and didn’t have Internet Access the past few days. Taping was almost an hour. I was surprised that they taped it in real time. So, for a 3 PM taping, we were done just before 4 PM. They kept pretty close to starting on time. If you’re watching Ellen at her own studio it may take longer – I don’t have any expertise there. Thanks for commenting. Where ya going for dinner?
Hi Ben,
Do not forget your experience in the movie industry.You were able to see how movies are made.
Movies and Television were similar, but also very different. That was my 16th Birthday. I can’t forget that!
It was a lot of fun and the looking back the 5 hours in line flew by
The time did fly!
Words With Friends….. an educational time passer:) Thanks for introducing it to me Benjamin!
My pleasure!
Love your post
Glad you got to join us!!!
Thank you for the tickets!
First of all “Your here to have fun” should be spelled “You’re here to have fun.” Secondly, does Legends of the Hidden Temple, filmed at the very same location as the Ellen show, not count as a television taping experience?
Thanks for the proofing. Corrected. And while Legends does technically count… it’s so far back and I was so young that I didn’t want to count it because I couldn’t talk with any authority about it. Thank you Orange Iguana – or is it Green Monkey?