My son and I decided to go up to Los Angeles and make a visit to see The Price is Right. It was a fun and exciting experience, but I really wish I had known some things ahead of time, like:
1. Arrive early- The Price is Right is a first come- first served type of situation. We went on a Monday when they do two tapings. We got in line at 4:10- in the morning and were numbers 69 and 70. Everything is done according to numerical order, so the sooner you get there, the better chance you have of seeing a taping, and the better seat you will have once in the studio. By 8:00, both tapings were full. The guy at the head of the line had been there since 7 p.m. the evening before, which I consider a little extreme, but hey, he got to be number one. They only allow about 320 people into a taping at once, so not everyone gets in, which leads to:
2. Bring a chair and something to do- I had heard this, so my son and I brought some chairs with us, for which I was ever so grateful. We ended up in line on the street for 2 total hours, an amount of time I would not have wanted to stand. Also, you spend a lot of time waiting around- I brought some cards with me.
3. There are no bathrooms for you to use while you are waiting in line on the street! There is a convenience store across the street, which sometimes lets people use their bathroom, but they cut us off after a few people walked over.
3. Be prepared to pay to park- The only parking around (that I could find) was at The Grove, which is an upscale mall next to the CBS studios. When I say upscale, I mean really upscale, as in the food court consists of Maggiano's and Cheesecake Factory. It was a beautiful mall, though. The cost of parking when we went was 3.00 for the first hour and 1.00 for each subsequent fifteen minutes, up to a total of 24.00, which was the max for the day. I paid 24.00 when I left, as we parked at 4:00 a.m. and left around 2:00. Also, The Grove does not accept cash, or they didn't when we went. You'll need a credit or debit card.
4. Contestants are not randomly picked- You will go through an interview, which is how they choose. This interview lasts a total of about 20 seconds, so make it good. Be really excited and smile. The producers will call you up in groups of 10. It goes like this- Hi Cathy. What do you do? I work at..blank. Oh? How is that? Oh, it's..blank. End of interview. He did talk to my son a little longer than that. What do you do? I'm a student, about to graduate. What's your major? I'm in high school. Oh- what do you want to do then? Go to college and be a male...um...nurse. Oh- ha ha. I thought you were gonna say male stripper. End of interview.
So, basically, that's all you need to know. Here is how the day went down.
4:10- Got in line and talked to people around me. The guy next to us was a dairy farmer from Wisconsin and a pretty interesting guy.
6:00- Everyone in line is given an "order of arrival" ticket and told to come back by 8. We went over to The Grove looking for a Starbucks or something and found a coffee shop and a bathroom in an area behind the mall called the Farmer's Market.
7:30- Headed back over to CBS. Showed our order of arrival passes and ID to the security guard, and he sent us over to a holding area at the side of the building. There are bathrooms here, and narrow benches. Also, they began setting up a snack bar with a microwave for people to use. I never did, but it was nice that it was there, had I wanted it.
8:00- Discovered that if you didn't come back by 8, you were out of luck. Don't be late! Get there before 8! We are grouped into lots of 30, according to the number on our order of arrival ticket and placed on benches per lot. Everything is done in numerical order. We are given a white card and a green ticket. The green ticket is your ticket in. If you get one of those, you're in the audience. Also,the line shortened during this. We were now numbers 60 and 61. During this, we fill out the cards and the tickets, and it is during this time that...ahhhhh....you are given your price tag looking name tag! After everyone got their tags and tickets, we are then all lined up to have our pictures taken in front of a green screen. This is to sell souvenier photos, which are purchased when you get home online. Once my son and I had our pics taken, we headed over to holding area number 2, around the corner, where we sat, in numerical order, and waited.
10:00- Interview time! We actually had our interview around 10:45. I promptly forgot my own advice and durred my way through it. I don't even think I looked him in the eye- I was pretty nervous.
11:00- Our group's interview is over, and we are corralled over to the final holding area, in the back of the building. We walked through a security scanner, much like the one at the airport. If you have a camera, a cell phone, or an Ipod, they will take it there. My son's Ipod was confiscated and he was given a claim ticket for when we came out of the show. We then sat in numerical order on more benches. They had televisions hanging from the ceiling, where they showed an episode of TPIR. Everyone was yelling prices at the TVs- it was pretty exciting.
12:00- We went in! The page got us, we walked up two flights of stairs and entered the Bob Barker studio. We were all seated, in numeric order. My son and I sat on the fourth row, right behind contestant's row.
12:20- The taping began! It was very exciting-neither my son or I was called, but we had a great time. It's about being part of Americana. Drew Carey was hilarious, and you could tell he really enjoyed being with and talking to the audience. He talked to us during every commercial break.
1:45- Taping was over. There were 3 cars offered, but no one won one. I left with a new respect for the people who actually get called, because they have to make snap decisions for the prices of items while listening to 300 people behind them scream. I was tired and worn out from clapping, jumping and yelling, but I was extemely glad I went.
