Live with Regis and Kelly

The right after I booked the hotel and airline I requested tickets to "Live with Regis and Kelly". This was back in November. On-line it gave instructions for mailing in a postcard with available dates. We gave them Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The tickets would be randomly given out 1-3 weeks before the show. I did not get too excited about it though I really wanted to go. The Tuesday before we left the tickets arrived in the mail. Bekah recognized the "LIVE" logo on the envelope and said "Kelly". Our tickets were for Tuesday, our first full day in NYC.

We had our "ticket" really a letter with a confirmation number. You have to call in to make your 'ticket' valid. I did that right away so that I wouldn't forget. They it gives instruction about getting into the show. It is very clear that the getting into the show is not guaranteed (probably due to liability issues). You have to be there in time and seating not reserved. We got our tickets a week before we left. I went on-line to check who was going to be on the show. At that point it was only announcing Kim Catrell from "...and the city". I went online later and saw that DAVID COOK was going to be on the show. I didn't tell DH because I wanted to surprise him. Because David Cook (who is the winner of American Idol) was going to be on the show the waiting line was crazy. There are basically three ways to get in 1. VIP 2. confirmed ticket holders and 3. waiting to see if tickets are available. VIPs get right into the building and do whatever VIPs get to do before the show. They rest of the people (2 & 3) have to wait outside. That morning it was raining. We walked from the hotel to the studio. It had been our original plan to take a cab, but while we were wandering the day before we realized that we walked close to the studio. It was worth it to get up early and save money walking. Once saw the studio and the line(s) outside we made a quick stop into Starbucks to get a Carmel Macchiato to go. Caffeine and warmth are good things for early rainy days. We were told there was an 'inside' (have tickets) and 'outside'(waiting) line. My logic tell me that 'inside' means in the building. This is not the case. The 'inside' line was right up against the building. Since it was David Cook crazy and the the outside line was long and thick. We were very confused about this "inside" line. We actually stood in the outside line until we figured it out. Once the line was allowed inside we went through security checks and getting the official card that allows admission to the taping. From then on it was smooth sailing for us. We were seated about 20 minutes before the show. We got brief coaching from Michael Gelman (producer) on clapping and cheering. Did you know that clapping faster is louder than clapping harder? Good to know for future reference. For me it was an experience to be on the set of a show that I watch on a regular basis. Bekah KNOWS Kelly. She gets upset on days when there is a sub. co-host in her place. "Kelly? Where is Kelly?" In some ways the studio seemed smaller than I thought it would be. I liked seeing all the last minute stuff that happens right before Regis and Kelly come out onto the stage. My favorite part of the show is the host chat which is generally 15 minutes at the beginning. During the taping watching it is so different. On the TV the camera has a tight shot on them. At the studio you have them on stage, cameras and monitors all to look at. Gelman is also sitting on the sidelines with a marker and cardboard waiting to write a message to them if necessary. When the audience laughs or claps you can't hear them. They are mic-ed mainly for the TV not for the audience. It was interesting to see how the trivia game worked live. Right now they are doing "Spring Trivia a Gro-Go". For the winter it was "Yhetti Trivia a Sno-Go" and they had a person in a Yhetti costume. For the spring they started out with a Flower costume. It did not have the same effect as the Yhetti. So one Monday early in the spring the flower did show up during the Trivia segment. Bekah was very concerned about this "Where's the flower?" Regis must have been too because he asked Gelman about it. Gelman's answered "its at the cleaners". And it has been at the cleaners ever since! After the trivia phone contestant finishes their turn (this time they won the trip) they pick a number between 1 and 150 to choose an audience member to win a prize. We had a 1 in 75 chance so I wasn't very hopeful about getting it. During the commercial breaks Regis and Kelly came up into the audience to talk to people. I wasn't expecting that and it was very nice to see them interacting with their adoring fans.I only have one disappointment about my Regis and Kelly experience and it can be summed up in two words THE MUG. When the tickets arrive in the mail an merchandise order form is included. It says "Our lobby Kiosk has many items for you to purchase as a souvenir of your visit. In case you want to order some of our merchandise after your trip home...Please see the order form on back." I left for NYC knowing 100% that my souvenir for the trip was going to be the official mug, the one that matches the one Kelly drinks out of every morning. I was going to 'have coffee' with Kelly. While we were in the lobby something that looked Kiosk-ish was there. It had the LIVE logo and we took our picture with the sign. However there was no opportunity to buy merchandise before the show. I thought that after the show we'd be given the opportunity. After the show we were quickly lead out the a cargo bay and had to push through the MOB waiting for David Cook. I'm thinking that since David Cook was there it was not an ordinary day. We'll I still have my order form and can get my mug. The $9.85 shipping and handling is hard for me to take since I was THERE. I ended up getting another mug in the city. I'm holding off on getting the show mug for now. I might ask DH's to get it for me for Christmas.