The Price is Right........C'mon down!!!!

So yesterday I told you the story of appearing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show twice. And when we went to the last Ellen show in April of this year, during the same trip we also went on The Price is Right. I told you that leading up to the taping of the Ellen Show is a long day....it doesn't even compare to The Price is Right. So this is how it goes....
We had 4 tickets for the show and myself and daughter were planning on going...I had mentioned to a friend of mine what we were doing on this vacation and that we had 2 extra tickets for The Price is Right. My friend said that she had always dreamt of being on the show and in her dreams she made it all the way to the showcase showdown, so she and her daughter (who lived in SoCal) were going to attend the taping with us.
So the morning of the show at 5:30 the 4 of us met at the CBS lot and were given a number...we were to return again at 8:00.....we got back at 8:00 and everyone was lined up on benches according to your number. This was definitely a wait, wait, and wait some more situation, but the people that are waiting in line for the The Price is Right are totally different than those that had waited for the Ellen Show. These people were crazy....excited...enthusiastic..., many had been there before and made their shirts bigger and better to get everyone's attention.
There were young people that worked for the show that went up and down the line and wrote everyone's name on a name tag with a corresponding number attached. The they came along with a polaroid camera and took your picture (I guess to see how you look on camera (?)
Something to keep in mind with both of these shows is that they always overbook the audience...so that there are no vacant seats....so you never know until you are seated in the studio that you are going to be on. So your in a state of anxiety all day wondering if you are gonna be booted at the last minute.
After you get your number you are moved to another area on the lot (closer to the studio) again...lined up on benches...and the producer of the show, along with an assistant takes everyone in groups of 6 and asks everyone just a couple of questions.....this is how they determine who they are picking for the show. So they want to see you enthusiastic, excited...etc. They ask basically where you are from, what you do for a living, just general questions like that.
After this you wait some more...(of course)...then everyone is lined up single file (just like elementary school) you go thru security, leave your cell phone (because you know there is always some idiot that can't follow instructions to turn it off), and they lead you into the studio.
The studio and set really surprised me...it was totally OLD SCHOOL...it was the same props, chairs, everything that they had been using for like 40 years. Contestants row seemed really cheap and made of cardboard, really as did everything there. And I have no idea where they kept the cars and prizes....you see absolutely nothing waiting for the show and inside of the studio. And, the studio is very small...maybe a hundred people or so.
Once everyone is in the studio they start playing some great dance music and everyone gets up, starts dancing and singing to get warmed up (we did that also at the Ellen Show...they actually have dance contests before the show and during commercials)...so everyone is getting excited.
Then the announcer comes out, introduces himself and tells us all a little bit about himself and how he got the job. Then he tells us if they call your name it is going to be so loud in there...you may not hear it....so there is a place on the stage where they will hold up a card with the name on it....just in case. Then they count down to the show and it starts just like you see on tv.
Another thing that is different about this show from Ellen is that Drew Carey stays on the stage during commercials and talks to the audience, tells jokes..answers questions. He was absolutely adorable and seemed so friendly and nice and he genuinely wanted everyone to win. Ellen does not mingle with her audience...what you see on tv is what happens...during the commercial break her set goes dark and they touch up her makeup, hair, clothing...etc.
When the show started 2 of the first contestants chosen where sitting right next to us....we were sitting about 4 rows directly behind contestants row.
Then on about the 3rd item up for bid....the next name called was...MY FRIEND...yep, just like her dreams!!! She didn't get up on the stage right away...but eventually won the bidding and got on stage. When she got on stage she had the opportunity to win a car...but ended up losing the car and winning money in a piggy bank...three hundred or so dollars....
Then when she spun the wheel to get into the showcase showdown.....yep....SHE HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER AND WAS CHOSEN!!!!
When it came time for the showcase showdown...the first package contained a computer, some other things (don't really remember) and TWO CARS!!!! The first contestant passed on this package and my friend was to bid on it...
Now one very important note here.....my friend, although she always dreamed of being on the show had not watched it in many years...so she was unfamiliar with alot of the games and how the bidding works...and I in preparation for going to the show had tivo'd the show during the day to watch at night in preparation...just in case I was picked....so she was looking to me every time she had bid.....except this time......and she bid two thousand dollars more that I had told her.
When time came to reveal if anyone had won....she had overbid by fifteen hundred dollars!! So she lost not one, not two, but three cars that day!!! But, because she had not watched the show, she thought that she won because she was closer than the other bidder, but she went over. So poor thing, was still a little shocked when they shuffled her off the stage.
It was an awesome day...very long....when we walked out of the studio it was about 3:00. They told all of us that if we wanted to stay for a second taping there were some seats available...it was very tempting...but we were exhausted...we went out to an awesome lunch and cocktails....of course my friend picked up the tab!!
I know that pictures always make the story more exciting...but due to the size of this post...I'm gonna let you use your imagination.
P.S. We are planning to go again in April....woo hoo!!!!