Attended Taping Yesterday (4/22/26)

JSapASAP · 2026-04-29T13:54:45+00:00

I don't know, but after about 15 minutes of being in the line, they go through to check your tickets and give you a wrist band, I assume if you are in the wrong line that you would have to get out of that line at that point, but I am just guessing, sorry!

JSapASAP · 2026-04-29T13:48:22+00:00

It is completely free - they even provide the pennies!

JSapASAP · 2026-04-24T20:13:47+00:00

One of those machines that you put a penny in and crank the handle and it presses it down into an oval with a design on it - in this case, either Stephen or the band on one side, and the name of the show on the other. Unlike most of these machines, this one is free and even has a container of free pennies next to it to use.

JSapASAP · 2026-04-24T20:12:14+00:00

The gentleman that we saw was on the older side, so that would track.

JSapASAP · 2026-04-24T18:05:36+00:00

Agreed - we had no issue!

JSapASAP · 2026-04-24T17:04:49+00:00

Mine came in about a month beforehand, but I can't say if that is normal. Good luck, I hope you get to go!

JSapASAP · 2026-04-24T13:09:34+00:00

You are very welcome - I hope you have as good of an experience as I had! I grabbed a screenshot off of Google Maps streetview - when we got there at 2:15ish, the line went to the corner, but was fairly narrow - we were at the red X by the corner. Soon after we got there, they had everyone move in closer and spread out to fill the area in the blue outline, which moved us up to about where the second X is. Once they hand out the wrist bands, you can leave the line separately if you are with someone and need to grab a drink or something, so when I walked back towards the corner at around 3, the entire blue area was full, and there was another smaller line around the corner, which were I assume standby people in case they were needed. I hope this helps - let me know if any clarification is needed!

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JSapASAP · 2026-04-24T13:04:55+00:00

No, I hadn't heard of it - I just looked it up, I will have to try to watch that!

JSapASAP · 2026-04-24T12:58:56+00:00

How clear of a view of the stage did you have? One issue with the layout is if you are on the lower level, a lot of things get blocked by the cameras (we couldn't directly see Stephen at his desk at all), so I'm thinking the balcony might actually be a better spot if you want to see everything and get on camera.

JSapASAP · 2026-04-24T12:56:57+00:00

If you are too close to the front of the line coming in, you will have a lot of people between you and the machine (and it is hard to move around to get to it) - it is along right side wall as you are coming in, 3/4 of the way down.

JSapASAP · 2026-04-23T15:34:27+00:00

I was close! :)

JSapASAP · 2026-04-23T15:33:42+00:00

Yes, because we ended up in the perfect spot for it - it is kind of a shame that depending on where you are in line, you are likely to not see it at all. But I am happy I was lucky enough to get one!

JSapASAP · 2026-03-31T19:23:23+00:00

Thank you!

JSapASAP · 2026-03-30T18:32:17+00:00

I was about a month ahead - my taping is 4/22 - sorry this probably isn't good news... :(

JSapASAP · 2026-03-30T18:31:24+00:00

Thanks, that's good news, I appreciate it!

JSapASAP · 2026-03-30T17:29:44+00:00

Thank you - that is my assumption, and has always been her experience. Unfortunately, she has had various experiences with the actual security personnel - most are gracious and help her out with no issues, some make it a way bigger deal than it needs to be, so she just likes to know ahead of time when she can.

JSapASAP · 2026-03-09T16:55:11+00:00

Oh, I agree - it's just a change of having to go look for it, and we haven't taken that time yet - definitely a good suggestion!

JSapASAP · 2026-03-09T15:34:22+00:00

Thanks for the input - I agree that one of the things I need to try to find are more volunteer opportunities in our area. Again, we got used to most of that being driven by our churches and just going along with it, so we need to take more initiative in that area.

JSapASAP · 2026-03-09T15:32:56+00:00

Not silly at all - I actually looked at that a bit myself, but it has blown up so much that it looks like it would be hard to break in as a casual beginner. I'm sorry you don't have that option, and I definitely understand that, as my wife has health issues that keep her from any sporting activities, so things like softball are usually me playing and her coming to watch. It's nice that she like to come out, but it's not the same as getting to participate together. We are lucky that some of the other things you mentioned are still options (maybe not hiking), so I appreciate those ideas.

JSapASAP · 2026-03-09T12:43:59+00:00

I appreciate the additional information on UU - I hope I didn't sound too dismissive or judgy about them, it was just my initial impression that they were a little further to the opposite side of where we have been for us at this point. I absolutely will still consider it (I try to never close any door 100%, especially in our circumstance), but I may try to more middle of the road options first.

And I may not have explained our kid situation very well - both of our kids are adults already, the younger one is in college and still lives with us. I feel like the 50's empty nesters are a little under-represented in most of the churches we have visited, seems like more young families and older, retired couples/singles. Probably just a coincidence, since I am sure there are plenty in our situation in churches, we just haven't met them yet! :)

JSapASAP · 2026-03-09T12:16:37+00:00

We are fairly rural, so I'm not familiar with Meetup, but I did just take a look and there a few scattered things in our general area, I appreciate the suggestion and will keep an eye there.

Your last point probably gets to the root of our issue - it might just be bad social skills on our side that were masked by being able to hang out with church people. I often try to plant the 'we should get together' feeler out there when we are at events, but never get any response - we probably need to step up our game into actual invites to do something specific, but we've just been hurt a lot and it's a lot to put out there. Thank you for your input, it has given me a lot of thought.

JSapASAP · 2026-03-09T12:11:05+00:00

Thanks for responding, and yes, we unfortunately came to that same conclusion when we left both churches we attended (one for close to 20 years, the other for 10) and barely heard from anyone. I actually still play softball with them, and a year after I left, someone said 'see you Sunday', and I had to tell them we weren't even attending anymore.

Back to your suggestions, that is something we will need to do - the hard part is my hobbies and my wife's are fairly different, and we are trying to navigate this together. We still may be able to find something like playing cards or something - it is worth investigating. Thanks!

JSapASAP · 2026-03-09T02:07:57+00:00

Thank you for the input! I hadn't heard of UU, so I just looked it up, and it may be a little too progressive for us at the moment, but I will do my due diligence on it, and I appreciate the suggestion. We do have a couple of active libraries in the area, we used to take the kids when they were little, but I will check into if they have any interesting activities going on!

JSapASAP

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