# Any advice on Jay Leno Tonight Show taping?



## Karen G

We have tickets for July 19 when we'll be spending a timeshare week in San Clemente. The instructions say to arrive no later than 2:45 p.m. but it's first come, first served. Does anyone have any advice about how early to get in line, best route to take from San Clemente, or any other helpful tips? Thanks in advance for any help.


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## CapriciousC

Does it say how early they'll let you line up?  I've never been to a Leno taping, but I have been to other show tapings in LA, and people often start lining up a couple of hours in advance.

As for route, from San Clemente you'd take the 5 north, but after that it would depend on where the show tapes.  Is it Hollywood, Studio City, Burbank?


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## Karen G

CapriciousC said:


> Does it say how early they'll let you line up?   . . . Is it Hollywood, Studio City, Burbank?


It says to arrive no later than 2:45 p.m. for the 4 p.m. taping.  It also says that the general audience is admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis and that having the ticket does not guarantee admission.

 It is in the NBC Burbank lot, studio 11, just off the 134 freeway.


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## CapriciousC

I'd probably take the 5 all the way up to the 134.  The 5 can tend to bog down around the 5 / 10 / 101 interchange, but there's really not much to do about it.  Surface streets will probably be worse.

I haven't been to the NBC lot in Burbank - I wonder if there's anything else to do there in case you arrived early and they wouldn't let you line up yet?  I would tend to think that Leno is a very popular show to try and view, so I guess I'd err on the side of caution and get there around noon or so.


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## 360joules

Hi Karen

I just attended the jay leno show taping on monday, the show featured howie mandel , david feherty.

Like you I wasnt sure what to expect. I found it to be well organized and relatively painless. 

we arrived around 12:30, the entrance is on a side street, away from the main traffic which is nice. They have a parking lot across the street from the entrance that cost 5 dollars . they are open from 12-6 i believe. there were signs directing you to the lot with jays name and picture. I suggest parking there. just be sure to leave after the taping because the gate will be locked at 6pm.

You will cross the street and enter the property thru a pedestrian entrance. go pass the first guard shack and on your left you will see some metal detectors and nbc staff.

you will pass thru the metal detector and give them your emailed reservation, they will check IDs. they will hand each person in your party a laminated card with a number on it. that is your place in line and the order they will let you into the main studio. 

I was given number 50 and 51, and we arrived at 1230. I heard from word of mouth that the place holds 300. around 1:30 i noticed folks getting numbers 230 and up. In my opinion if you arrive after 2pm chances are you wont get in. 

whats nice is they really make the effort to keep everyone organized and in numerical order while in line. its a fair process .

If you have a number over 200 , you may have to stand in the sun, they have covered benches , but not everyone fit.

another friendly tip..go ahead and bring your cellphone, they help pass the time and are allowed in the studio as long as they are turned off.

Now one of the true mysteries. seat assignments. they will seat all guests and they dont take requests or honor changes. they seat people at random.

I was seated in front of the people that had number 37 but some that had very high numbers sat in front of me. 

however, the bulk of the early arrivals sat close, and the bulk of the late arrivals were higher up.

All the seats offer a great view. it was an awesome experiance, just arrive between 12 and 1 and you will be fine


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## Karen G

360joules, thank you so much for the information. It's very helpful. I'm going to print out your post and heed your advice.  We're really looking forward to the show.

Karen


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## tombo

360joules said:


> Now one of the true mysteries. seat assignments. they will seat all guests and they dont take requests or honor changes. they seat people at random.
> 
> I was seated in front of the people that had number 37 but some that had very high numbers sat in front of me.
> 
> however, the bulk of the early arrivals sat close, and the bulk of the late arrivals were higher up.
> 
> All the seats offer a great view. it was an awesome experiance, just arrive between 12 and 1 and you will be fine



They tend to place younger more attractive people up front. They also walkthrough the lines talking to people before you get in the studio and often the bubbly people they assume will laugh get down front.

I have been several times and got there early and sat down front. However they are (or were) sexist. A young woman with a mini skirt or micro shorts will be placed front row but a guy with shorts will not be (or at least wasn't placed on the front row when we were there a few years ago). One of the people working the crowd told me before I went in that I was there early enough but the shorts (knee length) would mean no way I was on the front row so I would know to wear long pants if I came back. My wife told me before we went to wear long pants and I said what difference would that make? I forgot the cardinal rule: The wife is always right. How many years did I get to hear that we got there 6 hours early to sit on the front row but didn't get to because I wore shorts.......  Still paying for that one.

Have fun and get there REAL EARLY so you can sit in the front few rows where you get to charge the stage and shake Jay's hand as the show begins.


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## Karen G

tombo said:


> They tend to place younger more attractive people up front.


We experienced that when we went to the David Letterman show in NYC. They had a really complicated system of putting people into groups with special names.  They told us we would be in the "Top Ten" group and made us think that was a really special group. We had chairs to sit in in the lobby, while everyone else was waiting in lines that went back and forth like Disneyland. They told us we'd have special seats and took us in first. When they said "you'll be near the door so if anything happens we can get you out right away" that was our first clue that we weren't really "special."

Looking around at the rest of our "Top Ten" group we noticed we were all about the same age--over 60.  When they marched us in and put us far enough back in the auditorium that should the camera ever pan the audience, we'd be unrecognizable, we realized our fate.  Next they marched in the young, hip crowd down to the front.

But, we did notice that since we were over to side nearer the band, we could actually see a bit better because right in front of Dave are the cameras, directors, guy with cue cards, etc. who all block the view a bit.

It was still a fun experience, and we're looking forward to another fun time at Jay's show.


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## mbger1

As was stated in a previous post, make sure and arrive no later than 1:00P.M. and 12 would be better. Very organized. You will have a GREAT time.


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## hvsteve1

The posters are right when they say the staff scan the potential audience to decide who they do and don't want on camera...especially at Leno where the people down front run up to the stage when Jay comes out. They also have to consider who to put in the aisles on nights when Jay goes into the audience.

Interesting story: Some years ago I worked for a company within commuting distance of NYC where someone had contacted the Letterman show to get a group of us in. The audience coordinator was interested. However, there was correspondence back and forth stressing the importance that everyone in the group be a Letterman fan. We were told specifically that we had to be aware of all the inside jokes and be familiar with his "schtick". We were given the distinct impression that everyone arriving as part of the group would, at some point, be quizzed and evaluated. For some reason the trip never came off, so I don't know how serious they were.


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## Karen G

hvsteve1 said:


> We were given the distinct impression that everyone arriving as part of the group would, at some point, be quizzed and evaluated. For some reason the trip never came off, so I don't know how serious they were.


They do ask you questions about some of the regular people who appear on the show. There was a character called "Grinder Girl" and they asked us a question about her.


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## Karen G

Thanks for all the info above. We went to the show yesterday and arrived at noon. Our party of four had numbers 10, 11, 12, & 13. They allowed two of us to come in and sit on the benches and the other two went to get food nearby. We ate our lunch while we waited.  We got to sit on the third row of the floor seats over to the left in front of the area where the music guests perform.

The young, hip people including the girls in the short skirts sat in front of us, but we were able to go up with the crowd for "high fives" with Jay at the start of the show. He grabbed my hand and I saw myself on tv last night. Yay!

Afterward we went to Universal Studios City Walk for dinner. We were surprised to see Jay Leno there taping segments for the "Jaywalking" stories. He really got over there fast!  Since we weren't able to take pictures in the studio of the Tonight Show, we did get some pictures of Jay at Universal.

It was a great experience and we like the studio and the process much better than the Letterman show experience.


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## 360joules

Karen G said:


> Thanks for all the info above. We went to the show yesterday and arrived at noon. Our party of four had numbers 10, 11, 12, & 13. They allowed two of us to come in and sit on the benches and the other two went to get food nearby. We ate our lunch while we waited.  We got to sit on the third row of the floor seats over to the left in front of the area where the music guests perform.
> 
> The young, hip people including the girls in the short skirts sat in front of us, but we were able to go up with the crowd for "high fives" with Jay at the start of the show. He grabbed my hand and I saw myself on tv last night. Yay!
> 
> Afterward we went to Universal Studios City Walk for dinner. We were surprised to see Jay Leno there taping segments for the "Jaywalking" stories. He really got over there fast!  Since we weren't able to take pictures in the studio of the Tonight Show, we did get some pictures of Jay at Universal.
> 
> It was a great experience and we like the studio and the process much better than the Letterman show experience.



Yay...sounds like you had a great time. I meant to get back on here to let you know about getting lunch . I think its great they allow that. 

It appears the difference in a 12 noon arrival and a 12:30 arrival is pretty signifigant. around 40+ people and in getting a floor seat vs up in the stands. next time I will get there earlier.

Its great you got to see him on jaywalking at universal. Ive always wondered when he tapes those. 

Im looking forward to going again sometime


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## Karen G

360joules said:


> Im looking forward to going again sometime


Me, too! We had a blast.


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