***I realize this is kind of detailed. However, I found the blogs of other people SUPER helpful when I was searching for information on camping out for tickets- so figured I should include some details that may help other people***
Back in August, Liz and I decided to enter the SNL ticket lottery and we won. Once we found out that Christina Applegate was hosting, we knew we had to go. Courtney decided to go and this meant we needed a third ticket.
So, we googled the mess out of the whole “how to get standby tickets” process and found out it would involve camping out the night before at NBC studios.
So, that’s what we decided to do.
Friday night Liz got into NYC at about 5:00 and went straight to the studio to get in line. There were about 35 people in front of her. Courtney and I arrived at about 9:30 that night and got to the line as soon as possible.
We brought with us sleeping bags, blankets and lots of layers. There were others in line who brought air mattresses, folding chairs, laptops. By morning time there was around 90 people in line I assume.
Sleeping out there wasn’t bad. There’s even a security guard who watches the line all night. I did have some moments in the middle of the night where I thought, “How does one know when they’re too cold? Would I know if my toes were frostbitten? Why did I think this sleeping bag would be warm enough?”
Around 6:45 a.m. a man came by and gave out free donuts and hot beverages to the people in line. Then at 7:00 the NBC staff came out and started handing out tickets. You could choose between tickets to the rehearsal (right before the show) or the live show. Courtney chose the dress rehearsal ticket since that’s what we had. Also, the dress rehearsal has more sketches. She got number 11, so we felt like her odds of getting into the show that night were pretty good.
That evening, Liz and I went in to the studio about 30 minutes before standby people could, and then we sat and watched for Courtney. I was SO excited when she came through the door and even more so when they seated her near us.
It was an incredible experience. The amount of time these people have to change for each skit, and the amount of dialogue they need to be able to spout off each week is unreal. And the constant set changes? All of it was just crazy to watch.
The host of the show has a staff member assigned to them. This person would literally grab Christina off the stage and drag her to her next location. It made me laugh to watch this. If people got in her path, that lady just shoved them out of the way. It was fantastic.
So, was it worth the camping out? Heck. Yes.