What to Expect if You’re an Audience Member at “The View”

For my dad’s 80th birthday, we surprised him with a trip to NYC to visit the 9/11 Memorial and to witness a live taping of “The View.” (We’ll never let him forget that once we were seated in the audience, he took a look at the stage and asked, “Where are the chairs that spin around?”  Ha!  He thought he was going to a taping of “The Voice!”) I thought it would be helpful to put together a list for you so you know what to expect if you’re an audience member at the view.

Getting Tickets (p.s. tickets are always free!)

Our decision to surprise my dad didn’t happen until we were watching fifteenth- anniversary ceremonies on September 11th.  We already had a trip to NYC planned – we were going to be in NJ for a wedding, and we were going to be driving our baby girl back to college from NJ to NYC on Sunday, October 16th.  I was surprised at how easy it was to get tickets to the show for October 17th since it was just one month away. I went to this website, answered the questions, and waited only two weeks to receive an email stating that we had secured tickets to the “priority line.”

There is a space on the ticket application that asks something like, “Why Do You Want to Go to ‘The View’.” I don’t remember the exact phrasing, but you get the idea.  I answered truthfully, and you should, too! I don’t know if my answer had anything to do with our securing the tickets so easily, but this is what I wrote:

We’ll be surprising my father with a trip to NYC for his 80th birthday.  Both he and my husband were diagnosed with cancer within one month of each other.  When my father was having his first chemo treatment, my husband was in the same hospital having a tumor removed from his colon.  They both have been cancer-free for five years and we need a reason to have a good laugh.

What to Wear

When you receive the email with your ticket, you are told to wear bright colors to the show.  I wore a red top with black pants, but some people wore nice jeans.  Wear comfortable shoes.

Parking

We drove into the city from NJ, so we had our rental car with us.  We wanted to arrive for the line by 8:30 am, (the ticket says to get in line at 9am, but you’ll want to be at the front of the line.) We were worried that parking would be an issue, and since we were on a time-constraint to leave as soon as the show ended, we reserved a parking space in the Icon Parking Garage not far from ABC Studios. We arrived at the parking garage before 10 am, so we received the early-bird rate of $18.00.  It’s too bad that we had to leave the city as soon as the taping was over because we could have left the car there all day for that price. And it’s valet parking!

Waiting in Line, Part I

When you receive your email confirmation, you’ll be asked to print your confirmation ticket, which shows if you are a “Priority Ticket Holder.”  If you are, it’s pretty certain that you will be admitted.  Make sure that everyone in your party has their id with them because someone from ABC will check your id. (Note:  if you are unable to attend, be sure to notify the ticket company.  Apparently, they keep track of these things and it could hurt your chances the next time you try to get tickets for a show.)

When you arrive at the studio, there are two lines, one for priority ticket holders and one for everyone else.  Luckily, even though it was mid-October, the weather was beautiful.  I couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable it would have been to stand outside in the wind and cold.

Waiting in Line, Part II

After we were allowed into the building, we went through a metal detector.  There were people there to greet us and offered us a complimentary ice-cold bottle of either apple juice or cranberry juice from one of the show’s sponsors.  The show doesn’t start until 11am, and it’s a live show, so this “holding area” is a brilliant idea!  (It’s actually the lunch room area for the ABC commissary.) There are tables and chairs so people can sit and chill or grab a snack from the snack bar while you wait until it’s time to enter the studio.

The one tip I have to mention here is to tell you to use the restroom before you get in line and definitely before you enter the holding area.  There is a time when they will call everyone up who has to use the restroom, but getting from that point to the actual restroom is no easy feat.  You have to wait in another line and they only take about six people at a time.  You are then escorted to another part of the building to use the restroom.  If you gotta go, you gotta go.  But if you can hold it, I would.

There is also a table to purchase “The View” merchandise.  After you buy your souvenirs, they give you a claim ticket to pick up your items after the show.

Before the Show Begins

They take people from the holding area in three different groups into the studio.  The group they call you in doesn’t matter.  There is no preferential treatment when it comes to seating in the studio, and frankly, it doesn’t matter where you sit. (More on that later.)

Roger Lundblade did a fabulous time with audience warm-up.  I enjoyed the fact that it was a live show because things moved along very quickly.  The show HAD to start at 11am and end at noon.

Commercial Breaks

During the commercial breaks, Roger made more jokes and even asked my dad if he was enjoying himself.  There must be someone somewhere watching members of the studio audience because Roger went right up to my dad and pointed out that he had a scowl on his face the entire time.  (I guess he was still pretty upset that we weren’t at “The Voice.”  Actually, my dad was trying to function in NYC with a bad back, and he did pretty well.)  As someone who doesn’t shy away from a photo op, I mentioned to Roger that it was my dad’s 80th birthday and that he was a cancer survivor, and before I knew it, the entire audience was singing “Happy Birthday” to him. 🙂

The Co-Hostesses

This was my only disappointment and it’s the reason why I mentioned that it doesn’t really matter where you sit, because they are going to ignore you.  On the day we were there, the co-hostesses were Whoopi, Candace, Joy, Sarah, and Jedidiah.  I went into this whole “audience member” thing knowing what our role was.  It’s a TV show, and the co-hostesses play to the camera and the home audience. The studio audience is there to make noise.  However, it would have been nice if the co-hostesses acknowledged us!  Aside from answering a couple of audience questions, there was no interaction at all.  I don’t know what goes on before or after the show, but during the show, they do their thing and nothing else.  What a cushy job!

During the Show

Clay Aiken was the only guest and they showed a video of interviews he did with Trump supporters. We were told to make “ooh” and “aahh” noises while the video was playing.  Once again, it was all about Clay and the women and the cameras.  Even when he walked onto the stage, there was no wave or hello to the studio audience and he was never introduced to the audience.

View Your Deal 

I love “View Your Deal,” and I’ve even purchased a few of the products that they have shown.  I was excited that it was “View Your Day” for us!  We each went home with a Wall Pops! Wall Art Kit and a Berry Breeze Fridge Fresh. (Is it just me, or did “The View” used to give the audience waaay more stuff?)

After the Show

They dismiss the audience in three sections based on where you are seated.  You leave through a hallway where people hand you a bag with your free items.  You are then led down a few hallways and you exit the building, free to roam the fabulous streets of NYC, just in time for lunch.  And the restroom.