Anyone been to the Daily Show taping recently?

March 30, 2008 1:28 PM

Got tx to the Daily Show with John Stewart. What time should I show up?

The tickets are reserved, but the show books greater number of reservations than there are seats. So even if I have reserved seats, I might not get in if I get there too late. If anyone's been to a taping recently, what time should I get there? Do I really need to be there at 3:30, or should I get there closer to 4 or even later, seeing as the door doesn't open till 5:15? I want to make sure that I get in, but also don't relish the idea of standing outside for 2 hours.
Below is info provided by the Daily Show people, FYI.
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Our “suggestion” on arrival time is between 3:30pm and 4:00pm. Your guests may meet you on line until 4:30pm. Past 4:31pm they will not be allowed to meet you on line. Please understand other people have been waiting outside just like you and courtesy is a must. If your guest shows up past 4:31pm they will be asked to get on the back of our General line. We over book all shows to ensure that all seats in the studio are full. Therefore, entry into the studio is on a first come first serve basis. You reserved your tickets with us but you will not be confirmed until we start giving out our studio tickets. Our doors open at 5:15pm. Show ends around 7:15pm.

posted by jujube to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 answers total)

From my experience, yes, you should really be there "ontime". Every time I've gotten Conan tickets, I've gotten there relatively early, and there have always been many people ahead of me. Standing in line for two hours isn't the greatest thing in the world, but the other linegoers have always been friendly, so that helped.
posted by Ruki at 1:41 PM on March 30, 2008

Look at it this way: everyone has the same notice saying 3:30-4:00. Everyone is going to be a pretty serious fan, and no one is going to want to miss the show. So as many people as possible will try to make it early, as long as they're not too averse to standing in line. If they suggest 4pm as the outside time, that's because they're used to turning away people who don't make it by that time. Dude, you're going to the Daily Show! That's so cool! What's an extra half-hour in line if it means you don't have to worry about getting a seat, or if it means being closer to Jon Stewart? Show up at 3:30. Bring a granola bar if it will help. Enjoy the awesomeness.
posted by Dasein at 2:09 PM on March 30, 2008

The Daily Show overbooks, so if you don't show up early, they'll fill the rest with people in the General line, so you may not get in. Their new studios are much bigger and seat more, but they want to fill it to the brim. Last time I went I showed up at 3:30 and everything was fine. Keep in mind its also a bit of a walk from the nearest subway station (like 15 minutes).
posted by Mach5 at 2:41 PM on March 30, 2008

Back in October, we got there around 3 and were maybe 20 spots back in line. This allowed us to sit on the ground and lean up against the building. After 40 people or so the line wraps back around and you'd have to stand. There's one deli close by, but definitely bring some food to snack on.
posted by djb at 3:00 PM on March 30, 2008

Have TDSed four times. My advice is you want to get there earlier rather than later. The Daily Show does overbook, but the bigger problem is the upper class of VIP ticket holders. They get to bump regular ticket holders, even if those ticket holders are on time. I've shown up at 4:15 and been fine, but I've also shown up at 3:45 and been so far back in the line that I've been bumped. I would try to get there at 3:30 and just bring something to keep yourselves occupied. And technically, only one of you has to be there super early anyway. The rest can join you around 4:15 (holding spots for your guests in line is the norm, not frowned upon).

The good news is that if you're bumped, you'll probably get offered VIP tickets to almost any future date you like. Then you won't have to show up early and wait in line.
posted by aswego at 3:21 PM on March 30, 2008

Echoing the advice that getting there as early as possible is best. Thanks to overbooking, people at the far back of the line have a small chance of not getting in (depending on how many ticketholders fail to show up), and those that do get in will be seated towards the back of the studio. So, if you value a good view of the show, get there at least an hour early.

If you want to get a more in-depth idea of what the taping process will be like, I suggest you check out this thread on the Colbert Report forum. It's a compilation of stories from members who've attended past tapings. Unfortunately the forum has become viewable only for logged-in members since the time I saw the thread last year, so you'll have to create an account to read it. But it's very helpful -- there's no better way on the 'net to learn about tapings through the eyes of gushing Colbert fan-girls.

Also, protip for the dedicated TDS/TCR fan: if you wait around the entrance to the Colbert Report studio after hours and have reasonably good timing/luck, you might be able to catch Stephen on his way home for the night. I waited after going to a taping last summer with a few others, talking and sharing pictures and risking an hour to grab a bite to eat. The security guy there warned us that Colbert might not have the patience to commiserate whenever he finally got finished (it was after 11PM at that point). But we stuck it out and were ultimately doubly rewarded -- Colbert and his old Strangers With Candy co-star Paul Dinello left the building together, all smiles and friendliness. They're incredibly gregarious people, very good with their fans. We all got handshakes and pictures and autographs, plus a great memory of the trip, so I think it was pretty worth the wait.

PS: This will NOT work with Jon Stewart. I hear he has a private tunnel connecting his studio to the parking garage to avoid the great unwashed...
posted by Rhaomi at 3:41 PM on March 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

(The end of that first paragraph should be "get there at least an hour earlier than the advised arrival time". Showing up an hour before the doors open is guaranteed to get you horrible seats.)
posted by Rhaomi at 3:44 PM on March 30, 2008

Both times I've gone, I got in line just before 4:00 and was fine, and way ahead of the cutoff point. That said, both of those instances were cold winter days. I suspect that makes a difference.
posted by doift at 4:04 PM on March 30, 2008