Mom, Ryan, Maddie, & I started the morning with some Starbucks coffee, as always, called an uber, and headed over to the Warner Brothers Studios. We were dropped off at a line that had already formed in the parking garage and started chatting with the people around us. Majority of the people had never been before and just like us, were checking it off a bucketlist. After about 45 minutes, we started moving to check in, which included showing our covid vaccine cards & negative covid tests. We were then handed a golden ticket & a blue mask to match everyone that would be on tv. The security guards ushered us into a holding pin and told us we would be walking to the studio in about 30 minutes. Excitement was really setting in! We had no idea who the guests were or what even to expect.
Soon enough, our ticket numbers were called and to the studio we went! They put us in a halfway with photos from previous seasons and iconic moments from the show. After everyone made their way in, we moved into the Ellen shop, also known as the Riff Raff room. I bought some Ellen underwear, a sweatshirt, & an Ellen Funko Pop as well as took loads of photos. About another 20 minutes went by and FINALLY, we were told to put away our phones and head into the taping room. They ushered us in and put the 4 of us towards the center with me on the aisle seat. We clapped, danced with Twitch, and watched a show and a half be filmed. Because Ludacris was on two different segments, he came out first and presented the donation for the couple that aired on the next Tuesday. After that segment, he & Ellen went to the back to change and reenter for the show we would be on.
During this break, we watched Twitch come out and dance. Then Ellen did her classic entrance and everyone went crazy. She then did a segment on Tiktok and how there is a graphic designer who redesigns famous logos to be outrageous. Which by the way, I LOVE Emily's content, so when she came out, I fangirled over her just a little bit. We clapped and danced A LOT in between takes. Ellen then revisited her reading for the Fifty Shades of Grey audiobook, which I remember airing. :D Next was musical guest, Alessia Cara. She started singing and a few seconds in, they had to stop the show because she wasn't being heard in the control room. During this time, there was two dancers in front of us who were in the audience that TOOK their moment. They did acro-yoga for Ellen and Twitch who were completely fascinated. They mimicked the couple and failed miserably, but this kept everyone entertained until Alessia could start singing again. After the song, we were given CDs to take home with us. Lastly, Ludacris came out and did his interview. You can watch it below, but during part of it, he is talking about how he was filming in New Mexico. Like why didn't we yell out like idiots?! Hahah
My favorite moment of the whole experience was when everyone was sitting around waiting for the cameras to get set, I stepped into the aisle and waved at Ellen, she saw me, smiled, AND WAVED BACK AT ME!!
*internally crying*