So, I finally made it to LA and took a shuttle to the hotel, where Taryn had already checked in. For more details on the hotel and the first day of our visit (Thursday), please visit http://kenandmckenna.blogspot.com/2009/03/bette-davis-eyes-thursday-in-la.html, then return here for the first part of Day 2 (Friday).
So after dinner on Thursday evening, we retired fairly early so as to be well-rested for the busy Friday we had planned. We awoke bright and early, and headed to the hotel's breakfast buffet.
It was quite an interesting array of food…in addition to the “Fruity Tooties” shown above, there were also hard-boiled eggs (the surplus of which was stored in a plastic bag in a nearby mini-fridge), croissants, and my food of choice, toast. But it wasn’t just any toast – it was the magical flying kind of toast, set forth into the air by a turbo-powered toaster. Look how far my piece went – it’s like it was trying to make it to my plate!
After our nutritious, delicious, and not at all strange breakfast (ha!), we took off on the streets of Hollywood to get to the nearest Metro station, at Hollywood and Highland.
We rode the Metro to Universal City, at which point we called for a cab to take us to Burbank to visit the NBC Studios. When the cab arrived, our driver, Oscer, was quite the talker. He wanted to hear all about the NBC tour – apparently, he’d never heard of it, and was quite curious. He pointed out the Warner Brothers studio, which was right across the street from NBC and also had a tour, and we assured him we’d check it out. And most importantly, he told us the names of a few celebrities who lived near our route, including Bob Hope, who “lives over there.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but the last I checked, Bob Hope wasn’t “living” anywhere. But apparently if he did, it would be right near NBC Studios.
Finally, we arrived at NBC Studios, in the hopes of getting tickets to The Tonight Show and then securing a tour time. Unfortunately, it turned out that The Tonight Show was on hiatus that week (thanks a lot for putting that up on the site where you talk about tickets, NBC), and tour tickets didn’t go on sale until 9 a.m. (a half an hour after we arrived). So, we waited around in the waiting area of the gift shop, which was decorated with photographs of NBC celebrities in lovely ‘90s-esque outfits.
I also have a tendency to take pictures of random things while I’m waiting, including this, the NBC tampon machine (note the Peacock emblem):
Finally, we set out on our tour. Our group consisted of Connor the NBC Page, (who was super cute), a couple around our parents’ ages, and a couple who were probably in their mid-70s. Although not visible in the picture below, the older of the two women was wearing a gauze eyepatch over one of her eyes. This will be relevant later in the story.
***For the next installment, which will take us to Part 2 of Friday: Warner Brothers and Thom the Tour Guide, visit: http://leahgia.blogspot.com/2009/03/california-dreamin-day-2b.html***
Finally, we arrived at NBC Studios, in the hopes of getting tickets to The Tonight Show and then securing a tour time. Unfortunately, it turned out that The Tonight Show was on hiatus that week (thanks a lot for putting that up on the site where you talk about tickets, NBC), and tour tickets didn’t go on sale until 9 a.m. (a half an hour after we arrived). So, we waited around in the waiting area of the gift shop, which was decorated with photographs of NBC celebrities in lovely ‘90s-esque outfits.
I also have a tendency to take pictures of random things while I’m waiting, including this, the NBC tampon machine (note the Peacock emblem):
Finally, we set out on our tour. Our group consisted of Connor the NBC Page, (who was super cute), a couple around our parents’ ages, and a couple who were probably in their mid-70s. Although not visible in the picture below, the older of the two women was wearing a gauze eyepatch over one of her eyes. This will be relevant later in the story.
We had quite an eventful tour, beginning with a video showing highlights of NBC’s history. I approved wholeheartedly of this video, as it featured Friday Night Lights on more than one instance. Sadly, though, American Dreams was not. Anyway, after the video ended, Connor laid out the ground rules, including not mobbing celebrities, not taking pictures, and warning him if he was about to run into something while walking backwards. Then, we took off into the soundstages, warehouses, and production areas for such shows as Days of our Lives, The Tonight Show, and Access Hollywood.
There were no celebrity-sightings, although there was one close call – Access Hollywood was filming that day, and I was worried that, of all the potential celebrities, we would see Billy Bush, who neither of us can stand. But luckily, we made it through that area and into the safety of The Tonight Show set without incident.
It was at this location that we bonded with Connor the NBC Page over our mutual love of Conan O’Brien, and united against the younger of the two other women on the tour. This woman asked Connor about the selection process for Leno’s replacement, and was adamant in her dislike of Conan. Clearly, the woman was crazy, as no sane person would feel this way about him.
Another memorable moment occurred when we left The Tonight Show’s set to look at a mural depicting the evolution of NBC’s logo. The current logo is, of course, a Peacock, and looks like this:
The small white part on the purple feather is the Peacock’s beak. Well, the woman with the eyepatch asked Connor why there was that white spot in the purple feather – was the paint chipped, or is it always like that? Connor explained that it was the bird’s beak, and likened it to a Magic Eye poster: “You know, one of those pictures where you cover one eye and then you can see it?” After he said that, he remembered that the lady was wearing an eyepatch, and spent the next few minutes tripping over his words: “Um…well…not you, right now, ma’am. But…um…everyone else.” We, of course, started laughing, and while we put forth a great deal of effort in hiding that fact from the poor lady, Connor saw us and was unable to make eye contact with either of us the rest of the time.
After the Peacock beak fiasco, we traveled down the hall to where they film Days of Our Lives. The elderly lady in our group had been a lifetime Days of Our Lives viewer, and was ecstatic to be there. Poor Connor had to stop her from trying to wander down the halls where the stars’ dressing rooms were. Two crew members were nice enough to stop and talk to her before Connor pried her away, though, so she did get to meet people who knew the stars.
After we dragged our tourmates away from the interiors of Salem, we went outside to the last part of our tour – Salem Place and the windows of University Hospital. We were finally allowed to take pictures, and I was pleased to get a decent one of the hospital where most everyone in Salem works.
There were no celebrity-sightings, although there was one close call – Access Hollywood was filming that day, and I was worried that, of all the potential celebrities, we would see Billy Bush, who neither of us can stand. But luckily, we made it through that area and into the safety of The Tonight Show set without incident.
It was at this location that we bonded with Connor the NBC Page over our mutual love of Conan O’Brien, and united against the younger of the two other women on the tour. This woman asked Connor about the selection process for Leno’s replacement, and was adamant in her dislike of Conan. Clearly, the woman was crazy, as no sane person would feel this way about him.
Another memorable moment occurred when we left The Tonight Show’s set to look at a mural depicting the evolution of NBC’s logo. The current logo is, of course, a Peacock, and looks like this:
The small white part on the purple feather is the Peacock’s beak. Well, the woman with the eyepatch asked Connor why there was that white spot in the purple feather – was the paint chipped, or is it always like that? Connor explained that it was the bird’s beak, and likened it to a Magic Eye poster: “You know, one of those pictures where you cover one eye and then you can see it?” After he said that, he remembered that the lady was wearing an eyepatch, and spent the next few minutes tripping over his words: “Um…well…not you, right now, ma’am. But…um…everyone else.” We, of course, started laughing, and while we put forth a great deal of effort in hiding that fact from the poor lady, Connor saw us and was unable to make eye contact with either of us the rest of the time.
After the Peacock beak fiasco, we traveled down the hall to where they film Days of Our Lives. The elderly lady in our group had been a lifetime Days of Our Lives viewer, and was ecstatic to be there. Poor Connor had to stop her from trying to wander down the halls where the stars’ dressing rooms were. Two crew members were nice enough to stop and talk to her before Connor pried her away, though, so she did get to meet people who knew the stars.
After we dragged our tourmates away from the interiors of Salem, we went outside to the last part of our tour – Salem Place and the windows of University Hospital. We were finally allowed to take pictures, and I was pleased to get a decent one of the hospital where most everyone in Salem works.
After visiting Salem Place, we headed back inside to the gift shop, where overpriced merchandise was marketed to the unsuspecting members of our group.
All in all, this was a great tour – very inexpensive (even more so with a AAA discount!), and a good length – about an hour and 15 minutes. We made the mistake of going on a Friday when Leno wasn’t taping, but I’d expect that earlier in the week and/or later in the day, the chances of seeing a celebrity would be far greater. And Connor the NBC Page was a great tour guide (although I have a feeling that if it had just been us young people on the tour, we could’ve gotten him to tell us much cooler things than random Tonight Show and Days of Our Lives facts). If you have a spare 2 hours in LA and have any interest in television, I would highly recommend it!
All in all, this was a great tour – very inexpensive (even more so with a AAA discount!), and a good length – about an hour and 15 minutes. We made the mistake of going on a Friday when Leno wasn’t taping, but I’d expect that earlier in the week and/or later in the day, the chances of seeing a celebrity would be far greater. And Connor the NBC Page was a great tour guide (although I have a feeling that if it had just been us young people on the tour, we could’ve gotten him to tell us much cooler things than random Tonight Show and Days of Our Lives facts). If you have a spare 2 hours in LA and have any interest in television, I would highly recommend it!
***For the next installment, which will take us to Part 2 of Friday: Warner Brothers and Thom the Tour Guide, visit: http://leahgia.blogspot.com/2009/03/california-dreamin-day-2b.html***
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