smittychic

I bookmarked Oprah’s website that showed when the reservation line was open. I checked the website every day. On the day it opened, I had programed in the phone number to call into my phone and put it on speed dial. I spent the entire day on the phone just hanging up and redialing. Finally, I got through to a live person around 3:45pm – 1.25 hours before the line was scheduled to close. When I got through, I knew exactly how many tickets I wanted and who would be going with me including their ages. The audience reservation member who I spoke with was very friendly. She explained to me that I could request a specific date but not a topic and I told her date didn’t matter, we were just excited to attend.

We had our reservations and three days before we were to attend, I got a phone call from the audience department rep. She said that it was going to be a re-creation of the finale of Dancing With The Stars so dress nicely. I was in Chicago at the time so I spent the weekend shopping for my “Oprah Outfit” and told every sales rep I came in contact with my mission.

Finally, the day arrived when myself, my mother, my gay guy friend and my 6 months pregnant cousin-in-law were to attend Oprah. All of us except my cousin were traveling from Michigan amidst bad February storms. On our way to Chicago we saw several car accidents including a mangled FedEx Truck with packages strewn about the highway. But, we were determined to go see Oprah and we weren’t about to let bad weather stop us. We got to the studio 2 hours ahead of time and were amazed to see all the people already lined up outside to get in.

The three of us who traveled together got in line and anxiously awaited the arrival of our fourth party member. She, of course, had been caught up by her husband and 2 young daughters who wanted to watch her get dressed for the show. When the security guards started letting people into the studio and Sarah hadn’t yet made it, we let a couple parties go in ahead of us. Finally, Sarah arrived and when my mom got out of line to get her, security told her to return to her place. All it took was a mention of a quite pregnant woman standing in the cold and Sarah was escorted into the studio ahead of the crowd and taken to a special “pregnant woman room” as we called it. They gave her bottled waters, snacks and let her sit in a very comfy chair. Little did she know at first that this was also the celebrity wives room and the women in the room with her were married to the DWTS celebs.

After waiting for nearly an hour in the building waiting rooms, we were called into the studio. We were told we could sit in any seats but they reserved the right to move us. We walked in and were told to sit toward the back of the studio dead center. We had amazing seats and we were so excited to be there. We applied fresh lip gloss and smiled big and a crew member with a head set approached us. She asked me how many were in my party and I answered four and pointed to the three sitting next to me. She did not explain but very abruptly said “follow me, you’re moving.” We followed like sheep as she led us right up on stage. There were risers set up and very attractive people sitting on them. We were placed with the elites. The people they trusted to smile the biggest and look the best on television. We were given our own set of instructions besides the ones they gave all audience members.

The show began and WOW what a spectacular event it was! Beautiful celebrities, stunning costumes, spectacular dancing and of course, Queen Oprah herself! The whole thing lasted only an hour but the memories from that day will last forever in my mind!

With some research, time and dedication, this goal can be accomplished! Tickets are free, you just have to be patient enough to get through on the line. It took me 2 months to finally get through but I did it!