Family Feud; Saturday September 4, 2010

Today my husband and I went to Universal Studios to attend a taping of Family Feud. The show has been taping in Orlando all summer, and I was super-excited to be in the audience. We picked up our tickets at the "Studio Audience Center" inside the front entrance to Universal, and strolled around the park while we waited for our time to line up. We watched the Terminator show, had some ice cream, and stayed out of the heat by browsing the shops. At around 3pm we lined up by the concert stage (near Twister), and watched  the Rip-Ride-Rockit fly by as we waited.

The studio was a little smaller than I expected. There were 4 rows of about 25 seats right in front of the stage, then another 4 rows of 20 or so seats on the next level behind the cameras. As we were seated, a very energetic man on stage was demonstrating to the audience how we were supposed to react during certain parts of the show. Lots of clapping, lots of cheering, sit up straight, don't cross your arms, don't have your cell phones out, etc. We would be watching the taping of 2 episodes that day. The new host of Family Feud, Steve Harvey, came onstage and greeted the audience before the show began.


The first taping featured wrestlers and "knockouts" from TNA (Total Nonstop Action) wrestling. They were dressed in their full wrestling outfits, and there were quite a few funny moments between Steve Harvey and the scantily-clad female wrestlers. During commercial breaks, Harvey would interact with the audience by asking questions or cracking jokes about the show. He was really entertaining. After the show, they shot a few promos with Harvey and the group from TNA.

After the first episode, we were taught some groovy dance moves and danced in our seats while they set up for the next show. The second show featured two ordinary families, and it was exciting to see them compete. The entire process took about 3 hours, but I had a lot of fun. It was really neat to be part of the audience and see how the show is filmed.

After the show, my husband and I decided to go over to Islands of Adventure and have dinner at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Now that summer is over, it was a lot less crowded. We ate at the Three Broomsticks. I had the Cornish pasties with a side salad, my husband had the turkey leg with french fries, and we both ordered frozen butterbeer. Everything was delicious. After all that food, we were too full to go on any thrill rides so we browsed the shops until the park closed at 8pm and headed home.   :)