ABC / WLS-TV

ABC 7 posted a status on Facebook about a week ago inviting their fans to a live taping of Windy City Live and a studio tour. I was lucky enough to be online at the time it was posted, so I emailed right them right away requesting tickets. I received an email the next day confirming that i was in. I’ve been to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel before and I was an extra on One Tree Hill, so I’m not new to the TV taping game, but I’ve never done a TV studio tour before.
Our confirmation was strict about entry time and what to wear, so we showed up at 9:10 AM for our 11 AM taping. I’m glad we did because my mom and I ended up being #12 and #13 in line. I thought we’d spend a lot of time waiting outside, but they were really quick to get us inside since it was so hot out.
We first had to go through the security gate and sign consent forms. All of the individuals we encountered during this process were extra friendly. My mom is one of those people that likes to tell everyone her life story and they all smiled and listened even though they had other things to do.
The waiting process was painless as there were plenty of chairs in the hall to sit at. After all of the audience was checked in, we were called into the studio for the taping. The taping was a blast and went really fast. After the taping, we were given a Subway box lunch and waited until it was our time to do the FUN part — the tour of the newsroom.
Once we finally got the tour, we were surprised at how small the news studio was. We got to meet the VP of programming (can’t remember his name) but he was hilarious and made us feel welcomed. We got to meet Linda Yu, Mike Kaplan and Alan Krashesky. Tracy Butler also popped in for a minute, but must have had work to do because she didn’t stay long. I don’t know whether the anchors are all really good actors or if they were genuinely happy to meet us, but they were all extremely personable and posed for tons of pictures with all 70 – 100 of us. My favorite part of the tour was sitting at the weather desk and taking pictures in front of the green screen.
They mentioned they are going to do a similar tour/​taping in September this year, so I highly recommend trying to go if you get the chance. It was probably the best (free) thing I’ve done in a long time. Thanks ABC 7 for a fun day!