The NBC Studio tour is interesting. You get to see the sets if they are not taping at the time of your tour. On my tour saw the Saturday Night Live studio, Conan O’Brien studio, and a few other studios. You also learn facts on the tour. For example, the Saturday Night Live studio was a sound stage built with the correct acoustics for an orchestra. Bands playing on the show should sound really good because of this.
The NBC experience store has overpriced souvenirs that have NBC associated logos on them. Sometimes you can be lucky enough to catch a sale where the prices are cut down to decent prices. HDTVs are scattered throughout the store and you can see how real the images look. On the top floor you can pretend to do the weather or go on a wild desk ride with Conan via blue screen technology.
You can call in for Conan tickets by calling (212) 664-3056. Tickets are usually booked two months in advanced. I recently went to a taping and enjoyed it very much. The ticket process is very smooth. After you call in for tickets you get a confirmation email. On the day of the taping come to the studio around 3pm and show the NBC page your email. You will get your tickets and do not need to return to the studio until 4:15pm -4:25pm. Tickets are numbered according to when you picked them up from the page, so you don’t have to worry about losing your spot. After that you go through metal detectors and go up to the studio. Depending on the day or things being promoted on the show you may get free stuff. I was lucky enough to get a free Conan O’Brien Show T-Shirt on the day I went.
January is the best time to get tickets since tourism is down at that time. If you wander around Rockefeller Center at that time you probably will come across several NBC pages trying to convince people to be an audience member in a particular show. One time I saw three shows in one day!
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