For most people when they think of movie or TV show tapings, they think California but there are a few that do tape in New York. Besides SNL, Jimmy Fallon is the top must see show when you go to New York and just like SNL it is filmed in the Rockefeller Center. If you are wanting to check out Jimmy Fallon I'm sure you are wondering how you can get tickets well unless SNL, there are quite a few ways that you can score them.
Before we get into how you can get tickets, it is very important to know that no matter how you get tickets they are very strict on a couple of rules:
- everyone attending must be at least 16 years of age and everyone has to have photo ID with the birthdate on it
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If you don't have photo ID or ID without the birthdate you will be refused
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if you do have ID but the birthdate shows the person is under 16 (even if it's by a month or even a couple of days) you will be refused
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the person whose 1iota account was used to purchase the tickets must be in attendance
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the name on the account is the person who the tickets will be released to. If you are not there, no tickets.
Since the show is in such high demand they have no issue just giving your tickets to the next person who qualifies for them. They will not bend the rules for you and they don't care about your reasons why so make sure you follow these rules.
With that information in mind, how do you get tickets?
1: Know someone
Producers, production, and cast members get tickets which can be given to friends and family.
2: Buy them off of a reputable source
(even though tickets are non-transferable and may not be sold or auctioned this still happens.) Sometimes production members want to make some cash so they will sell them or scalpers will have multiple 1iota accounts (see next point) and grab a bunch that they resell. Normally they go for about U$ 2000-2500/person.
3: Apply to get the free tickets
Sign up for a 1iota account (here; they are the ticket place for the majority of shows that tape in Cali & New York) and the wait for the tickets to be released. Normally the tickets booking windows are opened up on 1iota once a month for the following month's shows. You will have to follow @FallonTix on twitter to find out the exact date and time they are released. Each 1iota account can apply for up to 4 tickets. **Make sure you are on the website at that exact time** Scalpers will have multiple accounts with multiple people working to grab these tickets so you have to be extremely quick or you will miss it. If you do miss it, you will be added to a waitlist (until the waitlist is full) and when people cancel their tickets you will get an email that alerts you tickets are available. Keep an eye on your emails as you normally only have an hour to log in and accept the tickets before they offer them to the next person on the list.
With the 1iota account you can also apply to get Monologue tickets. This is when Jimmy practices his monologue (not a live taping) so he can edit / remove jokes that are not landing. These tickets will always be stand by but you can apply for them to be added to the waitlist. Normally they start giving out the tickets about 2 weeks prior to the actual taping. The reason for this is because sometimes shows will tape two episodes at once (normally done on Thursdays as a lot of hosts will take Friday off) or they might be in talks with a guest but it is not firmed up until closer to the show's date which can change jokes.
4: Win a contest
The @FallonTonight twitter account hosts two regular contests that allow you to win tickets: Tickets at 12 (held on Thursday) and Fallon Ticket Fridays (held on Fridays) so make sure to follow so you have your chance to get tickets you may have missed. What exactly are these two contests?
- Tickets at 12(pm): At noon on Thursday, @FallonTonight tweets the location of one of its interns and the first person to find them gets two free VIP tickets.
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Fallon Ticket Fridays: @FallonTonight will tweet the hashtag #FallonTicketFriday with a trivia question. Answer the question (with the hashtag included) for a chance to win two VIP tickets to a show the following week.
5: Get standby
There are a few tickets that are held back for people that want to get them the morning of. If you want to try to score these then head to the plaza on 49th Street (across from the Today Show studio) before 9am (most people start lining up at 6am). When the box office opens at 9am they will start handing them out (one ticket per person) to the people lined up until they are gone. If four of you are trying to go to the show then all four of you have to be in line. There is no budging nor is there any spot saving; if you budge or hold a spot, security will kick you as well as your group out of the line all together. Also, if you are in a group there is no guarantee that all of you will be able to go in as it depends on how many tickets they have for the day.
Besides the age requirements, there are a few other things that you should know:
- even if you have a ticket, you can still get bumped.
Just like an airline, the show generally gives out more tickets then they have seats as people usually no show or cancel and they need butts in seats so it is a bit of a numbers game. If you have a ticket, arrive early as people towards the end of the line will start to be turned away if they realize they are full
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if you come with cameras, luggage, backpacks or large shopping bags, you will not be admitted to the show
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if you don't meet the dress code, they will refuse you
dress code is Smart Casual (no tanks, flip flops, see-through clothing, nothing ripped, etc) think full length pants, collared shirt, nice skirt or dress, sneakers, etc
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there is no way to guarantee where you are going to sit
depending on what they guests and Jimmy are wearing they will dictate who sits where depending on everything from the colour of clothes they are wearing to their height and even ethnicity.
