Hi all, first post as wanted to give my tips and observations from saturdays show...

I searched high and low and found some brilliant advice but wanted to add some bits relevant to this year.

Sat 26th Sept live show.

Tickets validated from 9am, people were there from 3am - they got front row, sleeping bags, duvets and chairs!

My mum and I arrived at 9am (live 40 mins away) we were 410 in line. There was a moment of doubt standing on the park pathway in a long q, whether we'd get in or not. The crew wouldn't give anything away until you were near the front of the line. Another member then gives you a white or black numbered sticker. Without a sticker you won't get in. I believe 100 or so people were turned away. It was a bright warm morning so can only imagine the wait will get worse as weeks go on.

Tesco (+costa) and McDonalds close by for coffee and food. Park in Brook Street car park, not gated, £5 all day and grassy area to sit.

White means definite, black means on standby. White return from 3pm, black from 4pm. We got there before 3pm as nothing else to do.

Enter through security and ticket check into large holding marquee. New this year, is the photo booth, 30 seconds to have 4 pics taken with Strictly props, free print of all 4 on A6 paper - hilarious! Bar, coffee bar, toilets, tvs, coat and phone checkin (left all all mine in the car)

Just took a pashmina, sealed bottle of water and a small snack in my bag in. Didn't want to q coming out.

The show was amazing, literally CANNOT express my excitement about it all. Ha amazing seats, and got moved forward as some of the dancers guests didn't show or were late, sat by the stage left stair case, row 3!! Everyone was made to feel very welcome and special.
We chatted with James Jordan's parents, Kevin's parents. Spoke to Ainsley, Brendan, Jo, Kevin, Aliaz and Anton. Claudia is hilarious and Tess just has to run up and down the aisles to get in to place quickly!
We were brought oj cartons and kitkats before the live show started. We didn't get to leave the studio again until 8pm as the rehearsals had run over.

It is a set, not a theatre so expect packed in tightly seats, random spacing and crew to be well part of your viewing on the floor.

I felt very lucky and extremely privelidged to have been part of a show - the whole thing was warm and friendly - part of a very special family!

Lots of smiles from here, even enjoyed the slightly 'worse' dances!

Hope this helps.

xx
Last edited by Claire_Parr : 01-10-2015 at 12:45

BIB wow, thats early!!! wonder why they have changed validation from 12pm (which I thought was a pretty reasonable time) to 9am

glad you had a fab day tho and well done for getting tickets

It does sound an amazing experience! However, I'm not sure I could 'hold on' for long enough to sit through it
Last edited by BadWigeon : 01-10-2015 at 13:19

I think they may have changed the validation time because I believe the queue now is around the other side of Elstree by a housing estate (rather than the service road of Tescos)?

Perhaps Claire can confirm this.

I can see the earlier time meaning that queuing arrival times are going to get more and more ridiculous as the series continues. I am just glad that when I last had tickets we arrived at a reasonable hour (8 am) and got within the first 20. Gone are the days of such relaxed timings.

that is where we queued last year and validation was 12 noon

personally I think its ridiculous to start validation at 9am because, as you have said, more and more people will arrive at stupid times in the morning, no doubt disturbing the residential house owners!

BTW, situation is very different for the Blackpool show - but given the changes that have happened at the London studio for this year, it's difficult to say whether Blackpool will change as well. FYI, last time, people were queuing until ~1pm, and had tickets stamped/stickered, and they were immediately let into wait inside the Tower Circus arena. Long wait, no refreshments (IIRC), but there was none of the freedom to go and have a break elsewhere like there is at the London shows, and come back later. They were then moved into the Tower Ballroom around 5.30pm (I guess this depends on the broadcast time of the actual show). There is no provision for coat/bag checking in Blackpool, so people need to be creative with where they stow their coats and bags, because they have to be out of view of the cameras! I sat on my coat - it was like a mini-booster cushion, given I was a few rows back (and short to start with)!

Looking at the London show validation times, yeah, that's going to get super difficult very quickly, especially for out-of-towners! Plus, as the weather gets worse, that's not going to be a fun day, having to arrive so early, and having such a limited number of places available.

Yes it is around the other side of Tesco, behind the studios, path runs up the length of the park so dry.... only one housing block so not disturbing a lot.

sounds like where we were last year

shame validation starts so early now, esp if you dont live in London!

if I was EVER lucky enough to get tickets it would mean travelling down on the friday night after work, staying in a hotel on the friday night AND the saturday night - oh well *shrug* Im never going to get tickets so I dont know why I am worrying what time validation is

It is like anything, people get there earlier and earlier and hen ruins it for everyone, like the Wimbledon queue also.