American Idol Experience Soft-Open 1/14/2009

Hi everyone!

The American Idol Experience was in soft-open today, and only prohibited flash photography, video and audio.  I went to 2 shows, and have photos from the 4:00 show here.   Update 2/14, I now have 350 American Idol Press Event photos here!

On to the show photos and review!

I had no real interest in the show personally, and thought that the American Idol franchise was a bit long in the tooth to be made into an attraction.   But I actually really enjoyed it –  except for a few things that I think need tweaking.  And the American Idol Experience will be different with each show – depending on the host, judges, audience, etc.  The two shows I attended had a very different vibe to them.

Outside the theater:

The queue (I arrived just in time for the doors to open during this show – there is a pre-show in the queue that I missed this time around).    The pre-show includes a cast member who precedes the main host.   I would love to see some of this particular segment shortened, with more time for the actual show.

Entering the auditorium:

The judges desk:

 

The stage and decor looks really great:

The show hosts and judges were different between the two shows I visited.  This was the second preshow host.  He was a bit more into pointing out guests who weren’t as enthusiastic, I was just happy not to be mentioned!  (I enjoyed the show, but don’t tend to overenthuse about much :))

He came out into the audience to show everyone how to use the voting buttons:

 

 

A question to test the buttons out:

Ryan Seacrest, who shows up in video a number of times between the pre-show and show:

Names of the contestants up on the video monitor, along with light changes:

 

The cameraman, who is present during the pre-show and taping:

 

The hosts and contestants out on the stage.   Both hosts that I saw did a wonderful job. 

 

The Dream Ticket, which will be awarded to the finale winner each day.   The Dream Ticket will allow the winner to bypass the audition line to try out for the show.   There are currently no Dream Tickets being handed out during soft opening.   Cast members were among the guests on stage today.

The host introducing the judges.   The judging is just so-so to me, too many jokes that don’t work – and it’s hard to tell if they are really judging or trying to be funny. 

One contestant talks with a host, and gets ready to sing.   The cameraman got in my way quite a lot, and I often couldn’t see what was happening on stage.

The performance:

The judges:

There is a judge who is like Simon.  I thought the first joke he made wasn’t too funny (about it being “The 4:00 parade of the tone deaf”), but I liked him very much by the end.

The next contestant – you can see that they are introduced through video just like on the TV show.

Singing “Ever After”:

 

 

Being judged:

The next contestant was up.

 

The 3 contestants and host:

 

Jordin Sparks in a video that showcases Disney’s Hollywood Studios.   She tells everyone to get up and dance (I did not, nor did much of the second audience I was part of), and sings “I’ve Got the Music in Me”.   This was one of my least favorite parts of the show – moreso because there didn’t seem to be a reason to get up, and it was mostly a commercial for the Studios.

 

The contestants getting ready to find out who is the winner, then confetti when the announcement is made (that normally will only happen during the finale):

 

 

 

And of course there is merchandise.

I had a good time during the show, and hopefully they will get it smoothed out to be even better.