January 19, 2000 was a gray day in Orlando, FL - but not enough to dampen my spirits!!!

The following is a chronological outline of my visit to Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios Escape Orlando to see a live taping of Double Dare 2000!!! All times listed are approximate...do you really think I kept track of each minute? :)

THE FIRST EPISODE DESCRIBED HERE ORIGINALLY AIRED ON NICKELODEON ON MARCH 10, 2000.
THE SECOND EPISODE DESCRIBED ORIGINALLY AIRED FEBRUARY 17, 2000.

6:45am: Alarm clock goes off, snooze button is hit.

7:00am: Alarm goes off again, this time I actually get up!

7:30am: Showered, shaved, and eating a Pop-Tart, my friend and I make our way to Universal Studios in the rental car.

8:00am: We arrived at Universal Studios, parked really close (although not that close considering the parking garage is quite a walk away from Universal).

8:10am: With our 2-day Park Hopper tickets purchased and Nickelodeon Studios within view, we wait for the gate attendants to open the park for the day. Check out that main gate!

8:50am: WOW! The park opens 10 minutes early! Plenty of time to go right to Universal's Studio Audience Center to pick up our complimentary tickets to Double Dare 2000!

9:10am: The Universal Studio Audience Center finally opens and we get our tickets! White tickets with a slime-green Nickelodeon Studios logo, they are stamped for the 12:15pm taping. We also get a certificate congratulating us on being among the first to see a taping of Double Dare 2000.

The certificate includes these notices:
1. Beware of flying slime!
2. The taping will last approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
3. Since you will be participating in an actual production, you will get the opportunity to watch set changes and technical work in progress in between taped scenes!
4. You must stay for the entire taping. For continuity, as well as safety issues, you will not be allowed to leave until the end of the taping.
5. No photography, video taping, drinks, or food allowed in soundstage.
6. Since your party will be seen on national television, be advised that by entering the studios, your group consents to being videotaped, recorded, and photographed for use as Nickelodeon Studios may determine.

9:15am: Time for coffee and a few rides at Universal!

11:30am: We took an impromptu and confidential food survey that paid us $5 each! Cool enough!

11:45am: After buying a soft pretzel and soda, we decide to go to Nick Studios to wait in line for our taping. When we arrived at the line for Double Dare 2000, I was surprised to see other college-aged people waiting in line as well. (Hey, it was a favorite for everyone I suppose!)

12:15pm: A Nickelodeon Studios Audience Coordinator tells us that the wait will be another 15 minutes while they get ready for taping.

12:45pm: We're still standing outside and are told that it may take another half-hour before we go in, but could be sooner!

1:00pm: It's sooner! They finally escort us into the doors of Studio 18 at Nickelodeon Studios. It's a bit chilly inside, but that was quickly forgotten when I got my first glimpse of the beautiful new set for Double Dare 2000! I thought it was great to see that the new set pays great homage to its successful predecessor. We make our way to the double bleachers that sit directly opposite the stage with the obstacle course floor in the middle. It's amazing how much smaller everything seems in real life.

1:05pm: We're now seated on the right hand side of the double bleachers watching the crew set up the Double Dare 2000 "Slopstacle Course." At first, this was confusing. I began to wonder what we had missed - that's when the audience warm-up guy, Ryan, spilled the beans. You see, multiple episodes are taped per day - the first two rounds of each show are taped in the early part of the day with a completely different audience, then they tape the obstacle courses later on the same day with a different audience. According to one of the production assistants, this is the way it always has been. Of course, I didn't mind because we got to see the most exciting part of the show and there certainly isn't anything wrong with that!

1:20pm: The Double Dare 2000 Slopstacle Course is still being set up, with some old favorites like "Gum Drop," "The Dump Truck," and "The 1-Ton Human Hamster Wheel" returning in a new-found glory. There are also plenty of new obstacles, including a mechanized one that was wheeled into place in front of where we where sitting. I got a very up-close look at "The Gak Factory." It was now that I noticed that the set designer was meticulously overseeing the placement of every obstacle - Byron Taylor - the same guy that worked on the original Double Dare set along with main set designer James Fenhagen!!

1:30pm: They decide to test "The Gak Factory" to make sure it's working properly because I assume this is the first time it's been used for a taping. They flip on the "Gak Guns" and Gak slowly spurts out across the path where the contestant must travel on an overhead trolley system while being sprayed. Well, it turns out there was something wrong with the pressure - no problem, let's just watch them turn it up! Normally, the plexiglas shields hooked to the obstacle would have protected bystanders from Gak overspray but suddenly, our section of the audience was being sprayed with a watery cake-icing-type liquid! Cool! It was awesome to watch everyone get sprayed with stuff - it's not like they didn't warn us that this could happen! The production crew was quick to get the Gak Factory turned off and start handing out towels. What a way to be welcomed to Nick Studios!

1:45pm: Ryan, the fill-in audience warm-up guy, has been entertaining the audience for quite some time when Jason Harris enters the set. Ryan let us know that the time is close for the tape to start rolling. He instructs us to go wild for every little thing - and to start counting down when we see the clock hit 10 seconds.

1:50pm: The red team enters the soundstage and is briefed by the crew on how to run each obstacle and the order in which they'll be run. None of this is taped, but we are really close to that time -- Ryan is still trying to keep everyone busy, but most people are completely involved in watching the set up of the show.

2:00pm: Nickelodeon's Gak Meister is putting the finishing touches on the "Big Mouth" obstacle and we get the "quiet on the set" signal from DD2K's floor director.

2:05pm: The director gives the cue and the taping begins! Jason gives his quick welcome back and then starts explaining the course to the winning family. When he gets to "Big Mouth" (which is obstacle 5 or 6), Jason picks a kid from the audience to demonstrate! The kid slides down - gets totally covered in slime and scores a new shirt and a pair of shoes! (by the way, as part of the audience warm-up activities, Ryan also gives away a new pair of Reeboks: The Official Shoe of Double Dare 2000!) Jason continued his "Slopstacle Course" explanation in much the same way as it was done on the old show -- with prizes rivaling that of it's predecessor!

2:10pm: Again, we get the "quiet on the set signal" 'cause it's time for the messiest minute in television!!! Jason says the phrase heard 'round the world: "On your mark, get set, go!" The clock starts ticking and the crowd starts gettin' crazy! The first obstacle, "Gum Drop" is completed in a breeze, they hand off to the mom who tackles "Happy Birthday" - this obstacle, consisting of three huge party poppers, will be infamous in my mind for a reason I'll get to soon -- She quickly finds the flag and passes it to the dad who has to find the flag in the "Big Banana." Of course, he gets it and passes it to his son who's waiting patiently at "The 1-Ton Human Hamster Wheel." With about 30 seconds still to go, the kid starts running up the wall, but gets no where real fast. He struggles to get that wheel moving - the cameraman even tries to help! No luck though, the wheel only gets to number 3 when time runs out. Oh well, only three obstalces completed - but it was fun.

2:15pm: Everything is over for this particular taping - the contestants leave to get cleaned up, Jason heads back to his trailer (or wherever), and the production assistants begin to escort the audience out of the studios. Right before we got up -- one of the PA's offered to let us stay for another taping. I jumped on that opportunity right away! She asked us to slide to the end of the row to accommodate the next audience. Not a problem!

2:20pm: We're now seated on the end of the third row of the double bleachers awaiting the clean up for the second "Slopstacle Course."

2:25pm: About 10 crew members are picking up the balls from "Gum Drop" and pouring them back in the top for the next taping - and every other obstacle is getting a good wipe down. There must have been about 30 people cleaning up the set - along with Byron Taylor! An interesting thing to note here is that "Big Mouth" never had more gak added to it even though most of the gak slid down onto the resting mat from the previous taping's demonstration. I think Gak Meister Andrea was slacking! (Just kidding!)

2:30pm: They seem to want to get this taping on a roll so they're busy, busy, busy rearranging the smaller obstacles so it's not exactly the same course. They also renumbered the course so that the "Big Bird Cage" was number 8 - whereas it was number 6 or 7 for the previous run. "Gum Drop" stays as number 1.

2:45pm: Jason Harris and the winning family (again, the red team) are in the soundstage and ready for taping to begin. A few finishing touches are done to the set - and we get the "Quiet on the set" signal from the floor director.

2:50pm: After the family is given the informal "Slopstacle Course" tour from the producers, Jason is given the cue to get on with the TV explanation. Right off the bat it appears that this episode must be short on time because Jason is flying through the course.

2:55pm: Jason says that oh-so-famous phrase once again: "On your mark, get set, go!" Off the kid goes into the Gum Drop machine -- out she comes and makes a good pass of the flag on to her mom waiting at Slopstacle #2: the infamous "Happy Birthday" obstacle. She grabs the first popper - lots of confetti, no flag. Second popper - lots of confetti, still no flag. On to the last popper -- lots of confetti - and NO FLAG! Time is still ticking away as several family members and Jason start searching for it. About 15 seconds goes by and the audience stops clapping, still the music and time are running - finally we hear "Cut!" It's time for a re-shoot.

3:00pm: The crew is very busy trying to pick up all the balls from "Gum Drop" and get them back up to the top so they can start again, but I can speak from experience -- this is not an easy task. (I used to work as Entertainment Coordinator for Discovery Zone - and we had to pick up and clean all those balls from our play bins -- not a fun task!)

3:03pm: Ryan, the audience warm-up guy, notices that the audience is getting a bit antsy -- he decides to give away another free pair of Reebok shoes. Cool!

3:10pm: Finally, the balls for "Gum Drop" are back in the top of the obstacle and ready to go -- I think we're just waiting for the "Happy Birthday" poppers to be reset.

3:15pm: Ryan informs us that the poppers are reset and it's time to start taping again. We hear the "Quiet on the set!" cue again, and it's time to go!

3:18pm: Jason starts with "GO!" and the course is off again! The red team kid jumps into "Gum Drop" and slides out the bottom - she grabs the flag and passes it off to her mom, again. She grabs the first popper - the string breaks. OK, she moves on to the second one - no flag, she grabs the third one - again, no flag. The flag was in the one with the broken string! We hear "Cut!" again! By this time, the floor director and PA's seem just a tad annoyed...like an itch on your foot when you're wearing shoes.

3:20pm: About 15 stagehands are scurrying to get the balls reset for yet a third time so they can start the Slopstacle Course again! This is when something bad happens...the already thin audience becomes even thinner. The entire 2 back rows of our double-bleacher section get up and try to leave. The floor director notices right away and asks them not to leave. The parents of the group say that they've waited long enough and that they have to get back into Universal. The director gives in, but makes sure they have an escort out of the studio.

3:25pm: Well, they're still trying to pick up balls - even Byron Taylor is getting into the act! Our audience section was asked by the PA's to "condense" because they were bringing in more people to fill the gap left by the spoilers. No problem! About 25 people were brought into the studio from outside to fill in the empty space. Keep in mind that the front row was still empty - I guess it's tough to fill an audience when you tape during Orlando's off-season.

3:30pm: The final balls are still being lifted into the "Gum Drop" obstacle and still no sign of the poppers. We hear discussion that they might just hide the flag under one of the giant party items around this obstacle that are normally just used as the backdrop.

3:40pm: This is taking longer than most people thought! Finally the balls are all back in the "Gum Drop" machine and it looks like we're just waiting for word from the control room.

3:45pm: Oh no! The dreaded poppers come back out! They decided to use them again after all - it's apparently a legal thing (well, sounds like a good excuse anyway). Besides, they've already taped the course explanation and it wouldn't look right if the poppers were suddenly gone! They set up the poppers and we get the cue one more time from the director for "Quiet on the set!"

3:47pm: Jason Harris gets his cue, and starts the course with "GO!" Alright, for the third time, the kid jumps in the "Gum Drop" and takes a little bit to come out the bottom - but she does materialize, grabs the flag, and passes it to her mom. She runs to the "Happy Birthday" obstacle and grabs the first popper. Out comes a ton of confetti - but NO FLAG! We see a lot of worried faces as she grabs the next popper - out shoots confetti, and then she dives to the ground - could it be? Yes a flag!!!! The crowd goes INSANE! It's gotta be the loudest anyone's cheered all day! They hit the next obstacle which was "The 1-Ton Human Hamster Wheel" - by this point, they're moving right along and get up to obstacle #6 which is the "Gak Factory" with about 15 seconds left on the clock. The Factory flips on, spraying the unsuspecting audience (We learned our lesson with the first taping) - they grab that final flag and the buzzer sounds!

3:50pm: Jason congratulated the family - and he throws it to Tiffany. Here's problem number 15 for this particular taping. Tiffany apparently couldn't hear Jason, so she missed her cue. We never did hear the recap of prizes - but it didn't matter because they finally finished! The credits rolled, they gave us the cue to stop clapping, and everyone took a big sigh of relief. By the way, they completely fixed this problem in what is called "post-production".

3:52pm: Ryan comes out from backstage and says, "I was talking to one of our backstage guys and I told him, 'I bet when that obstacle works, they're gonna go wild!' Sure enough, that's what you guys did - and it's gonna seem really weird to people at home because you went wild for Obstacle Number 2! They're gonna say to themselves, 'It's just a flag...jeez, what weirdos' - but you'll know. It's our little secret." Everyone laughs because we know it's true.

3:55pm: Time to get up and vacate the studio - we hear a message from the booth: "That's lunch everyone! Be back at 4:30."

This was the most exciting thing I've ever had the pleasure of doing. It felt especially great to know that I got to see "Double Dare 2000" before the rest of America (well, about 3 days before) - OK, maybe it's not that big a deal to everyone, but it sure is to me. If you ever get the chance to visit the awesome Universal Studios Escape in Orlando, Florida - you must, and I mean MUST make a pit stop at Nickelodeon Studios to see a taping of Double Dare 2000 -- it's an experience you won't soon forget!

For Double Dare 2000 Production Information, call the Nick Studios Production Hotline at: (407) 363-8586, (407) 224-NICK or their main office at: (407) 363-8500.

Here's a behind-the-scenes peek at where all the Double Dare 2000 props get cleaned up! This is an area just between Nickelodeon's Stage 18 and Universal's Soundstage 21! (That's a production tour tram to the right.) You can actually see this area from a walkway within the park...that's how I got the pic!