Anything Else I Need To Know?

Blake Gibbons (Coleman) thinks no one knows him or wants to see him, so be sure and write letters telling him you'll take hostages if he doesn't show up.

Do NOT bring the actors gifts of food or drinks.  They will usually graciously accept the gift, but as a rule, are VERY uneasy accepting consumables from people they do not know.  Please do not put them in this uncomfortable situation.

You will see stars at places other than their events, such as in the halls, by the pools, leaving events, etc.  Please be polite and gracious.  They are usually very kind and accommodating.

You need to be prepared to be around a LOT of people and a lot of different kinds of people.  Most are really decent folks, but some, well, are, I guess the medical term would be "crazy as a shithouse rat."  You will see some bizarre behavior from time to time, including a few fans who are very blatant in stalking the actors. This can be scary. I'm not talking about fun stalking.  I'm talking scary stalking.  You may well see the best and worst of people at this event.

Emotions tend to run high, so don't panic if you see someone crying.  It's sort of like a Beatles concert.  Sometimes, they're weeping with joy to actually be on a vacation.  Don't make a big deal of it.  Just hand them a tissue and move along.

If you see EOS staff, say hello and tell us how wonderful we are.  We respond well to that.  Buy us drinks.  Give us comp tickets.  Pay our bail. 

As I mentioned elsewhere (tote bag:  things to bring, I think), the fan bases sometimes bring little gee-gaws (pin on buttons, bracelets, key chains, etc) supporting the object of their affections.  Beware of wearing the gee-gaws supporting couples/actors/characters you do not passionately support and likewise, beware of assuming that just because someone is wearing a gee-gaw supporting a particular couple/actor/character that they are passionate about them.  Someone may have just handed them the thing and they had nowhere else to put it.

Don't forget to take time out to rest off and on through the day.  This experience is more tiring and draining that you think it's going to be.  Pace yourself.

Jill Farren Phelps, Bob Guza and Brian Frons may, in fact, be present. 

The Lodge is HUGE.  Don't be afraid to ask for directions if you get lost.

The event coordinator, Debbie Morris, and the people who are helping her produce this incredible event, are working hard to provide this experience to you with as few glitches as possible.  Be gracious.  

Debbie enjoys meeting fans and putting a name to a face, but if you talk her leg off when she's trying to check people into the events or solve some event crisis, well, we'll have to kill you.  She needs to maintain her focus in order for the fans attending the event to have a good time.  This is sort of like the "signature, hug, photo, GO" rule from the GH Luncheon, except with Debbie, it's a "Hi, I'm ______, thank you, handshake, GO" rule.  Say it with me:  "Hi, I'm ______,  thank you, handshake, GO."  No verbose introductions, explanations, anecdotes or personal histories.  E-mail those to her later.  This is not the time.  No questions about when your fan club membership expires (you think she's got 47,000,000 GH fan club membership statistics committed to memory or something?), no asking what it's like to be in the Green Room (you won't get there), no asking to change your seating, not even one "I just have one question..."  Despite what you may think, you do NOT have just one question.  You were mistaken.  You have no questions.  What you do is keep it simple with this hard and fast rule:  Say it with me again:  "Hi, I'm ______,  thank you, handshake, GO." No "just one question," no "just ANY question."  No "do u think sunny and carlee will git back 2gethr?"  No "do you remember..." No "what's with these writers?"  No NOTHING.  I'm not kidding.  "Hi, I'm ______,  thank you, handshake," then move along quickly.

Even though you are coming to Hollywood, do not expect to view the taping of any TV show unless you have a full day to kill.  A simple one hour show will take hours and hours to attend.  I do recommend taking a break from the events to clear your head, so a visit to Venice Beach, Universal Studios for the day (right next door, practically) or a walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame can be fun.  This handbook includes a comprehensive listing of nonsoap related fun things to do in the area.

Do not plan on going to a theme park unless you have the full day to invest.  Otherwise, it's a waste of money (a lot of it, in fact).  Don't think you'll "hang at Disneyland for a couple of hours to see what it's like."

Keep your camera handy even when you aren't in an event.  You'd be surprised how many interesting situations come up when you are people watching.  Sometimes the fans are more interesting than the stars.  Plan on bringing lots of film or camera memory cards.  Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have one for the impromptu cuddle at the pool with your favorite star.

Speaking of impromptu:

Don't expect to always recognize the stars at first.  Because we train our minds to dismiss the idea that we're seeing a famous person in our everyday life, we often say "Is that _____?" a few times before we settle into star watching and get used to actually seeing them.  Sort of like looking at those 3-D hidden pictures.

Overall, expect to have a wonderful time and a very unique experience.  How do you see a unique GH star?  Unique up on them.