Timothy Albert

Review of CNN Greece

I've been watching HLN Morning Express since I was...

I've been watching HLN Morning Express since I was in college, and thought this would be a good time to take a tour of where the magic happens. Robin Meade was on vacation because of the holiday, but that didn't stop me from taking a picture with her cardboard cut-out. One can dream, right? Anyway, I booked the VIP tour online. Why VIP? Because instead of someone telling you where the studio is and looking at it from afar, you get to actually walk in to the studio and see the control room up close as well. We were taken into the HLN studio, but since it was afternoon, the Morning Express team was already out of the building and probably golfing on this beautiful day. I should probably mention that we got to ride on the world's longest and largest freestanding escalator, which they don't tell you it's freestanding until you get off the top, but you can tell ... it was a fun one way ride. Our tour was followed by a security guard who makes sure that nobody is taking pictures when they shouldn't, and to ensure that nobody is lagging behind. Safety first. Also, they're armed and don't seem to have a sense of humor while on the job, so respect their bubble. Overall I was very happy with the cost of admission for the VIP tour and can cross this one off of my bucket list. Our tour guide, Michelle, was very informative and although our group was not the most talkative, she did her best to keep everyone moving along and interactive. Parking across the street at the CNN Deck is $10, and when the tour was done, I walked around a little while to maximize my $10 parking time and ensure that I was getting the most bang for my buck.