I think just about everyone wants to try one of the quiz-type game shows for real some time, you know, just to see. Walt Disney World’s Disney-MGM Studios USED to give people a chance to try it for themselves. I say used to because the attraction closed last year in the middle of August (the one in California Adventure at Disneyland Resort closed before then). I turned out to be one of the last to sit in the “Hot Seat” before it closed.

To get to that seat one needed to choose the correct order of four items before anyone else of up to 500 people in the audience. The one that got me there was choosing the chronological order of four songs from the 1960′s. I knew three of the songs, but I was not sure of the exact order. Since speed is of the essence, I did my best, pushing a couple of them at random. The next thing I knew, my seat number was flashing and my mug was on the big screen. They had a host as personable as those you’ve seen on the TV versions of the game, and she did a fine job. The game is played much like the one you see on TV, but they are a bit more relaxed in the first round of five questions. I found all of those to be as easy as you would expect.

The big difference in this version of the game was that they did not offer cash for prizes. After answering the first five question correctly, the prizes were five trading pins and a baseball cap based on the game. The second round of questions was almost as easy, but I needed to “ask the audience” on a Prada design question. The 32,000 point level yielded a polo shirt, another five pins, and a pin-trading strap.

I needed to answer five more questions for a Disney cruise to the Bahamas. I got the next question right; four more to go. The twelfth question was a stumper: What was the name of the submarine in the movie “Atlantis: The Lost Empire?” I missed that one when it was making the rounds (did anyone watch that movie?) This provided a chance to use a lifeline different from that of the TV show: “Ask a complete stranger.” When that one is used, they dial a number that goes outside the studio somewhere. The cast member who answers the phone finds an unsuspecting passerby who then attempts to help the contestant. The woman who helped (thanks for doing that!) didn’t sound too sure of her answer (did anyone watch that movie?) I used up the 50-50 lifeline which got rid of two answers, including the one offered by the passerby (I made the right move). So now I just had to choose the right one of the two. I picked one, and a bunch of audience members applauded. I thought I got it, but unfortunately it was the other.

Bummer that I didn’t get to go further, but I had a blast giving it a try. I would do it again in a second.