Call it mob mentality or peer pressure, but even if you aren’t a die-hard Oprah Winfrey fan, it’s oh so easy to get sucked into a cult of personality when in the presence of the richest woman in show biz. So there I was, next to my best friend, my youngest sister, and my mom, four rows from the stage at Harpo Studios in downtown Chicago. We were in the midst of a cheering and screaming crowd of 300, almost all women, many fulfilling lifelong dreams of paying homage to Oprah on syndicated television. Like Sex and the City, it could be the female-bonding equivalent of the Super Bowl.

Going to The Oprah Winfrey Show had actually been my best friend Julie’s idea, one of the top items on her “bucket list”. She had mused on it for a couple of years before we finally got serious this winter. My mom is a huge Oprah fan, so I wanted to surprise her with the trip. But it’s notoriously difficult to get tickets, mostly because there are no tickets. The show is reservations-only, and since demand far exceeds supply, competition to secure a spot is fierce. You can make a free reservation for up to four people; however, full names must be given in advance for each seat, thereby eliminating any opportunities for scalpers. And if you have to change more than one name in the reservation, you need to call ahead.

To top it off, phone lines are open only two days each month, and reservations are taken only for the following month’s tapings. But with my reluctant husband helping—plus Julie, my sister, and me—we thought we would have a decent shot at getting through. On the appointed day, at 10 a.m. Chicago time, we dialled and dialled and redialled for several hours, only to be rewarded with the annoying beep of the busy signal every single time.

But I had a backup plan, albeit one that wasn’t cheap. I had found Michael Barrett via the Chicago Craigslist. For US$1,000, he and his staff did the dirty dialling work. Once they got through the phone maze (obviously with some kind of magic dialling machine), the call was patched through to me, so that I spoke directly to Oprah’s reservations staff. Though you are stuck with whatever dates still have seats available, Barrett’s service fee is fully refundable if he doesn’t get you through. Once seats are filled, the phone lines close for that month.

Three weeks later, we were on a plane from Seattle to Chicago, the third-largest city in the U.S. (Our $240 roundtrip tickets were less than half the fare from YVR.) Except for Julie, who had made a brief visit a decade earlier, none of us knew much about the Windy City. I had imagined it as a rather boring Midwestern metropolis with lots of skyscrapers, the only draw being Oprah; I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In the three days we had to explore before the Oprah taping, we managed to cram in so much sightseeing, snacking, and shopping the Griswolds would have been proud. There was the easy-cruising bike tour of downtown and the lakefront, with eye-popping skyline views; delicious Chicago hot dogs dressed with fresh tomatoes and pickles, so tasty we had them twice; an enraptured encounter with Millennium Park’s marquee sculpture, Cloud Gate ; and the ultimate Chicago experience, a Cubs game at Wrigley Field.

We had so much fun that we almost forgot the real reason we were there.

Monday morning came, and we joined the dozens of eager Oprah fans already standing in line at 6:30 a.m. They had obviously read the same message board on the Oprah Web site that I had, which advised you to dress in bright colours in order to get a better seat. We looked like a flock of tropical birds.

Inside, after several more lineups, we encountered the most zealous security search I’ve ever experienced. I’m still not sure why the guards confiscated every scrap of paper in my purse. But over two hours later, we were finally walking on the hallowed ground of the studio.

As we sat down in our seats, Julie turned to me and gasped, “I think I’m going to cry.” She wasn’t alone. Plenty of other fans were already using the boxes of tissues conveniently located under each seat.

When Oprah finally tottered in on her designer spike heels, a mere 30 feet in front of me, she had to hang on to an assistant just to make it to her chair without toppling over. Not only was she figuratively larger than life, she was literally larger than she appears on TV.

Our episode was a wrap-up for Oprah’s Big Give, and it was going live-to-air in Chicago that morning. During the real-time commercial breaks, the queen of show biz kept to herself, not saying much to the audience. It was like she was “on” during the show, but turned “off” when she wasn’t on-air. She eventually asked the audience a few questions, including the obligatory “Anyone from out of town?”. The four of us dutifully shouted out “Vancouver!” along with all the other responses, but she seemed only half-interested.

One brave fan stood up and yelled, “Oprah, I love your shoes!” She responded, “Well, you can’t have them.” Then she launched into a story about critics slamming her for accepting Jessica Seinfeld’s recent gift of 21 pairs of designer shoes, worth $20,000. At the end, she said, “Well, that’s because they weren’t the ones getting the shoes.” She was probably trying to be funny, and though we all laughed, it was a reminder that this media mogul really does live in a different world.

Then, in the fastest 60 minutes I’ve ever witnessed, it was all over. The world’s most powerful celebrity teetered off in those painful-looking shoes, and staff members ushered the audience out, reminding us to visit the new Oprah Store, conveniently located across the street from the studio.

Not surprisingly, there was a lineup to get into it, and yet another queue at the cash register. But we all bought cheesy Oprah souvenir mugs anyway, because we were still caught up in the thrill of the moment—which is really what a great girls’ getaway is all about. `

Access: We used Michael Barrett’s Oprah Reservations Service at 224-392-2465. Try your luck by doing it yourself; for information, see www.oprah.com/. Check out the message boards for advice on attending a taping. The show is on hiatus until August.

Though most visitors opt to stay near the Magnificent Mile, downtown Chicago’s dining and shopping mecca, hotels there are notoriously expensive, especially for a group. Rent a vacation condo or a home instead. Try www.vrbo.com/. Portillo’s (www.portillos.com/) is a great place to sample Chicago hot dogs. Bobby’s Bike Hike (www.bobbysbikehike.com/) offers several different cycling tours.