Mom, You Know We're in Hell, Right? A Feb Disneyland/LA TR. Updated 8/7 x 4 The End!

It was a Sunday morning and there was a church service going on the beach. We figured out later that it was mostly homeless at the service.

This is actually kind of cool! Sad to see there is so much homelessness around the area--I was surprised to read/see that in so many of your pictures!

That wouldn’t have been too bad but the inch of water on the floor littered with underwear and other products of “The World’s Oldest Profession” was the real disturbing part. I closed the door quickly, told Jocelyn that she really didn’t have to go the bathroom that badly and we moved on.

Wow. Just wow. Good call on finding somewhere to eat for a decent bathroom!!
 
I am enjoying your report! Excited to see your report of the WB tour, as I live right by there and I've done it twice. Venice is not somewhere I would generally willingly spend time and Sunday morning looks like an interesting time to be there.
 
Venice Beach sure is an interesting place! At least you can say you were there! I like the elephant you got from one of the vendors, very nice!
 
Wow your Venice beach report is interesting. Muscle beach would be something I'd want to see to. Never expected it to look so bad.

Seeing marijuana stores all over would take some getting used to.

Venice Beach was definitely not what we were expecting that's for sure!

This is actually kind of cool! Sad to see there is so much homelessness around the area--I was surprised to read/see that in so many of your pictures!

Wow. Just wow. Good call on finding somewhere to eat for a decent bathroom!!

There really were homeless everywhere we went even in the more affluent sections of LA. None on Disney property but there were some on the corners by our hotel.

I still can't get the image of those bathrooms out of my head!


I am enjoying your report! Excited to see your report of the WB tour, as I live right by there and I've done it twice. Venice is not somewhere I would generally willingly spend time and Sunday morning looks like an interesting time to be there.

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying it. I doubt we would go back to Venice Beach again, that's for sure.

Venice Beach sure is an interesting place! At least you can say you were there! I like the elephant you got from one of the vendors, very nice!

It certainly was interesting! I love my stone elephant.
 


Warner Brothers Studio Tour

When I left off last, we were racing towards Hollywood and our 3 pm Warner Brothers Studio Tour. Despite having eaten two breakfasts that morning we were all getting hungry at that point but we did not have time to stop. We made it to Warner Brothers Studio around 2:30 pm.




Luckily there was a Starbucks in the lobby and we were able to grab a quick bite to hold us over. I have no idea what everyone else got but I had a bagel and a banana. I wanted a chocolate chip cookie but they were out of those.

We first entered into a theater where we watched a short film about Warner Brothers. They then divided us into groups and loaded us into open air trams for the tour.






I will admit that I did not take any notes for this tour and definitely don’t remember all of the facts the tour guide told us. But I did take lots of pictures to hopefully entertain you somewhat.



Our first stop was a set that was used for scenes meant to look like they were shot in the woods or jungle.



This next cabin has been used in many movies and TV shows. The only one I remember for sure was Hart of Dixie. My brother is a huge fan of that show and he got very excited because he recognized the building.



This next façade was also in the wooded section and I think the guide said it was used on Pretty Little Liars? I could be way off there though because I don’t watch the show.



The next set she drove us through was a typical residential street. Most of the houses were just facades but a few actually housed offices for Warner Brothers staff.







The next section was a town square. Once again John recognized some of the buildings from Hart of Dixie.





I’m not sure I even need to tell most people where this next house is from but just in case, it’s the Full House house.



This next little patch of grass looks pretty non-descript but it is used for park scenes. Our guide mentioned that an episode of Friends was shot here. Something about a football game in Central Park. I will admit I haven’t seen a whole lot of episodes of Friends. I did watch casually during the first few seasons but then I discovered Survivor which was on at the same time.



The next few pictures where from a City set.





After exploring the different outdoor sets, we stopped at a building and got out of the tram. The bottom floor had displays featuring Super Heroes.



We only had 20 minutes and I really don’t care all that much about Super Heroes so I headed immediately up to the 2nd floor. This was the area I was most looking forward to, Harry Potter! I am almost as big of a fan of Harry Potter as I am Disney. I was wearing a Hufflepuff shirt and hoodie that day just for this occasion. I could have spent all day in that upstairs area but I ended up moving through quickly so I could see everything. I managed to photograph a ton of the displays so get ready for a barrage of HP photos.





















They had an actual Sorting Hat that you could try on and get sorted into a Hogwarts house.



I already knew that I am a Hufflepuff and the hat confirmed it (of course it could have had something to do with the Hufflepuff hoodie I was wearing). I’m bummed I didn’t get pictures of us doing this but Mom was sorted into Hufflepuff, Jocelyn was Gryffindor and John got Slytherin.

Continuing on with more photos.








The last part of the display was from the newest movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.







Hope I didn’t bore you too much with all the HP pictures!

And I’m going to have to stop there for this update because I seem to be missing pictures from the rest of the tour. Sorry for the short update, I will need to find the missing pictures this weekend and get them uploaded.

Up Next: Finishing the Warner Brothers Tour
 


Just read your whole TR today. So exciting to see the WB stuff. We are doing that tour when we are there in August. My son is going to love the DC and HP stuff. Did you say you only get 20 minutes for that part? It will never be enough time!
 
Oh dear, Venice... we decided to skip it on our trip last summer. It wasn't a big draw to me, and when my fiance had been with his mom and aunt when he was younger, they were followed about by some unsavory characters. We stopped at Santa Monica pier, which borders Venice Beach, and that was nice and touristy and we spent a few hours there hanging out. I think I have that up on my DLR TR.

We did WB two years ago. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so I loved the upstairs area too. Downstairs was Batman when we went... not my thing. Did they still have the Hermione mannequin from the second movie? It creeped me out lol. I would have loved to see the Fantastic Beasts stuff.

I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan, so I enjoyed seeing the places from the show. The town square was used for Gilmore Girls along with a lot of buildings around the edge and some of the houses. I think they used it for Pretty Little Liars too. I liked Hart of Dixie but I never watched it until after our tour. I might have to rewatch it now just to look for the sets!
 
Looks like a great tour so far! I love the Potter stuff and the Full House house!

It was a really fun tour although a bit short. You could probably spend a whole day there but the tour was only 3 hours.

Sounds like a cool tour, loved all the pictures!! I loved Hart of Dixie so it was fun seeing those set pics!

I haven't seen any episodes of Hart of Dixie but my brother has the series on DVD and watches it all the time.

Just read your whole TR today. So exciting to see the WB stuff. We are doing that tour when we are there in August. My son is going to love the DC and HP stuff. Did you say you only get 20 minutes for that part? It will never be enough time!

Thanks for joining in! Yes, unfortunately we only had 20 minutes there. You would really have to hurry if you want to see both displays.

Oh dear, Venice... we decided to skip it on our trip last summer. It wasn't a big draw to me, and when my fiance had been with his mom and aunt when he was younger, they were followed about by some unsavory characters. We stopped at Santa Monica pier, which borders Venice Beach, and that was nice and touristy and we spent a few hours there hanging out. I think I have that up on my DLR TR.

We did WB two years ago. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so I loved the upstairs area too. Downstairs was Batman when we went... not my thing. Did they still have the Hermione mannequin from the second movie? It creeped me out lol. I would have loved to see the Fantastic Beasts stuff.

I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan, so I enjoyed seeing the places from the show. The town square was used for Gilmore Girls along with a lot of buildings around the edge and some of the houses. I think they used it for Pretty Little Liars too. I liked Hart of Dixie but I never watched it until after our tour. I might have to rewatch it now just to look for the sets!

I think I would have preferred Santa Monica but Mom wanted to see Venice. It was definitely not what she was expecting!

Nope, no Hermione mannequin thank goodness. I can understand how that could be creepy to see!
 
Finishing the Warner Brothers Tour Part 1

All righty, I managed to find the rest of my photos over the weekend. For some reason, Photobucket did not upload a large chunk of photos right in the middle of this day. Speaking of Photobucket, I guess I’m one of the lucky ones that’s grandfathered in until December 2018. So my photos will continue to show up for now. I do need to see about finding a new service going forward so I can update all of my TRs. That’s going to take a heck of a long time! What does everyone here use? I don’t mind paying a small amount, I pay $30 a year right now for Photobucket but $400 is a bit ridiculous. Also, the simpler the better as I’m not all that tech savvy.

First up are a few more photos from the Magical Beasts display.










Our next stop on the tour was the sound stages. Here’s one that most people will recognize. We also saw the building that housed Friends but I didn’t get a photo of that sign.





We stopped at that point and when into the building where 2 Broke Girls was filmed. No photography was allowed in there. We were able to sit for a few minutes in the section where the live audience sits and check out all the sets while the guide talked about the show and the filming process. I was surprised at how small each set was. I had never seen an episode of 2 Broke Girls so I couldn’t tell you at this point what each one was. I do remember the diner and the girl’s apartment but there were a few others as well. I did try to watch an episode of the show when I got home but I thought it was awful and didn’t make it all the way through. Sorry if anyone here is a fan but I’m not surprised it was cancelled recently.

Next we drove through the Design Studio where the sets are built.








Apparently we were a stone’s throw from Universal Studios and could actually see the Hogwarts Castle from the parking lot of the Warner Brothers studio.



Our next stop consisted of two different buildings, a display of Batman vehicles and the Prop Warehouse. I know very little about the more recent Batman movies but the vehicles were pretty cool to look at.











We could also play with the Bat Signal if we wanted to, basically just turning it on and off.





Directly across from the Batman display was the Props Warehouse. This was another area I could have spent hours in, there was just so much to see.





Many of the props had labels on them indicating what they had been used for or were reserved for in the future.



If you needed a chandelier for a scene, there were a few to choose from.



We visited the White House and my brother decided to be President for the day.





Who shot JR anyone?



These guys from the Matrix were a bit too lifelike.



Continued in Next Post
 
Finishing the Warner Brothers Tour Part 2



More props from The Matrix.



Here’s some props that most kids wouldn’t know what to do with today.



Any kind of instrument you could ever want.



Statues and busts.





I thought this bench was interesting but probably a bit too much for my house.





Duck Duck Goose?



We barely scratched the surface in the Prop Warehouse, it went on for what seemed like miles further than we were allowed to go.

That was the last guided part of the tour but there was still more yet to come. Our guide dropped us at another building which had a walk through interactive area that illustrated more about the process of making a show. The building also had a coffee shop modeled after Central Perk from friends and, no surprise here, a gift shop. We could spend as much time as we wanted here and then catch a tram back to the front where we parked.

First up, we walked through the interactive area. This first area was storyboarding for the shows.




Casting.



Costumes.





They actually had the full Central Perk set there and you could sit on the couch and get pictures taken. They had a photographer who took photos you could buy at the end but they were also willing to use your camera.











They had a set from Two and a Half Men.



Costumes from different shows. I only took one picture of these and I think this is Ross and Rachel.



They had some demonstrations on how green screens worked.



There was another room that had props from shows. Here’s some badges from ER.



Jack Warner’s phone book. I was excited to see a familiar name.







Jocelyn wanted her photo with the Central Perk sign. This was the little cafe where they sold food and drinks. I didn’t get anything there and I can’t remember if anyone else in our group did.



After that, we spent some time in the gift shop. I was wanting to buy something Harry Potter but never did find anything I really wanted so I left empty handed. Overall a very fun tour, I loved it but almost wished it was longer than 3 hours, there was just so much to see.

Up Next: Hanging With the Rich and Famous
 
Nice Update, looks like it was a fun tour.

I enjoyed seeing the "Friends" props and set. I was never a big watcher while it was on but I have gotten to love it in the reruns. I watch it just about any time I see it on.
 
That prop warehouse looks awesome! So many cool things to see. Glad it was a good tour but can understand wanting it to be longer.
 
Just jumping in and playing a lot of catch up! Love all those little details and happy to see another picture posting nut doing a TR! The tour though Warner was amazing! I've seen a lot of people cover Universal but not near as much on the Warner Brothers Studio - thank you! :thumbsup2
 
I have no idea what everyone else got but I had a bagel and a banana.

I bet I could've guessed that's what you'd order!! :)

IMG_4038_zpserbi1hs0.jpg


SO cool about all the HP stuff!!!! I definitely would've wanted to spend more time there checking everything out!

Love the Central Perk pic :) Too cute!
 
Thank you for your trip report, it's great! Really appreciate the WB tour info as we will be doing it in October and your review got me even more excited!
 
I was also not a fan of 2 Broke Girls. I tried a few episodes... We got to go into a set of Pretty Little Liars, someone's kitchen. We didn't get to see near as much of the prop warehouse! I do remember that red couch though :) Our guide just took pictures of people at Central Perk and then we were shooed along.
 
I'm joining very late but I'm just so sad your solo TR ended so I'm jumping on to this one :goodvibes
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top