Studio tours?

[Charade67]

We are thinking about doing a studio tour when we visit Hollywood next year. Are they worth it? Any specific one that is a can’t miss?

 

[BadPinkTink]

I have done 2 and the tour at Universal Studios.

Universal Studios is the themepark and you need a themepark ticket.

The other 2 I have done are
Warner Bros in Burbank
Paramount in Hollywood

I did the Warner Bros Studio Tour in June 2017.
Sundays you would have a better chance of seeing more of the backlot. It is a working studio and most shows shoot Monday to Friday. They shoot on the backlot so the tours work around the shooting schedule. So you could be unlucky and be there on a Wednesday when half the backlot is closed.

The tour is in 2 parts, the first part is the van ride around the back lot sets. Its a lot better than Universal backlot as they park the vans in the different areas and take you on a walking tour though the buildings. The focus a lot on Pretty Little Liars and Gilmore Girls as these were the most recent high profile shows. But the guide's know their history and will focus on older films and shows if you ask or recognise a set.

The second part is the Batman cars exhibition.

The third part is the DC and Harry Potter exhibition. When I was there, it was Suicide Squad, but it might be changed for 2018

The last part is the Friends and everything Warner Bros area. They have a real Central Perk coffee shop, with branded coffee cups and other merchandise. They also have the Central Perk set with the sofa which is an interactive area. The interactive area is where you can play a member of the cast. They get 4 people to sit on the sofa and some others to be background extras. The ones on the sofa read some real dialogue from the show off screens. This is taped and then through the magic of TV the real people are "in" the the real episode.

After the Friends area there was a Pretty Little Liars exhibit, more interactive Harry Potter areas, some Warner Bros down though the years exhibits and at the very end a merchandise shop.

This is how the tour is laid out

1. At the main entrance building you watch a 5 minute into show and then get loaded into a van with a tour guide.
2. The tour guide drives the van to the backlot area where you spend about 40 minutes to an hour. There are about 3 stops where the tour guide parks the van and everyone gets off for a walkaround in different areas and buildings
3. Once done on the backlot everyone gets back on the van and the tour guide drives to different buildings on the property.
4. One building is where the DC and Harry Potter exhibitions are. The DC costumes and props are on the ground floor and the Harry Potter exhibition is up the stairs. You get about 30 minutes to walk around this building. There are restrooms in this building.
5. Another building is the set for The Big Bang Theory. It is located in a soundstage. The actual set is behind a glass wall but you can see everything from the audience bleachers to the camera positions. Everything is left as if the cast, crew and audience had just left after a day of filming.
6. Once everyone is done, everyone gets back on the van and the tour guide drives to another building. This is where the Batman cars exhibition is.
Once everyone is done seeing the Bat cars, about 20 minutes, I think, everyone gets back on the van to the last building, which is where the Friends set, Central Perk coffee shop, Pretty Little Liars, Harry Potter Interactive areas and the merchandise shop are.

The Harry Potter Interactive areas are broom flying photo ops and House Photo photo ops.

You cant just go to the Friends set and Central Perk or just to the Batman cars or just to the backlot, you have to do everything. There is also a ton of merchandise in the shop, but again the shop is only accessible from the tour, its not in the main entrance building.

We spent about 4 hours there. We bought tickets in advance online. They time the tours to leave the main building every 30 minutes, so that the different areas and buildings dont get over crowded. They have a limited number for each time slot, the number of people they can fit on the van.


My review of Paramount Studios click here https://www.disboards.com/threads/paramount-studios-tour-la-review-june-2018.3690423/#post-59403015


Out of the 2 proper studios I would recommend Warner Bros

 

[BrianL]

I have done the WB Studios tour and it is pretty great, especially for Batman or Harry Potter fans. The tours vary and are never the same, as it is a working lot and they take you to different sets depending on what is not being used. On my first trip, we were allowed into the set of Big Bang Theory and could view from where the audience would sit. They explained how the filming works and how they record and mix the audience's laughter. On another tour, we went to the set of a sitcom that had recently been cancelled, so they let us walk all throughout it. This was a single-camera comedy (something about employees at a dating website) so the sets had four walls with no need for an audience. We also got to stand on the stage for Conan, which was a real treat for me.

So, really it just depends on what is going on. If they are taping sitcoms and other shows that day, they may offer you tickets if there are any still left. I did a taping of Conan on my first trip, though I had requested tickets in advance. There are sitcoms too, though I hear it takes many hours due to multiple takes (the talk shows don't do multiple takes). Anyway, I highly recommend the experience on the WB lot.

Universal's a nice tour too, but it's more about the theme park. Still, it's a great park, and I like US Hollywood much better than US Orlando, and that mostly has to do with the back lot tour. Not only do you get to see some actual classic movie sets (and maybe celebrities walking by), but they do several immersive stops, like Kong 360 3D, Earthquake, and Fast & Furious (I have not seen that one yet). I understand that the Kong and F&F experiences are quite similar to what they have added to the Orlando park, but at USH you see them all along the Back Lot tour.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

It has been described nicely already, so I'll just add that I really enjoyed the WB tour. I was inside Lorelia Gilmore's house, which was really exciting for me! I've also done the WB tour in London, and I liked that I got closer to the Harry Potter stuff in CA.

 

[Charade67]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. It looks like WB is the way to go. My husband is a Hugh Batman fan and the whole family loves Harry Potter. We had considered Universal, but we just spent a whole week at Universal Studios in Florida back in December.