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When it comes to L.A. outings, the movie studio tour can be easy for locals to overlook. After all, surrounded by Hollywood productions, the entire city can feel like a stage. And if you’ve been on backlots or know people who work in the film and television industries, the magic of the moving picture may already be demystified.
And yet there’s still much to adore about an afternoon jaunt through a filmmaking campus.
In a city that’s too often unjustly stereotyped as favoring the new, the Hollywood studio reminds us of how much history — and, specifically, pop-culture myth-making — is rooted in and around Los Angeles. There in these spaces, you might see a spot where James Dean once stood, roll past the “Psycho” house, step into a partly dressed soundstage or walk through a sound-making Foley factory. Our studios remain working palaces dedicated to crafting dreams.
That all may sound romanticized — the reality of “making it” in Hollywood is increasingly challenging, and the studio itself is threatened by a global, digital and consolidating production industry — but it’s only meant to note what’s at risk.
For me, the studio tour was once a go-to destination when out-of-towners came to visit. These days, I like to revisit one every few years, just as a reminder to remain uncynical and to marvel at the talent and cinematic art that this region has invented. And each tour has a slightly different flavor. Whether it’s animation history you crave or museum-like installations, there’s a tour for every kind of film buff.
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Universal Studios
Visitors enter the set or Jupiter’s Claim from the movie, “Nope,” while taking the Universal Studios tram tour.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Best for: Seekers of thrills and cinematic magic
It’s not an exaggeration to say that if there was no tram tour on the Universal Studios lot, there would be no Universal Studios theme park. Sixty years ago, the backlot tram tour began as a way, in part, to increase commissary sales as tourists liked the opportunity to dine on the lot. Quickly, however, those running the tour had a realization that every studio trek has to confront: looking at giant soundstages or deserted sets is fun for only so long.
The most important theme park ride ever created? It may just be the Universal Studios tram tour, which dates to the silent film era. Once primarily a behind-the-scenes tour, the trek has evolved to define the modern theme park.
Thus, Universal Studios pioneered the concept of melding the tour with various attractions — cinematic illusions such as a flash flood, a runaway train or, in the late ’80s, an earthquake simulator. Today, the tram tour — now officially designated as the World-Famous Studio Tour — is but one part of a larger theme park, designed to show us mini-attractions such as an encounter with a shark from “Jaws” or a 3-D ride alongside King Kong. Yes, there are backlot sets, including instantly recognizable locations from “Back to the Future,” “Pyscho,” “Desperate Housewives” and, most recently, “Nope.” But this 60-minute journey is more than a behind-the-scenes look. Instead, the focus is on the emotion and excitement of movie-making mirages.
The shark from “Jaws” appears to attack visitors on the tram tour at Universal Studios.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
There is even a lesser known VIP option to exploring the park. Expect to spend around $400 per person for it, but the perks include a longer tour with the ability to walk around the sets, venture into a prop house and likely set foot on a soundstage.
Universal Studios, 100 Universal City Plaza. The tram tour is included with theme park admission, which varies per day but ranges from $109 to $149 per person. For more information, visit universalstudioshollywood.com.
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Warner Bros.
An interactive “Sorting Hat” from the “Harry Potter” is franchise is part of the Warner Bros. tour experience.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Best for: Fans of interactive exhibits, Central Perk selfies and everything “Harry Potter”
Warner Bros. has always had a showman’s approach to its studio tour, opening its gates to the public in the mid-’60s to herald the arrival of “The Great Race” with cars, props and a behind-the-scenes featurette to accompany a backlot venture. It’s a mindset that continues today, as the Warner Bros. Studio Tour aims to walk the line between pure history and entertainment, with numerous recent expansions into interactive installations. Come for the tour, stay for a potion-making mini-game to celebrate the “Harry Potter” franchise or the ability to pose with multiple Batmobiles.
Warner Bros. is now offering a Turner Classic Movies behind-the-scenes tour that will bring guests to previous off-limit areas of the lot.
The standard tour offers about a 60-minute tram outing. Expect to stop and walk among its suburban town, where guides will point out filming locations from “Friends,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Cool Hand Luke” and more, as well as to see the wilds of San Fernando Valley, including a forest area that’s been used in the likes of “Jurassic Park,” “True Blood” and “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” There’s also a Turner Classic Movies-themed tour, if you lean more toward cinematic classics such as “Casablanca” and “Rebel Without a Cause.”
Guests can partake in a green-screen photo experience at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
But what truly separates Warner Bros. from its competitors is recent investments in a re-creation of the “Friends” Central Perk Café — yes, you can dine there — and its surrounding museum-like exhibits. Interactive tables will allow you to explore the actors of Warner Bros. past and present, while special effects stations can add or subtract digital accouterments with the movement of a knob. There’s up-sell green screen photo ops, short films and demonstrations of motion-capture technology. A secondary stop pulls from tricks from the theme park industry, with photo ops pegged to DC superhero films and the “Potter” franchise, including the ability to be assigned a personality by the latter’s wizardly Sorting Hat.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour, 3400 Warner Blvd., Burbank. The standard tour starts at $73; Southern California residents receive a $12 discount through Dec. 17, with deluxe and VIP offerings providing additional exploration of the studio’s backlot. For more information, visit wbstudiotour.com.
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Walt Disney Studios
The Walt Disney Archives restored the office of company founder Walt Disney as it was believed to have looked at the time of his death in 1966. It is part of the studio’s tour for D23 members.
(Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)
Best for: Disney history buffs and animation lovers
If Disneyland idealizes American stories and Western takes on classic fairy tales, then a trip to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank grounds them in a bit more reality. But it is still Disney, so expect a little bit of folkloric mythologizing, especially when it comes to company founder Walt Disney.
A centerpiece of the 2½-hour tour — open only to members of the Disney fan club D23, including those with a free membership — is the meticulous restoration of Disney’s five-room office suite. It’s a treasure trove of items belonging to Disney — or re-creations of them, such as a reproduction of the special Oscar he won for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” with a normal-sized statuette and seven smaller ones. Marvel, too, at the Disneyland master plan, with nods to what were then recently completed projects such as It’s a Small World. The office is preserved as it would have looked at the time of Disney’s death in 1966. (Note: At the time of publication, the office was due for renovation in late 2024.)
Disney announces at the D23 fan convention that the World of Avatar and a ‘Coco’-themed boat ride are in the works for Disney California Adventure Park.
Additionally, no other tour is as dedicated to the art of animation as this one. No real surprise, of course, but guests will visit the original animation building — where “Cinderella” and “Lady and the Tramp,” among many others, were created — and learn about Disney’s many advancements to the medium. Discover, too, the unique construction of the lot, and clever efforts to conceal precious hand-drawn animation cels from the sun. The tour also includes a stop at the Walt Disney Archives, the working research lab dedicated to preserving all things Disney.
The Walt Disney Studios Official Tour, 500 S. Buena Vista St., Burbank. D23 members are allowed to purchase two tickets; ticket cost varies by membership level but starts at $79. For more information, visit d23.com/upcoming-events.
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Sony Pictures
Tourists view a variety of locations during the Sony Studios lot tour, with Tony Tasset’s 94-foot, 2012-constructed rainbow that references “The Wizard of Oz” in the distance.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Best for: Game show devotees and a vision of Oz
The Times first wrote about a tour of the famed MGM Studios lot in the late ’60s. Times, culture and ownership have changed, and the now Sony Pictures Studio Tour no longer, for instance, provides a look at Esther Williams’ private swimming pool. Today, it begins with a re-creation of the “Seinfeld” set and props from the “Men in Black” films. The Culver City lot still offers the occasional nod to its past, via architectural allusions to MGM’s history or artist Tony Tasset’s 94-foot, 2012-constructed rainbow that references “The Wizard of Oz,” which was filmed at the locale.
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A signature of the modern Sony Pictures tour is a stop on the sets of venerable game shows such as “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” provided they’re not in the midst of filming. But even if they are, you’ll still have the opportunity to stand before a green screen and take home a “Jeopardy!” picture as a memento.
You’ll also likely get a look at various working aspects of the studio. On the day I visited, we strolled through the sound production offices to see how Foley artists operate. Imagine a darkened, cramped room that looks like someone’s garage filled with old clothes, crusty leaves, an assortment of footwear and broken machinery.
Tourists view the RV used in “Breaking Bad” on the Sony Studios Tour.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
It was a brief chance to play, as guests stepped among different floor types to create various sounds. We also spent a moment in an overdub room, mimicking the creation of white noise from a crowd.
“Breaking Bad” and Ghostbusters” fans will snare a look at vehicles used in productions. For a different perspective, schedule one of Sony’s evening tours.
Sony Pictures, 3990 Overland Ave., Culver City. Tours start at $55. For more information, visit sonypicturesstudiostours.com.
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Paramount Pictures
A larger-than-life Bumblebee from the “Transformers” films is on display on the Paramount Pictures tour.
(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)
Best for: Those looking for Hollywood nostalgia
Paramount dispenses with the slickness and some of the how-to’s of other tours, focusing instead on its historic Hollywood locale on Melrose Avenue. A sense of grandeur permeates the lot, thanks in large part to the ornate archway of the Bronson Gate — which was a filming location for “Sunset Boulevard.” On Paramount’s standard tour, you’ll learn how Alfred Hitchcock nearly destroyed a soundstage to film “Rear Window,” and glimpse the lot’s expansive “blue sky tank,” which can create oceanic illusions. On the day I visited, we explored a soundstage dressed for Taylor Tomlinson’s “After Midnight,” and paused to watch crews ready the lot’s New York streets for filming.
At a prop warehouse specifically geared for the tour, one can step on a transporter from “Star Trek Beyond.” Also present: costumes for the “Halo” series, a full-scale Bumblebee from the “Transformers” films and mushrooms and an “egg mobile” from the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies. This is more of a gallery-like setup than it is a venture into a working prop house.
The two-hour Paramount tour is relatively intimate, featuring a small group and a tour guide armed with an iPad. Higher-priced options offer a look into more operational archival areas of the lot, but as it stands, it’s primarily a chance to see a historic Hollywood lot, one potentially on the verge of significant change.
Paramount Pictures, 5515 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. Tour start at $65. For more information, visit paramountstudiotour.com.
