Warner Bros Studio Tour Hollywood – An Experience
Ever since I had started planning my trip to California, Los Angeles was set to be the main attraction. Movies were, are and will probably be my life. And this is the place where cinema, as an entertainment medium was born. The trip would be full of attractions of any kind, but I was sure it was going to be some sort of history lesson. I would finally get to be where some of my favorite films were shot (yeah, I was aware it didn’t work that way, but the idea was indelible from my mind). However, there was a catch. I would not be alone, and my significant other shares some of the love, but she isn’t as passionate as I am.
So, the film studio tours were a conversation I had to start over and over. The cost, the limited amount of days, the fun. It was all questioned, but ultimately, it didn’t need a whole lot of convincing because studio tours, aren’t simply that. It’s not walking around sets like many people think. There’s much more. However, there’s a catch again. It all depends on which one you take.
I won’t explain further details about the trip. We just agreed on visiting the ones we could, and doing the ones we knew we had to go to. That’s how we ended up in Burbank to walk around the very foundations of Warner Bros. Studios. What follows is not a guide. I’m not a travel specialist. My thing is movies, and of those I can talk to you about. And if you like movies, Warner Bros Studio Tour Hollywood is a must!
And no, it doesn’t matter if you don’t like them as much as I do, because it’s precisely these kinds of experiences that will allow you to appreciate “how the moving pictures are made”. I’m sure of this because I was alongside a witness whose love for movies and TV grew beyond what we thought.
What’s there do in Warner Bros Studio Tour Hollywood?
Don’t get me wrong. There’s walking in the Warner Bros Studio Tour Hollywood. Just not so much that you will get tired of it. Besides you will probably forget about the excessive effort just as you enter the first exhibition, the Storytelling Showcase. Memorabilia is plenty, just like you would expect from studios of this caliber. Fortunately, the experience designers go for more and teach you about the place you’re standing on. This is history in the making, and by visiting this, you’re becoming part of it. After a couple of photo opportunities, and getting a glimpse of JR’s boots and hat and Phoebe’s guitar, you literally enter a movie theater.
In there, you will be shown a supercut. A very emotional one that indicates 100 years have passed and you will be part of the celebration. After that, it’s time to ride! To the Backlots.
A very comfortable golf cart will drive you around backlots to explore the real places where films are made. You actually get a look at real sets, but you also learn why some TV shows look exactly the same and why some of their elements are strikingly similar regardless of the period. In a couple of stops, you get to sit in front of the Friends’ fountain (thanks to the guide who kindly takes pictures for you), and you walk around the portion of grass where Phoebe ran funny. Yeah, fans of Friends need to come here and see the Gellers home. Also, Casablanca fans, you’re in for a treat. My absolute favorite stop of this part of the tour was standing on the same location where The Monster Squad‘s third act was shot.
Any studio would finish their tour at this stage. After all, that’s what we came to see, right? Fortunately, in the Warner Bros Studio Tour Hollywood, the experience goes beyond expectations.
Up next is Stage 48, a space dedicated to recreating stuff from your favorite films and TV shows. From a Central Perk, to an exhibition about the stages of moviemaking (for film buffs, this will be amazing!), there’s something for everyone, including more (impressive) memorabilia and interactive experiences (kids will have fun as well). Here you also get the chance of sitting in a recreated set from Friends and The Big Bang Theory. If your thing are gift shops and you like Friends, be prepared. This is it.
After that, the tour goes on. We go into the world of DC with a massive exhibition that’s better seen than told about. From the vehicles to the costumes, chances are your mind will be taken apart and put together by what Warner Bros Studios, have planned to make the studio tour far better than others. Oh yeah, and it doesn’t matter what version of Batman you like the most, there is something from each franchise. Care to guess what I mean? I’ll give ya a hint: VEHICLES.
Or perhaps you’re into Harry Potter? The recreations are truly great. And this is where your cellphone battery will drain out of all the pictures you’ll take. This one is a very niche-oriented part of the tour, but chances are you’ll still enjoy it.
However, do you still want to shop? The tour ends with the Studio Store. Prepare your wallets and credit cards. You’ll spend money, whether you like it or not.
Not a Tour, But an Experience
When it comes to the studio tours to schedule while being in Los Angeles, it doesn’t get better than this one. Why? It’s not just a studio tour, but an experience through years and years of moviemaking and TV production. It was completely unexpected in regards to what you can find on the Internet about comparing the Warner Bros Studio Tour Hollywood with others of its kind. Each one has its own value, and Warner Bros has made the experience more fun, more friendly to the family, and much more interactive. That, and the gift shops are massively better than the rest.
Also, the writers strike is a reality that studios have to deal with, and the rest of them were… dead, so to speak. No active productions means no shows taking place. The Warner Bros one is the only one that has stuff to do besides walking around backlots, purchasing stuff from movies, and visiting soundstages.
You’ve probably read you can complete this one in 2-3 hours, but it’ll probably take more than that. If you’re in Burbank, then it must mean you like films, and if you do, prepare to spend more than 3 hours. It’s not the fault of guides or anything. It’s actually that massive, and curiously, this is the only tour, where you can walk around by yourself through some of the exhibitions. Worth the money? You betcha!
Visiting LA soon? Plan your visit to the studio tour. You won’t regret it!
