Los Angeles is known as the city of the stars! Home to celebrities and numerous studios, this city is every movie-buff’s dream. Me over here – the self-proclaimed movie-buff was ecstatic to book a trip to the one and only Los Angeles. And before I even purchased my flights, I knew a studio tour had to be on my itinerary. I’m just going to come right out and say this: no trip to Los Angeles is complete without taking the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.
Why the Warner Bros. Studio Tour?
Perhaps I’m dating myself here, but growing up I always looked forward to watching Bugs Bunny on weekends. It was a childhood memory that has stayed with me into adulthood. But that wasn’t the only reason I wanted to check out the Warner Bros.Tour. Some of my favourite movies growing up were a Warner Bros. production: The Goonies, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Free Willy, Little Giants, the Harry Potter series and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – to name a few. And then there were the TV shows that got me through my childhood, teenage years and into adulthood: Full House, Step-by-Step, ER, the O.C., Gilmore Girls, Friends, and Gossip Girl… If I was going to be in LA, I had to see behind the scenes.
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour Experience
If you’re looking for a behind-the-scenes Hollywood movie experience, Warner Bros. is definitely that tour. We purchased our tickets in advance online, and selected a mid-morning tour time. I actually liked registering for a specific time because it made it easier to plan our day around our visit. The studio is located in Burbank, California a short drive from Hollywood and close to Griffith Park. Tours are fairly small – as everyone piles onto a golf cart, so we were a group of about 12 people, making it easier to keep track of everyone and move through the studio easily.
5 Reasons to Take the Warner Bros. Studio Tour:
- They have small tour sizes: Like I mentioned above, the Warner Bros. Studio tour groups were small with approximately 10-12 people on each tour. This made it easy to keep the group together and ask questions to our guide along the way.
- See and learn about history in the making: The Warner Bros. Studio lot has so much history! As we walked through the streets our guide told us about different movies and shows that were shot onsite, famous actors who filmed there and some interesting stories. The studio dates back to 1918, so you can just imagine how much it’s grown over the years. The tour even drives by the various sound stages for popular shows and you can see the plaques for everything that filmed in that studio.
- You get to go behind the scenes: We were able to go into some of these buildings – most of which were facades with not much (if anything) on the other side of the doors. Our guide took us to the set of the Big Bang Theory (sadly we couldn’t take photos) and I got to go to Stars Hollow! As we drove through the lot we also saw some really interesting sets – like the haunted house from the movie “It” being dismantled.
- There’s lots of variety: On this tour you’ll get to see the back-lot exterior sets, a sound stage (depends on what’s filming that day), the prop department, the archive, the car vault and their outdoor “nature” areas. The tour ends at Central Perk where you get to go on-set at the popular Friends coffee shop. We especially liked visiting the car vault and the archive – there were so many interesting movie props and displays to look at. The Harry Potter props were very neat to see in person, especially the sorting hat that sorted me into Hufflepuff!
- You have to visit a studio if you’re in LA: Going to LA without visiting a movie studio is like going to a brewery and not trying the beer. We did two studio tours, and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour was by far our favourite because it was more interactive (than Universal Studios).
Know Before You Go – 7 Things to Know About the Warner Bros. Studio Tour:
- Arrive approximately 20 minutes before your scheduled tour time as you have to park and go through security.
- You’ll need photo identification when you check in.
- This tour isn’t for kids under the age of 8. You must be over the age of 8 and minors under 18 need an adult to accompany them.
- Check their website about what you can and cannot bring: large bags and video cameras are on the list to leave at home.
- Book your tour in advance if you can. This is a popular tour and can sell out quickly depending on the day.
- There is moderate waking required – wear comfortable walking shoes.
- Parking is available across the street for $12. It’s a small lot, so arrive early just in case.
So if you’re in LA, I would highly recommend a tour of the Warner Bros. Studios. This review was based solely on my own experience! I didn’t receive any compensation or discount to review this tour. And even still – I think you need to go. If I go back to LA in the future, I’ll probably add this to my list again. Check out my 1-Week LA Itinerary for trip planning help.
Have you been to Warner Bros.? If so, what was your favourite part of the visit?
