Los Angeles - Studio tours: Warner Bros. vs. Paramount vs. Sony vs. Universal

I've been through Warner and Sony, but both were for special groups, and it's been several years. Went to Universal with my parents many, many years ago and, frankly, don't remember anything but the rides. Never been to Paramount. Reviews of Sony I found weren't that enthusiastic. I've always thought that Universal's "tour" was almost an afterthought to the amusement park. Any opinions on Warner and Paramount tours? Prices are alomost identical.

Not the best opinion because I haven't done any of them in 15 years, but everyone I know who visits takes the Warner tour and seems to enjoy it.

For me it would come down to what shows are filmed at each of the studios. Are there any television shows that you particularly enjoy that you would enjoy seeing the sets for?

When I took the Warner Bros. tour it was, basically, a tour of a 'working' studio and I found it more interesting that the Universal 'amusement park' type of tour.

IIRC, it was about 2.5 hours long.

Possibly, you could dovetail the WB tour with free tickets to the the Tonight Show with Jay Leno just down the street and make a nice afternoon/evening out of it. Just a thought.

When I took the Warner Bros. tour it was, basically, a tour of a 'working' studio and I found it more interesting that the Universal 'amusement park' type of tour.

IIRC, it was about 2.5 hours long.

Possibly, you could dovetail the WB tour with free tickets to the the Tonight Show with Jay Leno just down the street and make a nice afternoon/evening out of it. Just a thought.

We weren't interested in Universal, with the amusement park. I actually saw the Leno show taped when we were in the area last Fall and my wife was in a conference (we're in Brazil and my wife has never heard of Leno; our satellite TV service doesn't carry his show). I toured the NBC studios several years ago and was underwhelmed. Right now thinking just of Warner or Paramount. We do get a few American TV series down here but not that many. We do get reruns of Bonanza, but I don't think that's being filmed anymore :-)

I went on the Paramount tour a few months ago and it is a real studio tour, with various shows being filmed while you are touring (e.g. NCIS LA was on a meal break during our tour, several of the stars said hello). Was able to go inside sets (some of which I now recognize in various shows, such as street facades), also see some sets under construction. From my research Paramount is the closest to a studio tour of what is left in LA, the rest are more amusement park to varying degrees. I enjoyed the tour and thought it was worth it, but you have to take delight in the small things (e.g. chewing gum artfully placed on a set, to antique the sidewalk).

Of the public studio tours, Warner is probably the best. The reason being Warner has a big lot and there are lots to see. Paramount and Sony lots are both really small and you run out of interesting things to see very quick. Universal "backlot" tour is kind of a ripoff. You don't actually see any part of the working studio. Fox lot is the best but they don't offer a tour so you have to know an employee to get you in.

My personal ranking (I've been to all of them):

1. Fox
2. Warner
3. Paramount
4. Universal
5. Sony

Of the public studio tours, Warner is probably the best. The reason being Warner has a big lot and there are lots to see. Paramount and Sony lots are both really small and you run out of interesting things to see very quick. Universal "backlot" tour is kind of a ripoff. You don't actually see any part of the working studio. Fox lot is the best but they don't offer a tour so you have to know an employee to get you in.

My personal ranking (I've been to all of them):

1. Fox
2. Warner
3. Paramount
4. Universal
5. SonyActually, Universal has a wonderful back lot, but you will never get to see it on the tour. I did an Amazing Stories episode at Universal many years ago and spent my lunch hour wandering around the back lot. There are plenty of recognizable sets, but my favorite was the Leave it to Beaver street -- I sat on the steps of Mayfield Elementary and knocked on the door of the Beav's house (no one was home :)).

Paramount doesn't have a back lot and Fox's is small. The Warner/Burbank lot is enormous.

I took my son on the Universal Studios (California) VIP tour some time back and this was the real behind the scenes look at the studio. While pricey (it's currently $259 per person), it actually boils down to a decent value IMHO when you add everything up that was included.

These tours are limited to 18 people and you are given a guide for the day. Unfortunately we were there on a spring weekend and there wasn't much work going on. But it was still a fascinating experience and much more interesting and in-depth than the usual tram tour. The formal tour itself went from 10am to around 4pm at which point we were turned loose to go on rides and do whatever.

During the VIP tour with the guide we got to visit places that are off limits to general visitors including walking around the backlot including walking through backlot buildings (mostly facades but a few have "rooms" for meetings or storage - one had restrooms that came in handy mid-tour. We visited both the outdoor and indoor prop warehouse plus walked through sets including the plane crash set from War of the Worlds, the Bates Motel, and others that are only viewed from the regular tram tours.

Also included in the price was valet parking, lunch, all-day sodas/water, front of the line passes for rides and shows with reserved VIP seating at the shows.

I've also been on the Warner Brothers tour a few times which is also good. My only beef with the WB tour is they don't give you enough time to explore their museum.

[QUOTE=El Cochinito;16883138]I took my son on the Universal Studios (California) VIP tour some time back and this was the real behind the scenes look at the studio. While pricey (it's currently $259 per person), it actually boils down to a decent value IMHO when you add everything up that was included.

/QUOTE]

We ended up not taking a studio tour this trip-- just too busy with other things, plus temps were really high. Warner Bros. also has a special, pricey tour. $259 at Universal??! Gulp. While I can't imagine spending anything close to that amount (not sure what it included), for some I'm sure it's worthwhile.

The VIP tours were sold out, new tours were just added for next week.

Just took the tour, it is great if you like current sitcoms. As far as old movie sets, its not that great. They did have a nice museum stop, great for Harry Potter fans.

Just took the tour, it is great if you like current sitcoms. As far as old movie sets, its not that great. They did have a nice museum stop, great for Harry Potter fans.

That's the WB tour? Useful info. We'll be back in the area this Fall, but my wife, who is Brazilian, knows only a few current American TV series. Movie sets would have been more interesting.

Just took the tour, it is great if you like current sitcoms. As far as old movie sets, its not that great. They did have a nice museum stop, great for Harry Potter fans.

That's the WB tour? Useful info. We'll be back in the area this Fall, but my wife, who is Brazilian, knows only a few current American TV series. Movie sets would have been more interesting (well, except for Harry Potter; we saw the first one and were both bored).

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