Studio tours: Warner Bros. vs. Paramount vs. Sony vs. Universal
Apr 24, 2015, 2:54 pm
#16
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 7
I am yet another (1st time) visitor who is going to be in L.A. in the beginning of May and would appreciate updates from recent experiences. ^
May 20, 2015, 2:47 pm
#17
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Madison NJ; Watopia
Posts: 3,161
Update: Did the Sony Studio Tour last week. I read reviews for each tour on TripAdvisor and Sony seemed most in sync with my interests. Overall, I found it enjoyable and informative. Some details:
- Free valet parking underneath 10000 W Washington (Sony Building) in Culver City.
- Souvenir photo included with admission price. They take it before tour leaves and it's printed by end of the tour. They use a green screen, so don't wear green clothing like my son did. Our "background" was Wheel of Fortune set.
- Tour starts with a 15 minute video on history of the studio. It was a puff piece and, generally, kind of confusing. Basically, the story is MGM was there in the glory years of Hollywood, then they left, Lorimar did some TV stuff in the 70s, and then Sony bought it all in 1989, spent a lot of money, and now it's better than ever.
- Tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. She walked and talked quickly but did a nice job answering questions and there was plenty of time to gawk at points of interest.
- Celebrity sighting: Tom Sizemore. Someone else in the tour first recognized him but I checked Google photos after the tour and it was him. We also saw about 15-20 "extras" from Masters of Sex walking around in 1950s period dress.
- Visited a Foley Stage. This was cool as I saw a recent segment on CBS Sunday Morning and immediately recognized the room when we walked in.
- Saw production offices for Seth Rogan and Adam Sandler. One of them (can't remember which), is in the building where children stars like Elizabeth Taylor used to do schoolwork.
- Walked through the set for the Goldbergs and Ray Donovan. I was impressed with the amount of carpentry required to put these things together. Also, the level of detail on the Ray Donovan set (a gym/boxing ring) was incredible.
- Walked through the Wheel of Fortune set which was a major letdown. It was disassembled and all the props were covered with plastic.
- Wrapped up by seeing some motor vehicles from Sony productions (e.g, Ghostbusters car and Breaking Bad RV) and 15-20 minutes to visit the company store.
In terms of photo taking, no problem when outdoors but once you're inside a building, not permitted.
In sum, I think it's worth the price of admission.
- Free valet parking underneath 10000 W Washington (Sony Building) in Culver City.
- Souvenir photo included with admission price. They take it before tour leaves and it's printed by end of the tour. They use a green screen, so don't wear green clothing like my son did. Our "background" was Wheel of Fortune set.
- Tour starts with a 15 minute video on history of the studio. It was a puff piece and, generally, kind of confusing. Basically, the story is MGM was there in the glory years of Hollywood, then they left, Lorimar did some TV stuff in the 70s, and then Sony bought it all in 1989, spent a lot of money, and now it's better than ever.
- Tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. She walked and talked quickly but did a nice job answering questions and there was plenty of time to gawk at points of interest.
- Celebrity sighting: Tom Sizemore. Someone else in the tour first recognized him but I checked Google photos after the tour and it was him. We also saw about 15-20 "extras" from Masters of Sex walking around in 1950s period dress.
- Visited a Foley Stage. This was cool as I saw a recent segment on CBS Sunday Morning and immediately recognized the room when we walked in.
- Saw production offices for Seth Rogan and Adam Sandler. One of them (can't remember which), is in the building where children stars like Elizabeth Taylor used to do schoolwork.
- Walked through the set for the Goldbergs and Ray Donovan. I was impressed with the amount of carpentry required to put these things together. Also, the level of detail on the Ray Donovan set (a gym/boxing ring) was incredible.
- Walked through the Wheel of Fortune set which was a major letdown. It was disassembled and all the props were covered with plastic.
- Wrapped up by seeing some motor vehicles from Sony productions (e.g, Ghostbusters car and Breaking Bad RV) and 15-20 minutes to visit the company store.
In terms of photo taking, no problem when outdoors but once you're inside a building, not permitted.
In sum, I think it's worth the price of admission.
May 29, 2015, 9:48 am
#18
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 54
Update: Did the Sony Studio Tour last week. I read reviews for each tour on TripAdvisor and Sony seemed most in sync with my interests. Overall, I found it enjoyable and informative. Some details:
- Free valet parking underneath 10000 W Washington (Sony Building) in Culver City.
- Souvenir photo included with admission price. They take it before tour leaves and it's printed by end of the tour. They use a green screen, so don't wear green clothing like my son did. Our "background" was Wheel of Fortune set.
- Tour starts with a 15 minute video on history of the studio. It was a puff piece and, generally, kind of confusing. Basically, the story is MGM was there in the glory years of Hollywood, then they left, Lorimar did some TV stuff in the 70s, and then Sony bought it all in 1989, spent a lot of money, and now it's better than ever.
- Tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. She walked and talked quickly but did a nice job answering questions and there was plenty of time to gawk at points of interest.
- Celebrity sighting: Tom Sizemore. Someone else in the tour first recognized him but I checked Google photos after the tour and it was him. We also saw about 15-20 "extras" from Masters of Sex walking around in 1950s period dress.
- Visited a Foley Stage. This was cool as I saw a recent segment on CBS Sunday Morning and immediately recognized the room when we walked in.
- Saw production offices for Seth Rogan and Adam Sandler. One of them (can't remember which), is in the building where children stars like Elizabeth Taylor used to do schoolwork.
- Walked through the set for the Goldbergs and Ray Donovan. I was impressed with the amount of carpentry required to put these things together. Also, the level of detail on the Ray Donovan set (a gym/boxing ring) was incredible.
- Walked through the Wheel of Fortune set which was a major letdown. It was disassembled and all the props were covered with plastic.
- Wrapped up by seeing some motor vehicles from Sony productions (e.g, Ghostbusters car and Breaking Bad RV) and 15-20 minutes to visit the company store.
In terms of photo taking, no problem when outdoors but once you're inside a building, not permitted.
In sum, I think it's worth the price of admission.
- Free valet parking underneath 10000 W Washington (Sony Building) in Culver City.
- Souvenir photo included with admission price. They take it before tour leaves and it's printed by end of the tour. They use a green screen, so don't wear green clothing like my son did. Our "background" was Wheel of Fortune set.
- Tour starts with a 15 minute video on history of the studio. It was a puff piece and, generally, kind of confusing. Basically, the story is MGM was there in the glory years of Hollywood, then they left, Lorimar did some TV stuff in the 70s, and then Sony bought it all in 1989, spent a lot of money, and now it's better than ever.
- Tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. She walked and talked quickly but did a nice job answering questions and there was plenty of time to gawk at points of interest.
- Celebrity sighting: Tom Sizemore. Someone else in the tour first recognized him but I checked Google photos after the tour and it was him. We also saw about 15-20 "extras" from Masters of Sex walking around in 1950s period dress.
- Visited a Foley Stage. This was cool as I saw a recent segment on CBS Sunday Morning and immediately recognized the room when we walked in.
- Saw production offices for Seth Rogan and Adam Sandler. One of them (can't remember which), is in the building where children stars like Elizabeth Taylor used to do schoolwork.
- Walked through the set for the Goldbergs and Ray Donovan. I was impressed with the amount of carpentry required to put these things together. Also, the level of detail on the Ray Donovan set (a gym/boxing ring) was incredible.
- Walked through the Wheel of Fortune set which was a major letdown. It was disassembled and all the props were covered with plastic.
- Wrapped up by seeing some motor vehicles from Sony productions (e.g, Ghostbusters car and Breaking Bad RV) and 15-20 minutes to visit the company store.
In terms of photo taking, no problem when outdoors but once you're inside a building, not permitted.
In sum, I think it's worth the price of admission.
Jul 10, 2017, 2:49 am
#19
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,200
Any recent updates on the tours? I have people in town for a visit and I would like to take them on a studio tour, and while I did the Warner tour before and found it interesting, the Sony or Paramount tours may be a little more intimate and interesting vs Warner. I did Warner on a weekend when nothing was going on, so perhaps a weekday visit in the afternoon may show more activity.