Southern California Travel, Part 6: Warner Bros. Studio Tour

This is my sixth and final post about our visit to Southern California. I recommend reading the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth posts before this one. 

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Warner Bros. Studio Tour

On Saturday, February 1, we walked the half-mile from our hotel to Universal Studios. Here's the view from the hotel to Universal Studios...

 

... and the view from Universal Studios to the hotel. 

We weren't there to visit the theme park. If we'd had extra time, maybe, but there are so many things to do in Southern California that I had to carefully pick and choose and Universal didn't make the cut. We've each been there before, albeit a long time ago, particularly for Steve. Instead, the plan was to stroll through Universal CityWalk before heading to the day's main destination. 

  

I really wanted to do a studio tour while we were in Southern California. I did a bunch of research to see which was the best and it was unanimous: the Warner Bros. Studio Tour beats out all the rest. It did not disappoint. From the very beginning, it is absolutely incredible. 

You start in this large, museum-style room. The floor is printed with a map of the studio, which is super cool. The exhibits around the perimeter talk about the history and legacy of Warner Bros. 

There are some really neat artifacts. Jack Warner's handwritten phone book has 4- and 5-digit phone numbers for people like Cecil DeMille, Walk Disney, and Salvador Dali. 

You can spend as much (or as little) time as you want in that first room. When you're ready, you head to a theater for an introductory video. 

Then it's into a tram for a tour of the lot!

Our guide was sensational. We learned so much about the studio operations and all of the many TV shows and movies that were shot at Warner Bros. He was able to point to every building or bit of landscaping and tell us exactly what had been shot there. 

This clump of bamboo and the (currently) empty pond beside it have represented a lot of different parts of the world. I hadn't realized that studios sometimes shoot scenes on other studios' lots if they don't have what they need. This was one of the places that others had used. 

This is just an office building for Warner Bros employees, but when a scene calls for a hospital, everyone who works in the building has to find somewhere else to work so that they can film in the lobby. 

I've heard so many good things about Abbott Elementary. I should watch it, now that I've been behind the scenes.  

At several points during the 90-minute tour, we were able to get off the tram and really look around. That was awesome. 

The "town" has one of everything. A building with columns can be a bank, library, theater, or government facility. Change the flags and it can be anywhere in the world. 

There's no air conditioning inside the houses since it is noisy. To keep the actors from getting heat stroke under the hot lights during an LA summer, they pump in air using large ducts between takes. 

  

Every stage has a sign listing everything that has filmed there. It's crazy how different they all are. 

The scene shop is instrumental in transforming sound stages into whatever space is needed. 

We took pictures everywhere that was allowed, but there were several places photography was prohibited. Basically, that included the interiors of anything that is currently on the air or hasn't yet aired. 

After the guided tour, the next stop was essentially a large museum. It had a lot more interesting information about the movie and TV industry, as well as memorabilia, hands-on activities, and sets you can interact with. It's really fun to spot familar locations, like Central Perk. 

  

  

I was pleasantly surprised that their professional photographer will take your picture on your own camera without you having to pay for it. (There are also opportunities to buy photos.) 

Doubly cool that he took the TV-view version, as well as the version that shows the lighting rigs that the TV audience doesn't see. 

I really like all the old costumes. They're beautiful. 

I've never seen Big Bang Theory, but I know I would like it. 

Steve making Dobby move. 

Everything about Foley art (sound effects) is interesting to me. 

I'm not a big enough Friends fan to actually recognize these outfits and know what episode they came from, but I could identify which character wore each one without looking at the labels. 

  

  

I love that you can sit in Monica and Rachel's kitchen to eat... 

... or in Joey and Chandler's living room to watch Friends on TV. 

You can spend as much time in the space as you want. When you're done, you get back on another tram to get your picture taken at the Friends fountain. It's literally the same fountain, but doesn't quite look the same with the heavy equipment visible in the background. 

The final part of the Warner Bros Studio Tour started with exhibits about superheroes.

  

  

  

Then, Harry Potter. When Trevor and I toured Warner Bros. London, we saw the actual sets, costumes, and props (which was amazingly cool). Most of the sets, costumes, and props in Burbank are replicas, so we were allowed to touch them. There were quite a few hands-on activities. 

You can try on the Sorting Hat and get sorted. Or, try out wands and learn spell-casting choreography from the movies. It was neat.

My favorite was the Potions lab, where we mixed up antidotes that caused the cauldrons to bubble and change color.  

 

The tour ended with a display of some of the many, many awards Warner Bros. has earned. 

We also got to hold a real Academy Award. That was neat. The Oscar statuette is surprisingly heavy - 8.5 pounds! 

We spent almost four hours at Warner Bros. and absolutely loved it. We highly recommend a visit!

Another place we highly recommend? Black Market Liquor Bar. That's where we had dinner. Antonia Lofaso is the Executive Chef. We enjoy watching her compete and recently saw her in person, although I'm not allowed to talk about that... yet. Soon!

We shared four small plates, plus dessert. Everything was spectacular. It was a meal we will remember forever. 

After our amazing dinner, we returned to the Hilton Universal Studios for our final night in Southern California. We had an easy and uneventful drive home the following day. We had a wonderful week and came home with lots of great memories.