Movie buffs, future filmmakers and aspiring actors often choose to move to or visit Hollywood, in California. Add taking a Hollywood studio tour to your to do list, where you will see famous film sets and even some current television show sets as well. There is something for everyone to see on a studio tour, and keep a look out because you just might see a star heading in to work.
Warner Brothers offers a comprehensive two-hour tour which includes an introductory film that summarizes the history of Warner Brother movie making. Guests are escorted around the studio lot on electric carts to various film sets, street scenes and sound stages. On the tour, you will see many famous sets from movies such as Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood and the house from the TV series, "Growing Pains". Guests will be able to get in and out of the tram at various stops. Whenever possible guests will get to take a tour of a working film set or TV show. The tour ends at the Warner Brothers Museum where you can explore all the movie memorabilia and purchase souvenirs. As of 2011 the VIP tour was $48 per person. Warner Brothers also offers a special five-hour Deluxe Tour that explores movie making in-depth, costing $225 per person.
The Sony Pictures Studios Tour is a behind-the-scenes walking tour where guests will see sets from blockbuster movies such as "Men in Black" and "Spider Man". The syndicated game shows "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" also shoot there and guest may have a chance to visit the sets when they are not taping. One of the most famous films of all time, "The Wizard of Oz" was filmed on sound stage 27, and guests may get a chance to peek inside. Guests will also have the chance to visit the set of past shows such as "Seinfeld" and "King of Queens" and may be able to visit current TV show sets. Guests receive a free picture of themselves on the tour at the end of the day. As of January 2011, the tour costs $33 per person.
The Universal Studio Tour is part theme park ride, part traditional back lot tour, reflecting the Universal complex which is comprised of an actual theme park and a working studio. Guests are loaded onto large trams that take you through famous sets such as Courthouse Square, where the clock tower that was struck by lightning in "Back to the Future" stands, the Bates Motel from the movie "Psycho", and Wisteria Lane from "Desperate Housewives". Guests are then taken on a bumpy ride onto the set of Jaws, where a mechanical shark jumps out of the water at visitors, through smoldering wreckage from the set of "War of the Worlds" and through a special 3-D King Kong experience. The Studio Tour comes with admission into the entire theme park; you cannot buy separate tickets for the tour alone. As of January 2011, Universal Studios tickets $74 per person. Universal also offers an more in-depth VIP studio tour, costing $249 per person.
Paramount Studios offers a part tram, part walking tour of both historic and current sets of films and TV shows. Guests will have the opportunity to see the large New York Street set where shows such as "Cheers" and "Frasier" filmed their outdoor scenes, as well as legendary shows "I Love Lucy" and "Laverne and Shirley." Guests are taken to current TV and movie sets, depending on what is in production. Tour guides also take guests by the famous "Blue Sky", a large wall that has been painted to look just like a cloud-filled sky. The sunken-in parking lot below was flooded and used to portray the Red Sea in "The Ten Commandments". The tour ends at the famous majestic Bronston gate, the entrance to the studio, where guests can have their picture taken. As of January 2011, the Paramount Studio Tour costs $40 per person.
