Movie

Every Tour is Different! Read On And Find Out What's Hit and What's Miss!

- Hollywood Studio Tours -

All of Hollywood was built on the backs of the Hollywood studios that began to flourish around the 1910s. You can't take a stroll through Hollywood's first studio, “Nestor Studio”, but you can get guided looks into some of the world renowned studios of today. Sony, Warner Bros, Universal Studios and Paramount all offer a studio tour.

Some are better than others though and vary in price. So let's breakdown the various tours and figure out what are the best bets!

Universal Studios Tour

The universal studios tour is really a combination studio tour and amusement park ride. The only way to take this tour is by buying a pass to the universal studios theme park itself. It is definitely one of the best parts of the theme park though, so if you already have your pass make sure you don't miss the studio tour.

Keep in mind there are usually long lines for this attraction. When you do get on, you take your seat in a covered tram that skirts off down a hill into the back lots of the Universal Studios property, which is truly gargantuan. Back in the day, a guide would speak over a sound system piped through the various trams. It was always a bit of a crap shoot in terms of who you got “guide-wise”. Now days you get Whoopi Goldberg accompanying you on a video display. She's a pretty good guide, throwing in witty quips here and there.

The tour can be pretty exciting at times, like when you experience an 8.5 earthquake or take a cruise past the Bates Motel of Psycho fame. You'll also have a run in with Jaws. Because of these various thrills keep in mind that small children may get scared. You too maybe!

Newer additions to the tour include:

• Visit the incredible sets of War of the Worlds
• Experience the special effects from Fast & Furious
• Set pieces from Peter Jackson's King Kong
• Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives

The Universal Studios Tour is certainly the most entertaining Hollywood studio tour, especially for families. However, it does have some disadvantages. You have to have already bought tickets to the whole park which can be pricey. Also, it's a pretty set, unchanging tour. No real chance of seeing actors or anything. Keep in mind that the whole experience is fabricated, you aren't really experiencing a real working studio as much as some of the other tours around. Still, it can be a pretty great experience.