Our Review Of The Warner Bros Studio Tour In Hollywood

Touring a tv and movie studio should be on your Los Angeles travel itinerary, especially if you’re visiting for the very first time. But tours are not cheap and they take up a considerable portion of your day. There are also 4 major studios in Hollywood, so which one should you chose during your time in the City of Angels?

In our review, we’ll show you exactly what to expect during the Warner Bros studio tour. We booked with Warner Bros because our research led us to believe this was the purest movie studio in town and we want to help you decide if taking a movie tour is worth your time and money.

Our Experience

We visited Los Angeles during a 3 month road trip from New York to California. It was part of our 18 month honeymoon and it was the trip of a lifetime. Since neither of us had been to Los Angeles before, we looked forward to doing all of the touristy things including take a movie studio tour.

After comparing the options, we ended up booking with Warner Bros because it’s an extremely well known name and the reviews were good. We also enjoy many of their moves and tv shows so we though it would be interesting to see where these had been made. All of the photos in this guide were taken by us during the tour so you can really understand what to expect. Read more about us.

Warner Bros Studio History

Located in the city of Los Angeles, Warner Bros is one of the four major movie studios you can tour when visiting Hollywood. Officially known as Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc, it was founded by four brothers, Harry, Jack, Albert and Sam Warner who emigrated from Poland to Ontario, Canada in the early 1900’s.

In their first few years, they capitalized on various moving pictures and theater ventures eventually beginning to produce their own films. Warner Brothers Pictures was officially incorporated on April 4th, 1923 becoming a very recognizable name in the film studio business. By the end of the 1930’s, Warner Bros was producing over 100 movies a year with control over 360 theaters in the US and hundreds abroad.

Here are some of their popular works by decade:

• 1930’s – The Public Enemy (1931), Scarface (1932) and debut of Looney Tunes
• 1940’s – The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), 
• 1950’s – A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and the western tv series, Cheyenne (1955)
• 1960’s – My Fair Lady (1964), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
• 1970’s – The Exorcist (1973), Blazing Saddles (1974)
• 1980’s – Blade Runner (1982), The Color Purple (1985) and tv series, The Dukes of Hazzard

In 1990, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc. to form one of the largest media corporations in the world and Warner Brothers became part of this newly formed endeavor. Popular films after the merger included GoodFellas (1990), The Fugitive (1993), Inception (2010), and Wonder Woman (2017). Famous tv series such as the Matrix, Harry Potter, Ocean’s Eleven, Friends, ER and The Big Bang Theory followed in the later years.

We’re telling you this because your tour will include access to sets from the recent decades. So it’s important to think about what you’d like to see.

Travel Tip: Bugs Bunny is the official mascot for Warner Bros. You can expect to see him in numerous locations during your tour.

READ: 10 things you can’t miss in LA

Warner Bros Studio Walkthrough

Overall, we thought the Warner Bros studio tour was well organized. After arriving, we waited in a lounge type area for our designated time slot before beginning the tour. A brief welcome movie in an intimate cinema setting introduced us to what we could expect on the day ahead.

When the movie concluded, we immediately met our guide and he brought us to the large electric powered cart we used to get around the studio. We had about 10 people on our tour including us so it was a very nice small group size. As our guide drove, he’d point out specific things around the immediate area so we always knew what we were looking at.

One of the most important things to remember is this a live working studio, which means several tv shows and movies are being filed at the time of your tour. But this also means no two tours will be the same because each time slot may plot a different route through the grounds based on filming schedules.

For this reason, you are not allowed to wander off a rogue mission to find famous people and the tour guides will keep a very close eye on the group.

You can expect the tour to take approximately 3 hours. This includes a 2 hour guided portion and a 1 hour self-guided tour at Studio 48. You can take pictures, but only at certain allocated times. Your tour guide will inform you throughout the entire tour where you can or can not take photos.

1. Backlots And Sound Stages

Warner Bros is home to 10 backlots spread across 110 acres. A backlot is a permeant exterior building used for outdoor scenes in movies and tv shows. Think the old west or New York City buildings. One example is the alleyway where Tobey Maguire hangs upside down as Spiderman to kiss Mary-Jane. That same alley and brick building surrounding has also bee used in other major blockbuster movies.

Here are the notable backlots at Warner Bros:

• Brownstone Street – Used in ER, Pretty Little Liars, Looney Toons and Back in Action
• Midwest Street – Used in Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls and Rosewood from Pretty Little Liars
• New York Street – Used in A Star is Born, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, ER, The Big Bang Theory, The Last Samurai and Blade Runner

We found it interesting to note that while backlots were once widely used in cinema, the use of backlots has declined as movies began shooting with actors physically on location and CGI technology has rapidly advanced.

Sound stages are very large sound-proof warehouse like buildings where many of the major movies film scenes that are not on location. Entire movie sets are constructed inside these buildings and can stay in place for as long as necessary. The entire series of Friends was filmed inside studio 24 and Saito’s Castle scenes from Inception were filmed inside Stage 16. When we visited, Warner Bros had about 30 sound stages and we won’t give anymore away!

On the outside of every stage building is a plaque showing each of the movies and tv shows filmed inside that particular stage. You’ll be able to go inside and walk around on stage to view the set of a currently running tv show. On our visit, we went inside the full sized apartment of Lucifer and we were told Denzel Washington was on the premises shooting scenes for a movie. There are no photos allowed inside the sound stages.

2. Friends Fountain

One of the biggest highlights for our group was the stop at the Friends fountain. This was the actual couch and fountain used in the opening credits. It has since been moved from its original location, but it was really fun getting photos in such an iconic spot.

3. Stage 48

Stage 48 is a very interesting part of the tour. It’s called script to screen which means you get an insight into what happens at the pre-production, production and post-production stages of making a movie. It’s definitely another aspect of filming making that gets over looked by the average movie watcher.

This part of the Warner Bros studio tour is self-guided and completely interactive. You’ll learn about editing, sound, casting and even green screen for CGI. A movie can not be made without any of these elements. While this is a self-led section of the tour, our guide was around to answer any questions.

There is also a section where you can ride Harry Potter’s Firebolt broom or Batman’s Batpod with a green screen behind it. A guide will instruct your to cast a spell or turn left as you watch yourself on the monitor. This of course is being filmed and you can buy a video souvenir, but they aren’t cheap and we personally did not buy one. Mark found it difficult to get into character because he didn’t have the full batsuit shouting ‘Where’s the trigger?!” at Bane in a deep harsh voice.

Our personal favorite spot in Studio 48 was the sound engineer insight called “Art of Sound.” A guide will show you how sound was composed in space for the movie Gravity and it’s truly fascinating. This part has since been expanded since we visited and it’s one place you don’t want to miss.

You can also hold a shiny Oscar like in our photo above when Mark won his Best Actor award from the 1950’s.

Travel Tip: It’s easy to rush through this section, but take your time and read as much as possible. This was one of our favorite stops on our tour.

4. Central Perk

Fans of the tv show Friends will enjoy the entire authentic set of Central Perk cafe. You can take a seat on the famous sofa, order coffee from imaginary Gunther and maybe even pretend that you are also being paid $1 million per episode!

With a total of 236 episodes, Friends has to be regarded as one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time. It’s a classic feel good background noise at worst and an engaging emotional rollercoaster at best. It’s one of the only American sitcoms that used to get replayed over and over again in the UK and still widely adored.

Netflix even paid over $100 million for rights to stream re-runs between 2014 and 2019. Not bad for a show that finished all the way back in 2004. # timeless

5. The Big Bang Theory

Moving swiftly onto another show where you can imagine earning a cool million per episode is one of America’s favorites, The Big Bang Theory. It’s one of the longest running multi camera sitcoms in history with almost 280 episodes across 12 seasons.

Imagine how much time each of the main actors playing Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, Penny and Howard spent filming in front of live audiences at Warner Bros. Much like the Central Perk set, you can visit the Caltech physics department cafeteria, Apartment 4A and the famous broken elevator.

6. DC Universe Exhibit

If you’re a superhero fan, the DC Universe is what you’ll get to see at Warner Brothers. Exhibits include Batman’s Batcave, the actual Arkham Asylum gates, Wonder Woman’s study, Superman’s office and Aquaman’s lair. This isn’t the most exciting part of the tour because it’s more like a photo opt, but it does allow you to appreciate other elements of what makes movies so engaging.

In addition to the main exhibits, you can also walk around to see other displays of costumes and accessories. Some of these include Diana Prince’s Lasso and Arthur Curry’s armored suit. Costumes, weapons and design are vital to every movie and we think they don’t often get the recognition they deserve.

Travel Tip: If you’re a Marvel fan, it’s a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company so you won’t see them at Warner Bros.

The Batcave is an entire area dedicated to the caped crusader. Personally, we love the Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale Dark Knight Trilogy so getting to see the tumbler and the Batpod was pretty cool. This area is very dark and looks more like a strange car showroom with purple lights, but the exhibits do have some good information for light reading.

Also inside the Batcave are replicas of the Neutron Bomb from DKR and older Bat mobiles like the Bathammer from the Clooney, Keaton and Kilmer eras. Even the Batsuit Christian Bale wore is on display.

7. Harry Potter

Another stop on the Warner Bros studio tour is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. You’ll walk a one way route around all things Hogwarts, Dumbledore’s Army, Newt Scamander and Grindelwald.

There are numerous photo opportunities such as sitting inside Harry’s cupboard under the stairs on Privet Drive, sitting under the sorting hat in the Great Hall and repotting baby Mandrakes in Herbology.

Now, we will say this is not like the Harry Potter tour in London where you can see the film sets. And we wouldn’t recommend choosing Warner Bros based solely on your love for Harry Potter. But what you do get to see is authentic props like Dobby the House Elf, the sorting hat plus real costumes worn by most of the main characters.

All of your favorite wizard outfits are also on display. It’s fun to imagine the actors being there in person or putting on one of the costumes yourself, picking up a wand and shouting “Expelliarmus.”

The most interesting part for us personally was being able to see some of the original storyboards. It’s fascinating to see how the drawings compare to the end product on screen.

8. Old Movie Props

At some point during your tour, you’ll also get the chance to see some really cool props used in previous movies. Our golf cart brought us to a warehouse filled with amazing items we’ve seen on screen over the years. For us, this was one of the best stops on the Warner Bros studio tour.

Think you could recognize the 2 faded red leather chairs from the Matrix?

Or the famous leg lamp from A Christmas Story?

What about the armor worn by Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe in the Last Samurai?

All of these and so much more can be found inside the prop storage building. We were lucky enough to see the building next door with it’s shutter open… and what was inside?

Only Phoebe’s taxi from Friends and Austin Power’s Shaguar!

You’ll be guaranteed to see props from some of your favorite movies when walking around this building. But many will be a surprise because there’s so much to see.

If you’ve gotten this far in our guide, we’ll take a wild guess and say you’re a bit of a movie buff. So are we and the best part about our tour, was our amazing guide. Erik set the benchmark for being a bona fide movie buff and he was incredibly knowledgable about everything we visited. We highly recommend you ask questions throughout your tour to maximize your time on set.

What’s The Best Studio Tour In LA?

Overall, we loved our Warner Bros studio tour and genuinely though they put a lot of effort into allowing us to see behind the scenes of our favorite tv shows and movies. And now that you know what to expect on this tour, it’s important to know about the other options before booking a tour.

There are 4 major studios to choose between in Los Angeles:

• Warner Bros
• Sony Pictures
• Paramount
• Universal

For the basic studio tours, the prices are very similar, but what you see will be drastically different. So we created the graph below to help you understand the highlights of each company:

The major stand out in this graph is that Universal is more of an amusement park compared to a studio tour. So if you want to really go behind the scenes, we’d recommend Warner Bros, Sony Pictures or Paramount.

This is the exact tour we booked:

Check out the reviews for yourself and see if it’s something you’d like to do as well. You can also visit the official website here to learn about the other deluxe tours offered if you wanted even more of a movie experience.

This exact studio tour is also included on both the Go City Los Angeles All-Inclusive and Explorer Pass. These passes can save you money if you want to visit several of LA’s top attractions. Click here to see all the other attractions included on the pass.

How To Get To Warner Bros Studio Tour

Warner Bros studio is located in Burbank, Los Angeles. The easiest way to find it on a map is by looking to the north west corner of Griffith Park.

LA is huge and is well known for its traffic congestion. If you have your own vehicle and don’t mind driving across the city, there is an underground parking garage right underneath the WB building. This is what we did because we had our vehicle in LA since we were on a road trip. However, driving in LA is not much fun so consider arriving by another means if you’re not the most comfortable driver.

No matter if your hotel is in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills or Hollywood, your most efficient route is to drive up Cahuenga Boulevard. Take the right turn at Barham Boulevard which transitions into W. Olive Ave. Turn right onto West Riverside Drive and right onto Warner Boulevard. From here, just follow the signs for tour parking.

If you don’t have your own vehicle or you’d prefer to leave it parked at the hotel, you can use the metro or a ride sharing app. The cheapest option is the Metro B Line (Red) which stops at Universal City/Studios. This is the closest you can get by metro and your options are either walk 2.4 miles or take a Lyft/Uber. You can also take a ride sharing app the entire way for more convenience, but it will cost more.

READ: Where to stay in Los Angeles

The Morgan Conclusion

What we like: We were impressed by the sheer scale and magnitude of the Warner Bros studio grounds. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the industry and always had informative answers to our questions. We thought the tour would be more about sets and backlots, but we really enjoyed the costumes, props and productions aspect. Parking was also not an issue thanks to the multi-story underground lot (even though you had to pay extra for it).

What we don’t like: The main downside to the tour at Warner Bros was the fact tours leave every 30 minutes so it can sometimes feel like a conveyor belt of tourists and you’ll run into many other groups throughout. Because it was very busy, we thought the tour lacked a personal touch and could benefit from a few freebies or take homes. Our group moved through the DC Universe and Harry Potter exhibits quickly which made it difficult to read all the informational boards. We also think the extra charge for parking was a bit harsh because we had already paid for two tour tickets.

Is the Warner Bros studio tour worth it? Yes, the think the Warner Bros tour is worth it. After some research we chose Warner Bros because their basic studio tour was longer than any competitor and they had some really great recent reviews. However, if you don’t have an interest in Harry Potter, the DC Universe, Friends or The Big Bang Theory, you might want to consider choosing another studio tour.

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We hope our review helped you decide if the Warner Bros Studio Tour in Hollywood is for you!

Please let us know if you have any questions or need help planning your visit to LA in the comments below.

That’s All Folks!

Mark and Kristen

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