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My experience with the WB "Studio Tour Plus"

My wife and I recently took the Warner Bros. "Studio Tour Plus" ($160 per ticket) in Burbank, California. The normal studio tour ($73) has about 1 hour of guided tour, but the "Plus" tour gives you two hours of guided time. Both of these tours are more intimate than some others, such as the Universal backlot tour, because your group is only about 8 to 10 people! And after the guided tour, there's 2-3 hours worth of "self-guided" stuff to spend time on. Our decision to take this tour was because a lot of it focuses on "Friends," which was filmed on at WB Studios.

Arriving and parking ($15) were easy, and elevators leading to the beginning of the tour were well marked.

Then I learned I had made a mistake that added a little bump to our day. We showed up at WB studios at 11:00 -- the requested 30 minutes early for [supposedly] the 11:30 tour. But I had my wires crossed. Our tour time was 10:30! I was panicked and felt stupid, because we had travelled a long way for this trip, and the tour was scheduled on our last day. But the staff was very pleasant and helpful and got us rescheduled on a 12:00 tour that had some space available. I can't say enough about how great the staff was.

In the entrance lobby, the staff also helped us get pictures within many displays -- a giant "Friends" peephole frame to take your picture within, Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig statues, and more. There were many Friends costumes on display, as well as many from Beetlejuice (currently in theatres). And a giant "Goblet of Fire" from Harry Potter. The staff clearly wanted to make the first moments of the experience great for everyone, and entertain and keep you occupied while waiting for your tour to begin. One host named Matthew was always showing up at the perfect time. I saw him in more than one location of our tour!

One questionable decision on my part was to take the tour on a Sunday. The studio lot was so empty and quiet -- it didn't seem much like a bustling production studio, and there was almost no chance of running into stars or see any movie making "in action." I suppose this made our tour run smoothly and without interruption, though.

Near our tour time, we checked in with the host. A few minutes later, she called our group into a "VIP Lounge" (which you only get access to on the "Plus" tour). They left our group alone for 15 minute to have all we wanted of the beverages, danish pastries, croissants, cookies, chips, etc. Being there without any WB staff meant not being self-conscious about your eating, LOL! But my apple danish was stale (maybe due to it being a Sunday - no fresh pastries brought in?)

Then we were introduced to our tour guide, Mark. We loaded into an extra long "golf cart" type of vehicle and set out.

Our first stop was at the WB "Jungle," where many outdoor scene get filmed. Things are filmed there for scenes that take place in the woods, at ponds, in a jungle, in sketchy looking cabins, etc. It's been used for things like Big Bang Theory (paint ball), Aquaman, Jurassic Park (escaped T-Rex outside its fence), The Muppet Movie (Kermit at his pond), Weird Al, The Orville, Star Trek Voyager, Pee Wee's big adventure, Free Willy, and more. Even so, this area was not very recognizable. Clever camera angles and green screens make a lot of difference. And much of what you see in the movies and shows that have been filmed there are not permanent parts of that area. For example, the Jurrasic Park T-Rex fence is not present. Studio areas get used for so many different shows, they can't leave old sets up as museum pieces.

Then we visited an area designed to look like a suburban street, used for locations in Lethal Weapon, Young Sheldon, Night Court, and others.

We drove by an office building (real offices of WB employees), the interior of which is often used in movies and often doubles as airports, restaurants, etc. It's been used in E.R. and in Superman, for example. Our guide pointed out the close-by hill which happens to be the back-side of the Hollywood Hill (the one with the sign). And it was "Walton's Mountain" back in the day.

Then we got to the area of the studio lot with all the giant sound stages (the buildings that look a bit like airplane hangars). We got a short view inside of one, it was a giant empty expanse. We also got to go inside another for a while, Stage 2, which was all set up for taping a show, and look around and hear more stories about what was filmed there. That studio was previously used for the Ellen show; now it was set up for the Jennifer Hudson show. It was apparenlty also where the infamous "Star Wars Holiday Special" was filmed back in the 70s. Since we took the tour on a Sunday, the sound stage was very empty and quiet.

We stopped at the "Friends fountain" (featured in the opening credits of the show). There was a reproduction of the orange couch there, and we all got to take pictures. The guide helped everyone get all the photos they wanted.

Our tour guide also pointed out Stage 24 (and it's plaque calling it the "Friends Stage") where most episodes were filmed. We merely passed by it, but I'd been there before, in 2002, to see the taping of "The One with the Inappropriate Song" in season 9. The guide also pointed out Stage 5, a smaller stage were Friends filmed in season 1.

We passed through "The Mill" which is a big warehouse where large props and sets are built. It was interesting to see, but -- again, being Sunday -- didn't have any activity going on.

One stop were we spent a lot of time (which is only part of the "Plus" tour) was the WB prop house. Inside were tons of props. Some were quite interesting, but in a lot of ways it's like walking through a hardware store... aisles and aisles of lights; home decor; etc. But it was enlightening to learn how things are stored and available to be checked out to for all kind of productions. It makes the job of making movies easier, to have organized warehouses full of props. Some of the more interesting things we saw some asian wall decor and Samurai outfits use in Inception; a jukebox used by Elvis in "Loving You"; a reproduction of the white house's oval office; a prosthetic severed head which I recognized, but neither I (nor the guide) could remember what movie it was from. Some campy horror movie or comedy, I think. There was also a replica of the Game of Thrones sword throne. It wasn't the original, it was a replica build for a late night talk show (I think Conan O'Brien).

After the prop house, we went back into areas of the studio lot that were built up to look like big cities. We saw the exterior of Abbott Elementary and the exterior of the City Hall for the old Batman TV series. We saw an area designed to resemble broadway-style theater marquis (some used in Friends).

In another area, designed to look like the town square of a small a midwestern town, there were many houses (and the Gazebo) used in Gilmore Girls and many other shows. There, we walked through the house used on Friends as the Geller's, when Monica and Rachel prepared for the Prom, and Ross was going to substitute in as Rachel's date. The front porch and the narrow stair way (where Ross sat and played his keyboard) were somewhat recognizable, but in general the house was not familiar because it was gutted. We also saw the house where Pheobe tried to track down her dad and instead met her brother. Many other locations used in many shows were pointed out -- far too many to remember. All these locations can change their looks and their contents frequently, because of all the different shows that use these locations over time. Keep in mind that most of the interior scenes of shows get filmed on sound stages, even if the exteriors exist in these other locations. So the tour shows you lots of exteriors you may recognize, but you don't get to see the interior sets you might be familiar with, even if those shows are currently still in production.

At the end of the 2-hour guided portion of the tour, we were taken to Stage 48, which has been partially converted into a reproduction of Central Perk, where you can get your picture taken by the staff (with your own phone or with their camera -- and buy downloads later).

Besides the reproduction of Central Perk, there is also a working "Friends Cafe" where I ordered "The Moist Maker" (a disappointing version of the Thanksgiving sandwich Monica makes for Ross). My wife had a turkey, brie, and bacon melt which was actually quite good. I had a large cherry danish, which (again) was hard and stale. My wife had a Central Perk cupcake, which was good but not great. Not like the impressive gourmet cupcakes you can find at a lot of shops.

By the way, 3 choices (one each) of (a) entrees, (b) sides or desserts, and (c) beverages are included in the "Plus" tour ticket. That accounts for about $25 of the ticket cost. On the shorter tour, the food is not included but you can order and pay for whatever you like.

The eating area of the cafe consisted of various additional partial reproductions of the Friends sets, mixed in with extra tables. And, of course, lots of cool Friend merchandise being sold! Then another area within Stage 48 held a museum of movie and film making, discussing many aspects of what goes into these productions. There were reproduced sets from "The Big Bang Theory" (more photo ops), as well as various costumes including many from "Crazy Rich Asians". And many other things to do and see.

After taking all the time we wanted there, we caught another small shuttle and were taken to a large exhibit divided in to three sections:

One section was for DC Comic Heros. There was some focus on Wonder Woman -- and an interactive magic lasso to pose with; lots of exhibits on Batman, with many costumes and vehicles -- various Batmobiles, and the Batcycle from The Dark Knight; and a little bit of Superman and others.

Another section was for Harry Potter. It had many exhibits and photo opportunities, and some interactive experiences, like a green screen in front of which you can ride a broom and make a short video. A wand room, where you can select a wand (not sure the cost or how special the experience might be -- we didn't participate). Photo op in the Great Hall with the sorting hat. Interactive potions making experience to see if you could follow over-simplified instructions and get simulated potions done right. Fun for kids!

The 3rd area was for for Game of Thrones, which we didn't spend time in, since we haven't watched that show.

At the end of those three exhibits, you exit through a large WB store with lots more cool merchandise. We bought a couple of t-shirts -- my wife chose one featuring the Corpse Bride, and I bought one featuring the Maltese Falcon (from the old Humphrey Bogart movie). Then finally we exited into the lobby where our day started.

My overall opinion:

I give it 7 of 10 stars. We had a good time and were glad we had the experience, but it wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped. My wife enjoyed it very much, even though I'm the bigger Friends fan and movie buff. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, but wasn't high-energy entertainment. I've heard there are a large variety of guides/personalities you might get on your tour. You should not expect this tour to be as entertaining as the Universal Studios Backlot Tour (also near Burbank, CA) which is included with admission to the Universal Studios theme park. The Universal experience also gives you access to theme park rides, you can easily stay busy all day long, and can be argued to be a better value for your money. But the WB tour is more intimate and is done in small groups, so it's easy to ask questions, get lots of good photos, or spend extra time on things you happen to be interested in. Your guide can customize your experience to some degree, if you express your interests. The Universal tour doesn't offer those advantages. And with the WB tour (especially the "Plus" version), you spend more time seeing authentic and behind-the-scenes aspects of the movie industry. And if your interests are specific to Friends, you'll have a good time!

If your focus is ONLY "Friends" then "The Friends Experience" exhibits which tour around the world would be a lower-cost alternative. One of those exhibits is permanently in New York, and right now (late 2024) one is in Las Vegas. (London and Paris have them as well). These give you a lot of the same experiences we had in Studio 48 (Central Perk set, a real cafe, photo ops, etc) but with even more reproductions of Friends sets and photo ops!