If you've dreamed about going behind the scenes of your favorite television shows and movies, then we have the tour for you. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood is perfect for all TV and movie fans, as well as anyone who wants to know how movies are made. Today, we are talking about two versions of the most popular tour you can take at Warner Bros. Studios: the Studio Tour and the Classic Tour. They have a lot of similarities and the same self-guided sections, but the main difference is the actual tour around the backlot and which types of movies and shows the tour focuses on. We've recently done the Studio Tour, and we loved it so much that we'd say it's a must-do activity when in Los Angeles!
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood Overview
Warner Bros. is the oldest Hollywood studio. It’s spread out over 110 acres and has 30 sound stages. This tour takes you into the backlot and into sound stages and sets. You can see costumes, props and sets for current and past shows. Parts of the tour are self-guided interactive museums, and other parts are on a guided cart.
Even though there are two tours, they both start and end the same way. The only part that differs is the middle part, which is a cart tour around the backlot. Both tours include the Storytelling Showcase, Stage 48 and Action and Magic Made Here segments.
Budget for about a half-day activity. The official tour length is three hours, but because some areas are self-guided, you can stay longer or shorter than that. We ate lunch at Central Perk. As super fans of "Harry Potter," "Friends" and "Big Bang Theory," we participated in photos and videos and took our time exploring the self-guided sections and the large gift shop, so our experience took us about four hours.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Times and Tickets
The tours are offered five days a week (closed Tuesday and Wednesday) but may be open daily at peak times. Tours have start times running every half an hour from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You will reserve your date and time to tour.
The Studio Store is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can do some souvenir shopping after the tour ends.
Tickets
The Warner Brothers adult ticket for ages 11+ is $63 (through Undercover Tourist). The child ticket for ages 5 to 10 is $56. That’s right — no kids under five. We had to leave Lily with Grandma Frog (but she would not have enjoyed it since she has not seen many of the movies and shows yet). Our tween, Tad, on the other hand, is a huge DC, Wizarding World and overall movie and TV show fan, so he had a blast. As a videographer himself, he was fascinated with the behind-the-scenes looks at how filming hoppens.
You can save $10 by reserving your tour with Undercover Tourist. You'll pick your date and tour time before you check out. We sell discount tickets for the two tours:
For what you get, we think this tour is an especially good value. We get asked all the time if a tour or a ticket is worth it, and we can hoppily say that the Warner Bros. Studio Tour is toadally worth it!
Not sure you can commit to the tour? Hoppin' news! Warner Bros. Tour tickets purchased through Undercover Tourist are refundable as long as the ticket is unused and not expired. Yep, we are friendly frogs! If you need a refund, you can get 95% of your money back. (The 5% fee covers delivery, handling and processing fees.)
If you just need to reschedule, you can do that through Undercover Tourist up to 48 hours in advance. Otherwise, contact Warner Bros. to make the change within 48 hours.
We will go into the tours in detail below. The tours start and end the same with the same self-guided portions. The main part that differs is the middle part, which is a one-hour cart tour around the backlot.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood Location and Arrival Tips
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood is located at 3400 Warner Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505. It is located 4 miles from the Hollywood Walk of Fame if you wanted to visit both on the same day, as the tour is about a half-day activity. Warner Bros. is located about 3 miles from Universal Studios Hollywood, which has its own one-hour Studio Tour as well as a behind-the-scenes VIP Tour, but you'd want a separate day to visit that theme park and movie studio.
Covered parking at Warner Bros. is $15. There is parking for electric vehicles. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour website offers more info on how to arrive via train, bus or ride-share. If you're coming or going to the airport from the tour and bringing bags, you can leave them with Guest Relations during your tour.
Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes early. There was a pretty flexible policy for starting tours. So if you find yourself in crazy LA traffic and are running behind schedule, don’t sweat it. The person checking tickets at the entrance said everyone is always right on time for this tour. Budget time to park, use the restroom and maybe grab some coffee or snacks before you start the experience.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Itinerary
So, you’ve arrived and are ready to go! You have your tickets, have gone through security and are frogcited to learn about movie making. Enter the Storytelling Showcase ...
Storytelling Showcase
You’ll start by exploring the Storytelling Showcase. You’ll learn all about the four Warner Brothers, see different categories of filmmaking, watch videos, see props from popular shows, and learn how the studio has grown over the past 100 years. It’s all set on a floor map of the movie studios. Toadally cool! Now, it’s time to begin.
The Cart Tour of the Warner Bros. Lot
You’ll show your tickets and be sorted into lines and brought into a theater to learn more before you hop in a cart. Here's where the tour will differ based on whether you chose the Studio Tour or the Classic Tour.
Your row in the theater is your cart tour of up to 14 people. There are special carts that can take wheelchairs. You’ll hop in an open-air cart (with seatbelts). Your tour guide will customize the tour to your interests so be sure to have some favorite movies or TV shows in mind. The sets and sound stages have each been a part of so many movies and shows, that your guide can’t possibly list them all. But if they know what you most want to know about them, they’ll point them out to you.
You will get on and off the cart during the tour, so plan for walking and weather. If it's a rare rainy day in SoCal, you'll likely see more inside and sheltered areas.
Your guide will let you know when you can and cannot take pictures. You certainly would not want any spoilers getting out there for shows that have not aired yet. No video is allowed on the cart tour.
What you experience on this tour may vary based on the interests of the people on it, what’s available due to production requirements and which tour you are on (the Studio Tour or the Classic Tour).
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour includes all of the above, but the cart tour is going to focus on going behind the lens of movie-making magic. Most of the films and shows mentioned will be more modern, from about the 1960s to the present. On the cart tour, you’ll learn about facades, practical sets, sound stages, forced perspective and so much more. You’ll likely enter some buildings and sound stages. You may see some sets from active shows and see where past shows and movies have been made.
You'll tour the Chicago Streets (Home of "Abbott Elementary" and "Shameless") and New York Streets.
Drive down the Hennesy Street (where both "Annie" movies, "The Greatest Showman" — with streets filled with dirt, "Pee-wee's Big Adventure", three "Batman" movies, "Friends," "Entourage," "Sex and the City" and others have filmed. You may see the practical set that appears as a bar in "ER," "Gilmore Girls" and "All American" and serves as the Daily Planet in "Lois and Clark."
The Midwest Streets appear in many shows and movies such as "Gilmore Girls" and "Young Sheldon." It's where the final episode of "Seinfeld" was filmed (the Good Samaritan scene) as well as "The Music Man." It's also where the entrance to The Alibi Room is from "Shameless."
You may think the fountain from "Friends" is in NYC but it's here, near the gazebo from "Gilmore Girls!" Just to the right of the fountain is where Phoebe ran in her unique way through the park.
The Warner Bros. Classics Tour focuses on the Golden Age of Film and TV. It features award-winning titles that were shot in the backlot from the studio’s early days in 1923 through the 1970s. This tour includes a video screening about the history of Warner Bros. Pictures! See costumes from the Warner Bros. archive, including Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman's costumes worn in the famous “Here's looking at you kid” farewell scene from "Casablanca" and more.
Stage 48: Script to Screen
Your tour guide will drop you off at Stage 48. Here, you can take a self-guided tour through what feels like a fun museum of the pre-production, production and post-production of the moving-making process.
There are costumes, props, photo-ops, sets and hands-on interactive experiences. You can watch a film about sound. This is where you will see the sets of "Friends," "The Big Bang Theory" and actually sit on the couches and take photos. See the elevator and door for Apartment 4A and the cafeteria. There are so many cool details packed into this tour so take your time and have fun with it.
Outside of the self-guided tour entrance and exit is a Central Perk coffee shop with actual themed food and beverage you can buy and eat there. Take your food and drink over to other scenes from "Friends" to enjoy it and peruse the gift shop. Do you want the Joey Special? (It's two pizzas.) Or a coffee drink named after a favorite character? What about Phoebe's aunt's famous chocolate chip cookie?
"Friends" Couch and Fountain
Now it’s time to hop back in a cart. You’ll take a short ride to the fountain and couch from the "Friends" intro. You can take photos here and hop back on the cart to the final stop at the finale.
Action and Magic Made Here
This all-new tour ending features the universe of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts.
See props, sets, costumes, vehicles (such as the Batmobile) and more.
Enjoy interactive exhibits such as grasping Wonder Woman’s lasso, getting sorted by the Sorting Hat, making a potion, replanting a mandrake and learning wand choreography. Crawl into Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs and wave hello to Dobby.
Hop into Newt Scamander's case and see his shed. You'll end your tour with a red carpet moment and a Hollywood photo-op. What a great introduction to Tinseltown!
Gift Shop
As all good tours do, this one ends in the giant gift shop. You can find all kinds of merchandise including embroidered wizard robes, wands and candy from the Wizarding World. We brought home bottles of Butterbeer! The shop is open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Who Would Love the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood?
The tour is for ages 5 and up. This tour is so much fun for anyone who loves television and movies as well as for people who are curious about how filming is done.
The people who would especially get the most from the Studio Tour include fans of:
- "Friends"
- "Big Bang Theory"
- "Young Sheldon"
- DC Super Heroes and Batman movies
- "Lois and Clark"
- "Harry Potter" and the "Fantastic Beasts" movies
- "Gilmore Girls"
- "Full House"/"Fuller House"
- "Bob Hearts Abishola"
- "Annie" (both movies as they are filmed on the same street!)
- "The Music Man"
- "ER"
- "PeeWee’s Big Adventure"
- "The Greatest Showman"
- "Abbot Elementary"
- "Goonies"
- "A Star Is Born"
- "Two and a Half Men"
- "Crazy Rich Asians"
- "Gravity"
- WB Animation
- "Argo"
- and so many more!
The tour evolves over time as more shows and movies are made and some exhibits get replaced or are unavailable due to filming. Also, the studio is not limited to the making of Warner Bros. films. Disney and Universal also use this backlot for filming all the time! In fact, parts of "Jurassic Park" and "Thor: Love and Thunder" were filmed at Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood Tips
Here are tips for visiting the Warner Bros. Studio Tour:
- Familiarize yourself with some Warner Brothers movies and television shows.
- Have some favorite shows in mind — our tour guide asked us what we were most interested in and customized her commentary to our interests. Therefore, what you learn may differ from a different cart of people.
- You can take photos and videos of most of the tour, including all self-guided portions.
- You cannot take video on the cart tour. Do not take photos or videos in sound stages or some practical sets. Your guide will let you know when you can or cannot shoot pics or videos.
- Allow up to four hours to complete the tour.
- Take your time and explore all the little details in the self-guided portion.
- Food is available at Stage 48.
- You can order hot food before you start the self-tour of Stage 48 and tour while it is being prepared. If it's ready before you finish touring, you can go back and complete your self-tour after you eat.
- Restrooms are available in the lobby, at Stage 48 and at the finale.
- There’s a Starbucks in the lobby before and after the tour.
- Choose an early tour time to avoid crowds building up.
- Wear good walking shoes.
- Dress for the weather.
- Minors must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
- You can take your own photos, but if you want official photos on sets and in iconic spots, you can buy photos (and videos) as well. Hold onto your photo card as there are more photo locations after you leave Stage 48. Be sure to look at photos before you exit. You can purchase at Stage 48 and before the tour ends.
- You may need to wear a mask indoors. Hop to this FAQ for updated information.
You can save money with our discounted tickets to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. Choose between the Studio Tour and the Classic Tour.
Related: Fun Things to Do in Los Angeles With Kids
Hoppy planning!
