Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [104]
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WEAR A PIECE OF HOLLYWOOD
With vintage all the rage, even Universal Studios has gotten into the game and opened the Wardrobe Dept. store inside the park next to the Silver Screen store. It sells clothing worn on such TV shows as Law & Order, Crossing Jordan and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Tags reveal the source of each item, which comes with a certificate of authenticity.
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Try to budget a full day, especially in summer. To beat the crowds, get there before the gates open or invest in the Front of Line Pass ($120) or the deluxe guided VIP Experience ($200). Some rides have minimum height requirements. The Southern California CityPass (Click here) and the Go Los Angeles Card are valid for general admission. Buying online tickets usually yields discounts and coupons.
First-timers should head straight for the 45-minute narrated Studio Tour aboard a rickety tram that drives around the soundstages in the front lot, then heads to the back lot past the crash site from War of the Worlds, vehicles from Jurassic Park, the spooky Bates Motel from Psycho and – with any luck – Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives. Also prepare to face down King Kong, brave a flash flood, and survive a shark attack, a spitting dino and an 8.3 magnitude earthquake. It’s a bit hokey, but fun.
The best thrill ride is Jurassic Park, a gentle float through a prehistoric jungle with a rather ‘raptor-ous’ ending. Revenge of the Mummy is a short but satisfying indoor roller coaster romp through ‘Imhotep’s Tomb’ that at one point has you going backwards. A new ride based on The Simpsons is set to open in 2008. Guests will be rocketed along with the Simpson family and experience a side of Springfield previously unexplored.
Of the live shows, Terminator 2: 3-D combines live-action stunts with digital imaging technology and stars the Governator himself. Spider-Man Rocks is a cutesy, fast-paced musical show with dance numbers and aerial acrobatics. The movie may have bombed, but the WaterWorld show is a runaway hit with mind-boggling stunts that include giant fireballs and a crash-landing seaplane.
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BEHIND THE CURTAIN: MOVIE MAGIC UNMASKED
Did you know it takes a week to shoot a half-hour sitcom? Or that you rarely see ceilings on shows because the space is filled with lights and lamps? You’ll learn these and other fascinating nuggets of information about the make-believe world of film- and TV- making while touring a working studio. Star sighting potential is better than average except during ‘hiatus’ (May to August) when studios are pretty deserted. Unless noted, reservations are required and so is photo ID.
Warner Bros (Map; 818-972-8687; www.wbstudiotour.com; 3400 Riverside Dr, Burbank; tours $45, minimum age 8; 8:30am-4pm Mon-Fri, longer hr Mar-Sep; ) This tour offers the most fun yet authentic look behind the scenes of a major movie studio. The 2¼-hour romp kicks off with a video of WB’s greatest film hits (Rebel without a Cause, Harry Potter etc) before a tram whisks you to sound stages, backlot sets and technical departments, including props, costumes and the paint shop. Tours conclude at the studio museum, a treasure trove of props and memorabilia, including Hogwarts’ famous Sorting Hat. Tours leave roughly every half hour.
Sony (Map; 323-520-8687; 10202 W Washington Blvd, Culver City; tour $25, minimum age 12; tours 9:30am, 10:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm & 2:30pm Mon-Fri; ) Perhaps less entertaining than Warner Bros, but still quite good, this two-hour walking tour includes possible visits to the sound stages where Men in Black, Spider-Man, Charlie’s Angels and other blockbusters were filmed. Munchkins hopped along the Yellow