Universal, WB Prop house tour...
- Thread starter Jedifyfe
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MattMunson
Master Member
WB is easy. Just go to the website and book it.
garybarth
Sr Member
That's true...The Prop area is on the WB tour...but sometimes they don't go through it for some reason (I've taken the tour a couple times).
For Universal, they have what they call the VIP tour that costs $100 (I've done that one too). Instead of being on the massive tram with 50 people, they take you around in a little cable car looking vehicle (I think it's 10 people to a tour group) and you get to drive around the backlot and get out and walk around. They take you behind the scenes on various exhibits and soundstages and you get "front of the line" passes for all the rides and shows. The prop warehouse is a stop on this tour. It might be more than people want to spend, but I found the tour to be very interesting and worth the money.
Gary
For Universal, they have what they call the VIP tour that costs $100 (I've done that one too). Instead of being on the massive tram with 50 people, they take you around in a little cable car looking vehicle (I think it's 10 people to a tour group) and you get to drive around the backlot and get out and walk around. They take you behind the scenes on various exhibits and soundstages and you get "front of the line" passes for all the rides and shows. The prop warehouse is a stop on this tour. It might be more than people want to spend, but I found the tour to be very interesting and worth the money.
Gary
You know, when I was a film student at USC, I could easily get a drive on to any studio prop house in L.A. I remember going to WB and Universal and Sony (although Sony isn't at the studio. It's a separate location in West L.A.) All you had to do was call and say you were part of a student project, and they would let you in. All you need is a photo ID. I don't recall ever having to show proof of being a student. Then you can get your own drive on and spend as much time as you want there.
greenguy
Well-Known Member
You might want to check Universals website. Last time I checked the price the VIP tour was $199 per person.
Yeah it goes for about that much now. Took the tour last November and you get to go up to the prop house. Only thing is that there's not much sci-fi stuff there(at least we didn't see it). Just a bunch of furniture, silverware and everyday set dressings. Although it was cool to see a bunch of swords in a bin...you can't touch anything or you get the boot. It was neat to go on the Spiderman street sets....and when the other tours went by in the big tour busses...you waved to them (at the request of our tour guide) and they all waved back and took pictures. We were stars for a day 
JDarko
Active Member
Well, for my two cents, (or pennies if you're from the UK:lol) I'd like to tell you all a little story. I did the universal backlot tour in 2004 and it was possibly the highlight of an amazing 2 weeks in LA. I got to see so many sets, and theres so much info that you get it really is spectacular. I visited the clock tower from back to the future and whilst all the people with regular passes merely slowed as they passed by in the mini buses, I got to hug the clock tower. You heard it here folks, I got to hug the clock tower! That right there was worth the $180 fee for the day ticket. ****(To bring fullness to the story, it was my honeymoon, I took tons of photos, We broke up six weeks after we came back when she cheated on me, on a guy half my height with one testicle (I am deadly serious, how funny is that!) we'd been together six years and we broke up in six weeks. I was totally heartbroken, even though she had the worlds shortest temper and the worlds quickest fists and had pretty much beaten the crap out of me for six years straight. At my worst point, a few weeks after we'd officially broken up, I met a girl who I'd seen loads of times in bars and clubs in our local area, who knew all my friends and I knew hers, who looks like a cross between dita von teese and angelina jolie (the comment has been said literally hundreds of times since I've known her) and we're still together 4 and half years later and still totally smitten with each other.)****
So, i ended up all happy with a hot girl, and with loads and loads of photos of me stood in front of the bates hotel from psycho and the clock tower arm in arm with a photshopped cookie monster. :lol
Did you know that the "Brick style" front of the clock tower in BTTF2, is under the current traditional looking paler sandstone version of the clock tower, and was in essence one on top of the other, you could see areas closer up where you could see the darker panels underneath, as pointed out by our guide. Also to note, we got front of the queue access to the rides in the morning because the trek round the backlot is so big. Just haven't been able to find a good rundown of what facades were destroyed in the fire.
I also did the wb tour in burbank and was blown away by the vast array of props in there museum, including ray guns from Mars Attack,The Time machine from film of same name (with guy Pierce and Jeremy Irons) and the Blimp from Blade runner. They also had a huge Harry Potter exhibit there,If anybody is interested I could dig out the list of museums I went to in LA that were film related. Think we got about 6 or 7 done in the 2 weeks I was there and made sure I listed everywhere I'd been and everything I could remember that I'd seen. It was these places that really inspired me to build prop replicas.
Johnny x
P.s I may have taken a tiny little piece of the step that Norman Bates stands on when we first see him, with him and the house together. Which my beautiful girlfriend may now own. There are good benefits to being able to get off the mini bus when ya want x:lol
So, i ended up all happy with a hot girl, and with loads and loads of photos of me stood in front of the bates hotel from psycho and the clock tower arm in arm with a photshopped cookie monster. :lol
Did you know that the "Brick style" front of the clock tower in BTTF2, is under the current traditional looking paler sandstone version of the clock tower, and was in essence one on top of the other, you could see areas closer up where you could see the darker panels underneath, as pointed out by our guide. Also to note, we got front of the queue access to the rides in the morning because the trek round the backlot is so big. Just haven't been able to find a good rundown of what facades were destroyed in the fire.
I also did the wb tour in burbank and was blown away by the vast array of props in there museum, including ray guns from Mars Attack,The Time machine from film of same name (with guy Pierce and Jeremy Irons) and the Blimp from Blade runner. They also had a huge Harry Potter exhibit there,If anybody is interested I could dig out the list of museums I went to in LA that were film related. Think we got about 6 or 7 done in the 2 weeks I was there and made sure I listed everywhere I'd been and everything I could remember that I'd seen. It was these places that really inspired me to build prop replicas.
Johnny x
P.s I may have taken a tiny little piece of the step that Norman Bates stands on when we first see him, with him and the house together. Which my beautiful girlfriend may now own. There are good benefits to being able to get off the mini bus when ya want x:lol
Vaderman
Sr Member
Things changed rather dramatically after 9/11. All the lots were on high alert due to some kind of intelligence report and, for a while, all tours were stopped.
They would search every car going in, mirrors underneath, trunk check, everyone's ID.
They are a little more relaxed again now but it will probably never be as easy as it once was to see the sets and props. Paramount's tour used to take groups through the prop area too but there were no props from TRek or anything really big as those were always locked up elsewhere. Chairs, tables, fake paintings, the big stuffed gorilla from "The Odd Couple" they were there for any set dresser to use and out for all to see.
In all the times I have been to the WB lot and worked there for 4+ years, I never went on the dang tour! I heard later about the Batman tumbler being there in storage and other cool pieces, so now I want to go!
They have a nice little museum too with Harry Potter and other stuff (at WB.)
They would search every car going in, mirrors underneath, trunk check, everyone's ID.
They are a little more relaxed again now but it will probably never be as easy as it once was to see the sets and props. Paramount's tour used to take groups through the prop area too but there were no props from TRek or anything really big as those were always locked up elsewhere. Chairs, tables, fake paintings, the big stuffed gorilla from "The Odd Couple" they were there for any set dresser to use and out for all to see.
In all the times I have been to the WB lot and worked there for 4+ years, I never went on the dang tour! I heard later about the Batman tumbler being there in storage and other cool pieces, so now I want to go!
They have a nice little museum too with Harry Potter and other stuff (at WB.)
kimncris
Sr Member
that museum is really awesome. Too bad they do not give you nearly enough time to appreciate it. Last time we went I stood and read the letters back and forth between Bruce Lee and Warner about making Enter the Dragon the most Kick Ass action movie ever made. Did not even get to see the Harry Potter room.... and they don't allow pictures
but you can take them in the car room...
and they do a free greenscreen pic of you with the Harry Potter train
I did the EXACT same thing. In the span of one day in fall of 1989 (yeah, I'm old), my 310 partner and I snuck onto the sets of ST:TNG at Paramount (nearly scoring internships in the art dept in the process), walked around the backlot at Universal (actually drove our car around the streets as well and walked through the stages of Indy 3, which was in prep at the time), and did the same thing at Warner Bros. (where we saw the rotting corpses of the full size shuttles from V). Completely unchecked and unsupervised.
Nowadays, I go to a meeting on one of those lots officially and I get the anal probe.
I was on the Warner's Lot for business a few weeks ago (honest) and stopped by their museum. I have to say it was quite nice. Good assortment of props, costumes, and artwork. They had the 4' Firefox miniature on display. The BLADE RUNNER Blimp was gone, though. I've never seen so many docents and security people in such a confined space. There was no WAY I could take any pictures with me (and I had my point and shoot camera with me).
Gene
misterfusion
Sr Member
At least WB has a museum set up for tours to go through. I used to work at Uni and would get into the prop department frequently, and they had NOTHING like that set up.
There was an Archive department, but as far as I know, you can't go through it and they only had a few pieces in the outer offices.
There was an Archive department, but as far as I know, you can't go through it and they only had a few pieces in the outer offices.
misterfusion
Sr Member
Last time I was in there was 2001, and it doesn't look like anything's changed
The glass cases you see at the beginning and end of the video is where they keep a SMALL amount of hero stuff. 99.9% of the rest of the stuff in there is really basic, generic prop stuff.
I do remember seeing some small Buck Rogers laser pistols int eh Sci-Fi gun area (a shelf with a couple of boxes), some of the collapsed crossbows from The Shadow (non functional), some playing card from Viva Rock Vegas, but not a lot of WOW stuff...
Would that Universal tour include getting close to the Bttf Delorean??? Something I need to do.
mike
mike
