There’s one place in Los Angeles that brings together all the movies and TV shows from your childhood and teenage years. Even better – it’s still a working film studio, which means you can actually visit it… and if you’re lucky, maybe even bump into a celebrity!

I’m talking about the Warner Bros. Studio in Hollywood, which we decided to visit instead of Universal Studios Hollywood. The main reason? We were already planning a trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida – because it has way more Harry Potter locations (I wrote about that here).

Unlike Universal, which is a full-on theme park, Warner Bros. offers you a guided tour of a real working studio. But don’t worry – that doesn’t mean it’s boring. There’s plenty of fun and surprises along the way. What to expect and what you’ll see on the tour – keep reading.

General Info

The studio offers a wide range of tours – from themed ones (like Batman or Halloween specials) to “deluxe” tours that go for around $300. You can check the schedule and book your tickets directly through the official website.

As broke students, we went for the cheapest option – the basic tour for $70, which is three times cheaper than Universal Studios. And honestly? If the basic tour is this cool, imagine what the deluxe ones must be like!

What Can You See at Warner Bros. Studio?

Warner Bros. owns the Harry Potter franchise, so you’ll find plenty of sets and attractions from the Wizarding World, along with DC favourites like Batman and Wonder Woman. The studio has also been home to classics like Friends, Spider-Man (yes, the Tobey Maguire one), Gilmore Girls, Young Sheldon, Desperate Housewives, and even the iconic sets from The Big Bang Theory.

And it’s not just sitcoms and superheroes – we also stumbled upon Annabelle and The Nun from The Conjuring universe. Creepy, but very cool!

The studio is still very much alive and running. For example, one of the soundstages was used to build that Barbie dreamtown you saw on the big screen! They’re also working on current projects (though, of course, they won’t spill the details). That means there’s always a tiny chance you might bump into a celebrity heading to set. We even spotted parking spots reserved for Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, and a few others. Someone from our group even recognized and took an autograph of some actor from an unknown film. But you might be luckier.

How the Warner Bros. Hollywood Studio Tour Works

You’ll ride through the studio’s backlot “streets of New York,” where your guide will point out the exact spots where Peter Parker kissed Mary Jane, or where some of the most famous scenes from Friends were filmed. What looks like a generic “New York” is actually transformed for every project: they swap signs, add seasonal details, even change door handles to match the time period. These houses and storefronts are just façades — some tricks of paint and perspective are used to make streets look longer or more real.

You’ll also pass by the Friends fountain and the famous couch, where you can snap some photos. Just a heads-up: the couch is actually made of stone — so maybe don’t try jumping onto it 😊

Next, you’ll be taken into the soundstages, where crews are building sets for upcoming films right on the lot! Some stages might be closed off — that’s where filming is in progress. What exactly is being shot depends on how secretive the project is, and the guide will share as much as they can.

After that, you’ll visit the backlot of a “typical American town” — or as our guide called it, the “Anywhere in America” town. This is where they filmed Gilmore Girls, Pretty Little Liars, and countless other scenes from movies and TV shows. Unlike the fake New York streets, here you’ll actually find real houses that were used for filming inside and out.

You’ll even get to step inside one of these houses — just to see for yourself how everything you watch on screen is pure movie magic. Inside, the “home” is nothing but a shell: no real ceilings, just air ducts and rigging for equipment hanging overhead.

Of course, just like the New York backlot, this little town and its houses get a full makeover every time a new project comes along.

The Studio Museum

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Here, you’ll see Newt Scamander’s suitcase and office, where his magical creatures sometimes peek through the windows.

You can also experience a Sorting Ceremony to find your favorite house with the Sorting Hat, brew potions in Professor Snape’s classroom, practice spells, pull a mandrake in Professor Sprout’s greenhouse, and even step into the cupboard under the stairs, surrounded by letters from Hogwarts. Truly unforgettable! Watch it here.

 

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TV Show Sets

And, of course, at the end of the tour, you’ll find a huge gift shop featuring merchandise from all the different franchises represented at the studio. Honestly, leaving without buying anything is pretty much impossible 😊

Watch the full video review here.

 

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