But Universal's tour isn't the only opportunity for visitors to see a working film and television production facility in the Los Angeles area.
Warner Bros., Burbank
The two-and-a-half hour $49 "VIP" tour takes you on a cart around the Warner Bros. backlot, which is home to the new "Conan" show as well as "The Big Bang Theory," among others. If you want to drop a few more bucks, sign up for the $250 "Deluxe" tour, which runs five hours and includes lunch in the studio commissary. You can book your tickets online.
Paramount, Hollywood
Paramount's two-hour studio tour costs $45 and takes you around the facility where "Glee" and Nickelodeon's "Big Time Rush" shoot. There's no online booking; you'll have to call 323-956-1777 to reserve a date and time.
Sony, Culver City
Sony's $33 walking tour lasts about two hours and will take you past the sound stages for "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" as well as past some historic sets, such as those used in films such as "Men in Black." You can book online or reserve a custom group tour by calling 310-244-8687.
Universal, Universal City
For comparison, Universal's Studio Tour is a 45-minute drive through the backlot. You won't get close to live filming, but you will see historic sets, in addition to the King Kong 360/3D, Jaws and Earthquake attractions. The tour is part of a full-day admission, which is available online for $77.
Of course, filming abounds in the Los Angeles area. My wife and I were watching Legally Blonde on TV last week, and it took me a moment to realize that what the movie was passing off as Harvard Law School was, in fact, the hallway of our kids' elementary school in Pasadena. The LA film office used to publish a daily "shoot sheet," which told you what would be in production where on streets throughout Los Angeles, but it doesn't due that any longer due to "security concerns." So if you want to see film production "in the wild," just drive around looking for yellow rectangular signs with black block lettering, posted on street corners, then follow their arrows. Those are directional signs set out for film and TV crews, so they know where to park. Find one, and you'll find a production going on within a few blocks. You might not be able to get close enough to see any stars, but you can say you've seen a TV show or movie being filmed "in Hollywood."
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It always fun trying to guess what shows the yellow and black signs are for. One of my favorites was "OCD" for "Monk". Also you will never see a yellow sign in Santa Monica. The city doesn't allow them to be posted.
I should have gone to the Universal tour; it is more fake, but it must be more fun.
Ok, the big shock is that Disney does NOT have one. They have a special trip thing, but its alot of money. I think it would be historic to visit there. The place where Walt Disney thought up Disneyland, Snow White, and Mary Poppins? Are you kidding me??? I would give my left arm to see that!
But good list. That was my favorite kinda nerdy thing in California!
Sometimes filming has an upside, though. When Universal was filming "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" at my kids' elementary school, they needed to film inside classrooms during a weekday. (I think they ran over their scheduled weekend shoot.) So Universal rented a couple buses and shipped all the kids in that wing of the school off to Universal Studios Hollywood for free during the day that they were filming. Every student in the school also got a free USH duffle bag (I think ours are still around here somewhere), and Adam Sandler signed a bunch of schwag for our annual school auction. The school picked up overtime filming fees too - more money for the PTA.
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