If there’s one thing you must do when visiting Los Angeles, take the Universal Studio Tour. We all go to Hollywood land for the movies, right? Go straight to the Universal Studios and do the Studio Tour FIRST. Go early to avoid the crowd and get on the tram for their first Universal Studio Tour trip down lanes, streets, drives and alleys where movies were made.
The surroundings don’t have anything that screams glitzy Hollywood we all know. Honestly, when I got on the tram, I couldn’t believe that they really make movies there. The acres of land that serves as the studio are plain views you can see everywhere. But, as we started our tour along narrow streets, familiar places come one by one.
The first few minutes of the tour were concentrated on these studios that look like warehouses. We passed by the studios where America Got Talent, [easyazon_link asin=”B00GUOJZAG” locale=”US” new_window=”yes” nofollow=”default” tag=”pridecostume-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”yes”]Parks & Recreation[/easyazon_link], Bates Motel, [easyazon_link asin=”B00915G6TE” locale=”US” new_window=”yes” nofollow=”default” tag=”pridecostume-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”yes”]CSI[/easyazon_link] and other TV shows are taped.
Let me be your guide to the Universal Studio Tour! 🙂
A production staff cleans up a statue outside the studio where CSI was filmed.
If you are a die hard fan of BACK TO THE FUTURE, this City Hall building is synonymous to Marty McFly.
Here’s Little Europe.
And here’s Little New York.
During our Universal Studio Tour, we passed by an outdoor museum of cars used in several films: Flinstones, Fast and Furious 2 and fast and Furious 6.
And of course, these cars used for the filming of Knight Rider and Magnum P.I.
The movie was long time ago and look at these back to the Future cars! They’re so real!!!
I do remember this car from the Transformers movie.
As soon we were done with all the cars, this beaten truck came into full view. And guess what? Right next to it a baby dinosaur appeared that made us lift from our seats. This is the very first special effects on our tour.
Yes, we just entered the Jurassic Park! We saw and heard three more dinosaurs here. It was brilliant!
This is the Latin America Village.[easyazon_link asin=”B005KGPOFK” locale=”US” new_window=”yes” nofollow=”default” tag=”pridecostume-20″ add_to_cart=”default” cloaking=”default” localization=”default” popups=”default”]The Motorcycle Diaries[/easyazon_link] was filmed here with Gael Garcia Bernal running for his life.
Our tram stopped here and we suddenly heard a gushing sound of flood like it was coming our way.
We were so thrilled and the experience was surreal!
The wild wild west.
The Universal Studio Tour.
This is just a very tiny river. The miniature ship on the right is so tiny but so big on screen for the film, PLANET OF THE APES.
These props are waiting for their role on TV and silver screen.
This is my favorite part of the Universal Studio Tour. Our tram went inside a dark studio where the subway platforms are located. Then, suddenly, earthquake shattered us and columns, walls came crashing everwhere. Gallons of water came out somewhere and we were all shouting like we were in a disaster movie itself. Awesome!
When we came out of the earthquake / subway studio, Amity island was next.
Amity Island is the fictitious island from the movie, JAWS, directed by Steven Spielberg. That man in scuba gear is fake, of course.
And then, he was gone. Can you see the pool of blood? Shark has eaten him! 😉
And just when we thought we’re done with Jaws, an explosion came out as a surprise. We felt the heat from the fire.
Wisteria Lane of Desperate Housewives. I was hoping the shirtless Jesse Metcalfe was hiding in the bushes.
The Bates Motel.
This is the house from the horror film, PSYCHO.
We saw a billowing smoke at a distance—until we found out its source.
Can you guess from which movie this familiar view was seen?
It’s from WAR OF THE WORLDS starring Tom Cruise.
The devastation / crash site was so surreal.
And this is how we ended our Universal Studio Tour!
The Universal Studio Tour is one thing you would never forget. The next time you’ll watch a Hollywood movie or a TV show, you’ll find familiar places you’ve seen in their real form. You’ll smile and tell your mates, “I’ve been there!”
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