The Warner Bros. Studio Tour was a dream come true for this family! We arrived 45 minutes before the 10 am tour & enjoyed the Starbucks cafe that was right there in the gift shop/waiting area. Once called, we all assembled in a small comfortable screening room, where we watched a short film about the history of Warner Bros., including segments from the many movies & TV programs they've produced over the years.
Then, it was to the tour carts! Shaun got to sit up front in the beginning, changing with Kimi later on. We saw an alley area that's been used for many different scenes, including the upside down kiss in Spiderman. Maggie, our guide, told us that Toby Maguire had to hang upside down for 5 hours while they filmed that scene, with his nose stuffed with cottonballs & Vaseline to keep him from drowning. Not quite in keeping with the romance shown on screen!
We traveled down different "streets" that serve as front doors to apartments for characters in West Wing, Murphy Brown, Sex in the City, Gilmore Girls, & ER. Maggie explained how they will add background stuff to make the places look different & not right next door, as they really are.
Then came the moment Kimi had been praying for: Gilmore Girls!!! First, after locking up our cameras, we got to go onto the soundstage that holds the Dragonfly Inn. We not only could walk around in it, but could sit on the furniture - Kimi glowed as she settled into one of the chairs. We could see the behind-the-scenes technical tools used to create the show, & the guides answered everyone's questions. We found out that the very wordy show has about 30 pages of script more than the usual hour-long program - 30! That means they work many more hours to get each episode ready for primetime.
Back on the tram, we then rode into Stars Hollow town center. It was all dressed up as if it were almost Halloween. Maggie let the kids pick up the fire hydrant to demonstrate that many of the items in the streets & on the common were lightweight & very movable, making it easier for them to adapt the area for other uses, such as when the High School was used as the court house in Dukes of Hazzard. We were allowed to walk around a bit, but quietly, since they were filming just on the other side at "Lorelai's house". We could hear them loudly state "rolling" nearby. Suddenly, Kimi spotted Alexis Bledel, aka Rory! She was sitting off in the shade, reading (how Rory-like!). Kimi beamed with excitement!
Maggie later allowed us to take pictures of Luke's diner, so the kids quickly struck a pose & I snapped away. We didn't think it could get any better, but...
...we were brought to the Warner Bros. Museum, where we could look at many cool props & costumes from shows like Friends, ER, & the West Wing. Then, we were directed upstairs to the Harry Potter floor (yes, the entire floor!). Costumes from the Yule Ball were on display, along with Hagrid's usual outfit & his motorcycle (huge!), the time changer, the mermaid's egg, dementors, Aragog, a petrified Hermione - so many things directly from the movies. It was hard for Kimi to say goodbye to it all.
Over in Property, we also got to go into an area where Central Perk, the coffe shop in Friends, has been recreated. We were again allowed to touch the stuff & sit on the furniture. Maggie even took our picture sitting on The Couch. Then came time for the automobiles - we saw the Rumbler from Batman Begins, the Batmobile from when George Clooney was Batman, the car Ron & Harry "borrow" to fly to Hogwarts (broken windows & all), the Mystery Bus from the Scooby Doo movies & the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard movie.
This was a great tour - we had so much fun!
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