Are You REALLY a Theme Park Fan If You Haven’t Done THIS?!

The history of theme park attractions can be fascinating and our intrigue and excitement are raised when we get to experience that history firsthand.

Universal Studios Hollywood opened as a theme park in 1964 and has simultaneously operated as a working movie studio and theme park destination since. While its size and offerings don’t compare to the Universal Orlando Resort, its history, uniqueness, and classic attractions have made it a charming Southern California center for entertainment.

When talking about Universal Studios Hollywood, the ride conversations have to start with The Studio Tour. This tram tour takes passengers through the Universal backlot and up close to the bonafide movie magic. Each experience is truly unique as you never know who might be filming or what changes have been made. In fact, the tour is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary and doing it in style!

The Universal backlot in Hollywood is home to several soundstages, sets, props, special effects, and loads of history. The Studio Tour tram takes guests through areas of the backlot and shows off that history while adding in some special areas such as King Kong: 360 3D, a recreation of Amity Harbour from Jaws, an earthquake portion inside a San Francisco subway tunnel, Jupiter’s Claim from Nope, and much more.

The tour is so thorough that it can sometimes take up to an hour to do the whole thing.

This summer, we’ve visited Universal Studios Hollywood quite a bit and have seen plenty of theming and merch that celebrates the tour’s anniversary.  In fact, the trams have even returned to a temporary retro Glamour Tram theme to honor the attraction’s history!

In actuality, The Studio Tour is older than the theme park. Back in the early 1900s, guests could pay just a quarter to view a live theatre experience to see how movies were made. Once the silent era of film ended, complications in filming made having an audience too difficult and the tour stopped.

However, in 1964, the tour became an opening day attraction and it gave guests a closer look at film production once again. In fact, passengers were allowed to get off the tram to explore Doris Day’s dressing room. Today during the 60th anniversary, The Studio Tour is honoring that tradition by allowing guests off the trams to explore the set of Psycho. 

Over the years, The Studio Tour has grown exponentially. You’ll find Amity Island and the shark Bruce from Jaws…

Jupiter’s Claim from Jordan Peele’s Nope…

Built-in attractions like 4D immersive experiences from King Kong and Fast & Furious (both with giant screens and motion simulating tracks) as well as the previously mentioned earthquake sound stage, and fully built sets like the one from War of the Worlds.

Until August 11th, guests can disembark the trams to experience the history of the tour and see props and replicas in addition to photo ops like this one with the shark from Jaws…

the cars from the Fast & Furious franchise…

and Kong’s giant hand.

This opportunity is rare, so if you find yourself at the park, we definitely recommend you take advantage of it! The Studio Tour really highlights the value and history of Universal Studios Hollywood and reminds guests that the behind-the-scenes of moviemaking is just as magical as the movies themselves.

Have you ridden The Studio Tour before? Let us know what you thought in the comments below and continue to follow us here at AllEars for all the latest Universal news!

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