Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. The Studio Tour (also known as The Backlot Tour) is a ride attraction at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and one of the park’s signature attraction.
In fact, the theme park itself was initially created to offer tours of the real Universal Studios sets and is the first of many full-fledged Universal Studios Theme Parks located across the world. Most of the park resides in Universal City, a town in itself. Remaining area is part of Los Angeles metropolitan area.
The Tour travels through a working film studio, with various film sets on the Universal Studios Lot. Guests sit on multi-car trams for the duration of the ride and looking behind the scenes of Universal Pictures. It lasts approximately an hour, led by an in-person “tram guide” sitting in the first car of the tram, facing the guests. Often pre-recorded video clips of actor, entertainer and talk show host Jimmy Fallon is synchronized with various events of the tour. It travels through the Front Lot, Backlot, and various attractions, passing sets and properties from movies along the way.
The Tour has long been the heart of the park, all the way back from 1915 when guests would sit in bleachers for 25 cents to 1964, when pink and white Glamor Trams were introduced, and the tram tour was the main way of seeing all the attractions at Universal.
The Front Lot Commissary was the original departure point for the tram. In 1965, the Upper Lot Studio Tour Center opened. The tram has departed from both the Lower and Upper Lots over the years, but since Jurassic Park’s opening both alighting and departing take place on the Upper Lot.
As the movie studio has evolved, the tour has evolved with the incorporation of advanced technology and the replacement of the original trams in the early 80s. In late 1989, CD players replaced some of the speaking roles of live tour guides. In 1999, DVD players and LCD screens were introduced, allowing tour guides to show scenes from movies filmed at the locations the trams pass, and in 2009, the screens were upgraded to high definition. In 2011, Jimmy Fallon joined the tour as a video host to supplement the live-action narration and perform an original song “Tram-Tastic” at the end of the tour. In 2022, electric trams began to be introduced into the fleet.
Watch the 2-part video series below for a virtual journey through the Universal Studio Tour! The first part of the Tour Video series starts at the departure point and goes through many of the studio sets, Back Lot and facilities as the guide explains the history and contemporary filming activities taking place at Universal Studios.
The second part of the Tour Video series focuses on Live Action sets from films like “Jaws”, “Kong” and “Fast and Furious”.
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