Alongside its parent theme park, the Studio Tour shut down indefinitely in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but then reopened in April 2021.
Sets from the Universal movies Psycho, Back to the Future, The Sting, The Great Outdoors, and the Paramount/DreamWorks film War of the Worlds are visited in the tour.
O'Brien and announcer Andy Richter staged events outside the studio on occasion as part of The Tonight Show's Tour-ific Tramtacular sketch.
Until June 1, 2008, the tour also passed through a group of facades resembling city streets of New York (used in the filming of Bruce Almighty and some elements in Transformers), Bring It On: In It to Win It, and New England, as well as the Courthouse Square set famously seen in the Back to the Future trilogy.
However, these sets were constructed mainly of wood and therefore were highly flammable and burned to the ground in an early morning fire.
Before returning to the tour's boarding area, the tram passes by an overlook of the San Fernando Valley, which includes views of neighboring Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.
After a video introduction by Peter Jackson, Studio Tour guests wear 3-D glasses as the tram enters a sound stage dressed as a re-creation of Skull Island.
Jurassic Park (1996)When the tram passes through the Isla Nublar set, guests are sprayed by animatronic Dilophosaurus.
The attraction features a gimbal which allows it to shake the tram, a burning gasoline truck that collapses through the roof, a crumbling ceiling and floor, electricity, fire, smoke, sparks, a derailing subway train, a flickering lights and a flood of water.
[5] Jaws (1976) As the tram drives into the peaceful Amity seaside town, George, a police driver makes sure there are no problems.
The actual hero prop boat 'Orca' was placed in the lagoon as a center piece, but was removed between 1991 and 1992 and chopped up for timber (Jaws director Steven Spielberg learned of the fate of the 'Orca', much to his anger, after noticing it gone while he was on the ride[6]).
This event now becomes a photo op area where an original Glamour tram has been restored and other various props for the 60th anniversary of the Studio Tour.
Dressing up in the "mother costume" and wielding a rubber knife, Carrey emerged from behind the Psycho house and jumped on the tram, scaring the passengers, including the guides.
The tour guides and tram operators reported the incident to the film crew, who revealed the identity of the Norman Bates attacker.
Jupiter's Claim (2022)A set themed to the western theme park of the same name from the 2022 film, Nope, which is located as the penultimate stop on the tour starting on July 22, 2022, the same day as the film's theatrical release, marking it as the first time that an attraction on the tour has opened day and date with a movie release.
[7] Fast & Furious: Supercharged (2015) As the tram makes its way past Wisteria Lane, to the left is a black Dodge Charger next to a beige house.
The tour guide, who is apologizing for the "unplanned" event, is interrupted by Luke Hobbs, telling guests that they will be sent to a safe location.
The tram drives further into the garage, where, using a Pepper's ghost illusion, a party is interrupted by Agent Novak, who escorts the partygoers out of the room.
It originally featured a collection of oversized props from The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and visitors could disembark the trams to examine them or take photos.
Other attractions included a bouncing stagecoach with a motorized backdrop, a concession stand, and a small souvenir shop.
When The Six Million Dollar Man was popular, additional attractions included foam boulders and a van raised on two wheels to allow guests to photograph themselves performing "bionic" feats.
[10] This was the first themed attraction to feature Audio-Animatronics characters outside Disney Parks, and was the first dark ride to combine sophisticated animatronics and lasers with live actors.
The Kong sequence was also featured in the film The Wizard starring Fred Savage and Indie singer Jenny Lewis.
[11] As of June 3, 2008, Universal Studios officials stated that the experience would not be rebuilt, and instead was replaced by the new King Kong: 360 3-D attraction, based on the 2005 film.
This frustration eventually led to the unplanned closure of Fast and Furious on the Studio Tour after producers from the film witnessed the attraction first-hand.
The bridge was used less-frequently starting in 2005, and by March 2006 was no longer part of the regular tram tour due to mechanical problems.
[13] The Collapsing Bridge was repaired and returned as part of the Studio Tour in August 2008, after the June fire had closed much of the normal tram route.
Prior to addition of miniature models of Skull Island and the S.S. Venture boat from the King Kong remake in 2006, guides informed guests that the waterfall effect was originally installed for the "parting of the Red Sea" scene from The Ten Commandments.
In 2017, with the addition of "The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle" projection mapping and fireworks show in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Whoville Comes To Life was closed to appease nearby neighbors who would frequently complain about noise caused by the Whoville show and the extended Studio Tour hours.