Notices
Disneyland California and West Coast Trip Reports Trip Reports

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 6 Oct 19, 10:56 AM  
Link to this Post
#1
smithlane
VIP Dibber
 
smithlane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 15
The BIG Little Lies California Road Trip - 26th July 2019 - Warner Bros Studio Tour & Malibu beach

Day 9

*Warning - today is very photo heavy!*

This morning we were checking out of LA and going on the Warner Bros Studio Tour at 10am, I was ridiculously excited for this. Jim and I are huge TV and film fans!

I got up at 7 to sort out the washing I’d done last night then packed up the rest of our bits, we hadn’t really unpacked as we were only here for 2 nights.
A few photos of the apartment, excuse the unmade beds as I had stripped them all











All ready to leave by 9.15 we hit a bit of traffic but arrived at 9.40.









The Sat Nav had taken us to the wrong entrance so had to drive all the way around which added a bit of time. It was a $15 parking fee, we have spent so much on parking so far this holiday





Thought we were running late so rushed up in the lift to meet the Leans in the cafe. Thinking we didn’t have enough time we just grabbed a pastry and drink to tie us over until later.
Went through security and checked in. We were given Group N cards and told to wait for our letter to be called. As they had only just called Group I we actually had plenty of time and didn’t have to rush!







Once called you’re taken into a small cinema to watch a short video about the Studios. You forget just how many great movies and shows are filmed here.



You then get introduced to your tour guide. We had a really great guy called Scott, he was so informative. We got lead outside to our tour vehicles.







Sean was very excited!











First stop was an area they call The Jungle. Apparently when they were filming Jurassic Park in Hawaii a huge storm came in so had to fly the cast over to Warner Bros to finish filming. Jeff Goldblum’s famous scene of him on the back of the truck with the T-Rex chasing them was filmed right here.







These cabins have been used in loads of films and shows including Pretty Little Liars and True Blood. Scott explained the house from The Walton’s was just behind this set but had infamously been burned down by a fire Marshall. No one really knows why though!







These houses are actually production offices but can be used in filming too.









A lot of the buildings have no signs or lettering on them, this is so they can be used for various sets. This one has been used as the LAPD and an airport.



The trailers used by the actors, we were hoping to see someone famous but they're usually transported around the sets in these minivans with blacked out windows so no star spotting today





Onto my favourite part of the Town Square. I’m a huge Gilmore Girls fan and Hope a Pretty Little Liars fan so we really appreciated these sets.















The Gazebo



Sookie’s house



Miss Patty’s studio.



Luke’s Diner.



Rosewood school or Stars Hollow High.



I asked if the Gilmore’s house was here and he said it was round the back but if we asked someone when we got to the end they should be able to show us.

Cafe from La La Land



The Gellar House from the flashback episode where Rachel gets stood up for the prom and Ross goes upstairs to change ready to take her instead then sits on the stairs absolutely gutted as her date does eventually show up.




The house from Full house and Fuller house



This is Chicago street - this one was used as the ER ambulance bay.



We now went into the museum where there are Harry Potter, Aquaman and Wonder Woman props and costumes. I’ve been to the Watford Harry Potter Studios and this one had nowhere near as many props and I’ve not seen Aquaman or Wonder Woman so wasn’t as impressed with this part. Sean really enjoyed it though



















Back outside and onto New York street where countless films and tv shows have been filmed.





















This little patch of grass is Central Park where they filmed the scene in Friends of Phoebe and Rachel running. It’s tiny



The Friends stage



This is Stage 16, the largest sound stage in North America. The end of The Goonies with the pirate ship and Perfect Storm were amongst some of the movies filmed here. It can hold up to 2.5 million gallons of water





We now went into a building where they store all the different bat mobiles from various films. Again not as interested in this but was pretty cool seeing the different Batmobiles









Lucky stage 7 where 3 academy award winners were filmed.





We now got to go into Stage 1 where they film the Ellen Show. The amount of lighting they use is unreal. It was so cool to actually be on her set!



















We hadn't actually realised we were fairly colour coordinated until we saw this photo







Last but not least we were taken to Stage 48 where you can sit on the Friends sofa and where the sets from The Big Bang Theory are. They also have a small museum of artefacts from the latest Oscar winning films and the process of how they choose certain actors over others for screening, this was quite interesting.

















Did you know that Friends was originally going to be called Six of One? Neither did I!



Onto the famous Central Perk set. They take official photos but will take some from your phone too.









They also have photo ops for the Big Bang Theory sets. I just had to knock on Penny's door!











At the end there are green screen set ups for either Harry Potter or Batman. Sam wanted a go on the Batman one as he’s got a Harry Potter one from the Watford Studio Tour.
I ended up buying two of the Friends photos and the one of Sam. $62 altogether. They sure know how to fleece a tourist







From here you exit out into the Central Perk Cafe and gift shop. Goodbye Ellen





Jim reminded me to ask someone if they could show us Lorelai Gilmore's house. I didn’t want to bother anyone but he said I would be kicking myself back to the UK if I didn’t ask, which is totally true . We had a lovely guy Jean who walked us round to Town Square and to her house. It’s also been used as Spencer’s house in Pretty Little Liars. This was so great, I’m a huge fan of Gilmore Girls, I couldn’t believe I was standing outside the house!







He also walked us around to the Gazebo and Sookie's house to see them up close too.













We thanked him profusely as this really was an added bonus! We felt like we had an extra mini private tour.
We now walked back to the shop where I bought a Gilmore Girls t-shirt, 3 magnets, a postcard, a Central Perk mug and Hope a Riverdale top as she’s a big fan. $94.43 altogether . You could tell I was on a high





















Jim was getting hangry as had only had a pastry this morning but didn’t fancy anything in the cafe. It was 1.30 now so got the tram back to the beginning.



This afternoons plans were Malibu beach so plugged that in and thought we’d find somewhere to stop off on the way.
Just as we came off the 101 we found a McDonalds to stop off at.
One Bacon Big Mac Meal, 2 chicken nugget meals a chicken tenders meal and a double cheeseburger came to $50!
I have to say though it was really good and you could tell it was cooked fresh.

Just in case you didn't know what a Mcdonald's meal looks like


It was only another 20 minutes until Malibu and were parked up by 3 o’clock. Found a shopping area to park in only a short walk to the beach.
You have to walk round Malibu Lagoon to get to get to the beach, it’s really pretty with lots of wildlife.















Walked along the beach towards the pier as there is an area sectioned off just for surf boarders.













Got changed into our swim stuff in the public restrooms then got straight in the sea. I only lasted 5 minutes as a huge wave knocked me over and I somehow pulled a muscle in the hip .











I went to just chill out on my towel but the waves were getting massive and eventually came right up to where we were laying and got most of our stuff wet . I admit to getting a bit grumpy as I was in pain and just wanted to relax but couldn’t

Malibu isn’t that great of a beach and we weren’t that impressed. It’s really narrow and crowded with not a lot around in terms of restaurants or cafes to get a drink. The only place was a mega expensive organic farm restaurant or a Jack in the Box fast food joint. Nothing in between. Our favourites have been Pfeiffer Beach or Santa Barbara by far!
I went for a walk down to the end of the pier but the only thing down there was a shop selling lovely but overpriced gifts. I did buy a magnet though































Back to the beach now we just chilled for a while, the kids were in and out of the sea. The waves were seriously strong so I stayed put on dry land!







We packed up and left at about 6.30 ready for the drive down to Buena Park. Sat Nav said 1hr 30. These houses on the road look tiny but are huge from the back overlooking the ocean with their own stretch of private beach, lucky beggars!







We arrived just after 8. First impressions were good. Lady checking us in was lovely, she said the pool had only just reopened today after 2 weeks of being refurbished which was lucky. The kids would not have been happy!







Got all our luggage out of the cars and went to check out the rooms, we had been put next to each other which was handy.
Our rooms were nice, they must have been recently refurbished as they looked a lot newer than the rest of the hotel which was quite tatty in places. Still it was only £80 a night and certainly served a purpose!













We all quickly got showered and changed then went across the road for dinner at Rock and Brews. Even though this restaurant was literally opposite the hotel you had to negotiate 4 lanes of traffic with no pedestrian crossing in sight so took ages as you had to wait for a break in the traffic. With my dodgy hip it was a bit nerve wracking as I couldn’t run very fast!



Made it eventually, we luckily got seated straight away.
Drinks first, I ordered a raspberry lemonade, Jim a beer, Sam a blood orange lemonade and Hope a Diet Coke. My drink was lovely.











I went to go and get our big kids some little kids activity sheets with crayons, look how engrossed they are. You're never too old for colouring in





For dinner I went with the tri tip steak and mashed potatoes, Jim a BBQ veggie burger, Hope a kids chicken tenders meal and Sam shared a full rack of ribs and fries with Jenny.







The food was really good, my only complaint was the air con and overhead fans were on far too high which made the food cool down too quickly. It’s a real bugbear of mine in this country, I hate Luke warm food!

Helen mentioned they wanted to get an air bed for Jenny as the sofa bed in our rooms was tiny. I looked up the closest Walmart which was just around the corner so as we still had 30 mins before they closed we quickly got the car from the hotel and drove round. Hope and Jen came too. By the time we negotiated the road plus drove there we only had 15 minutes so had to do a quick supermarket sweep style shop. Found the same air bed that we bought the other day then got some more Coke Zero and Diet Dr Pepper plus some of my favourite Honeybuns. $21 altogether. Straight back to the hotel to unload.

Helen went back over to the restaurant to meet the others but Hope and I stayed in the room. My hip was killing me and I just needed to lie down, wrote up today’s notes on the bed with a Honeybun in hand. Bliss!

Edited at 09:20 PM.
smithlane is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 8 Oct 19, 08:27 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
Goldia
VIP Dibber
 
Goldia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 16

Goldia's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 5
Restaurant Reviews: 43
Wow, that tour sounds brilliant. Also a massive Friends and Gilmore Girls fan. Such a lot of memorable houses from all those shows. It really does sound liek you had a great morning. Shame Malibu beach didn't quite hit the mark, but still a lovely day.
__________________
Abby
New pre trip report - Summer 2024

Link to all my completed trip reports
2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston.
2018: Orlando. Berlin.
2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC.
2020: DLP.
2021: Jamaica. Rome.
2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
Goldia is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Oct 19, 09:17 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
Macca04
Imagineer
 
Macca04's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 15
Mobile

We loved the Warner Bros tour. No Big Bang Theory exhibits when we went in 2013, might have to go again next year.

Sorry you hurt yourself hope it didn’t spoil the rest of your trip.
Macca04 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 11 Oct 19, 08:55 AM  
Link to this Post
#4
megaflyer
Imagineer
 
Join Date: Nov 07
Mobile

I am loving your trip report - thank you .

Shame about Malibu. There are several beaches in Malibu (in use to attend conferences at port magu for many years so know the area well ) my favourite beach in California is in Malibu and called Paradise Cove - it’s the one used in lots of films and TV programmes - it’s a stunner and a truly fabulous cafe there too so if you return please look out form it (it’s hidden from the PCH but easy to find via google maps) - you will recognise it instantly from Rockford Files, Columbo, Bay Watch and What ever happened to Baby Jane scene
megaflyer is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 11 Oct 19, 06:53 PM  
Link to this Post
#5
smithlane
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
smithlane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 15
Mobile

Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
Wow, that tour sounds brilliant. Also a massive Friends and Gilmore Girls fan. Such a lot of memorable houses from all those shows. It really does sound liek you had a great morning. Shame Malibu beach didn't quite hit the mark, but still a lovely day.
It was definitely one of my highlights to see so many sets of my favourite TV programs. I could have stayed much longer looking at everything but the others wanted to head to the beach.
Yes a real shame about Malibu beach but having just read Megaflyers post below it seems we picked the wrong beach 😳. Will know for next time for sure!
__________________
All my previous reports can be found HERE

IG - alicialanesmith
smithlane is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 11 Oct 19, 07:29 PM  
Link to this Post
#6
smithlane
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
smithlane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 15
Mobile

Originally Posted by Macca04 View Post
We loved the Warner Bros tour. No Big Bang Theory exhibits when we went in 2013, might have to go again next year.

Sorry you hurt yourself hope it didn’t spoil the rest of your trip.
I think they had just opened a few months before we went. I’m not a huge fan but have enjoyed watching a few episodes before. When I heard the news they were bringing the Big Bang Theory sets for photo ops at the end of the tour I was really worried they were going to do away with the Friends sofa but thankfully they have both!
Thankfully it only lasted a few days but then I bash my ankle in a surfing related incident in a few days! Honestly I’m so accident prone I’m a liability 😂
__________________
All my previous reports can be found HERE

IG - alicialanesmith
smithlane is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 11 Oct 19, 07:42 PM  
Link to this Post
#7
smithlane
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
smithlane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 15
Mobile

Originally Posted by megaflyer View Post
I am loving your trip report - thank you .

Shame about Malibu. There are several beaches in Malibu (in use to attend conferences at port magu for many years so know the area well ) my favourite beach in California is in Malibu and called Paradise Cove - it’s the one used in lots of films and TV programmes - it’s a stunner and a truly fabulous cafe there too so if you return please look out form it (it’s hidden from the PCH but easy to find via google maps) - you will recognise it instantly from Rockford Files, Columbo, Bay Watch and What ever happened to Baby Jane scene
Thanks so much for reading.
You see this is what happens when we decide on somewhere last minute, I don’t get to research it properly 😆. We literally decided that morning to find a beach in the afternoon and Helen mentioned that friends of hers highly recommended Malibu, it must have been Paradise Cove they were talking about as it can’t have been where we were! Just looked on Google maps and it’s only 10 minutes away from where we were, typical.
Will definitely remember this tip for next time though, thank you
__________________
All my previous reports can be found HERE

IG - alicialanesmith
smithlane is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 27 Oct 19, 08:46 PM  
Link to this Post
#8
Fuellady
VIP Dibber
 
Fuellady's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 12
The Warner Bros. tour sounds great... so many different sets to see from lots of well known shows. I think my hubby would love to do something like this, I'll definitely be keeping it in mind.

Shame you had a disappointing experience at Malibu beach, hopefully if you go back you'll find the other beach! I hope your hip heals up quickly and doesn't slow you down too much.
__________________


All of my trip reports are in this INDEX

My most recent reports are below:
*Complete* A Tale of Two Cities - Washington D.C. & Boston - March 2023
We Love Food! An Offsite Dining Report - May 2022
Fuellady is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 29 Oct 19, 10:02 PM  
Link to this Post
#9
thefourDs
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Join Date: Jun 16
Mobile

Wow what a fantastic day- notes taken for our trip next year, thank you 😊
thefourDs is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 1 Nov 19, 11:53 PM  
Link to this Post
#10
smithlane
Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
 
smithlane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 15
Originally Posted by Fuellady View Post
The Warner Bros. tour sounds great... so many different sets to see from lots of well known shows. I think my hubby would love to do something like this, I'll definitely be keeping it in mind.

Shame you had a disappointing experience at Malibu beach, hopefully if you go back you'll find the other beach! I hope your hip heals up quickly and doesn't slow you down too much.
It was one of my favourite days today! If you or hubby have any interest in film or TV I would highly recommend. I couldn't believe I was standing on sets of programmes that I regularly watch!
It really was disappointing as was expecting something completely different, but if we ever go back I'll certainly take Megaflyers advice and head to the other beach.
Thank you, the hip was just one of the many injuries I incur this holiday
__________________
All my previous reports can be found HERE

IG - alicialanesmith
smithlane is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 05:48 AM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
One of the the five worlds found in Epic Universe, How to Train Your Dragon... Read More »
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2350
CaxtonFX  $1.2267
Covent Garden FX  $1.2549
FAIRFX  $1.2365
John Lewis  $1.2398
M&S  $1.2191
Sainsburys  $1.2347
TESCO  $1.2364
Travelex  $1.2361
Updated: 04:30 30/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1440
CaxtonFX  €1.1360
Covent Garden FX  €1.1516
FAIRFX  €1.1468
John Lewis  €1.1477
M&S  €1.1289
Sainsburys  €1.1440
TESCO  €1.1445
Travelex  €1.1469
Updated: 04:30 30/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X