I’ve been wanting to visit various studios since I moved to Los Angeles. Both Universal Studios and Warner Bros. are within 5 miles of my apartment. I finally got the chance with visitors this weekend. Sunday was spent with Amy, Toby and Paul at Universal Studios. Monday was overbooked trying to fit visiting Warner Bros AND attending a live filming of the Tonight Show. Needless to say, the Tonight show (with Jennifer Love Hewitt as a guest) was missed because the tour ran late but well worth it.
The tours at Universal Studios and Warner Brothers were vastly different but almost the same price. At Universal Studios, its primary goal was as an amusement park with a tour of the studios as an after thought. The VIP tour for Warner Bros. is intimate and the only ride was on the go cart. While tours at Universal Studios ushered in hundreds of people at at time, only 12 people every 30 minutes were ushered through the back lots at Warner Bros.
Things seen on the Universal Tour:
The Bates motel.
Part of the War of the Worlds set.
The supposed shark from Jaws. BTW: It still surprised me even years later.
Among other things seen in Universal Studios was Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives and a mock Mexican village. And oh yeah, everyone in my party got sprayed with water a few times.
Now for the Warner Bros. tour. This beat Universal Studios hands down. Tours are only available Monday through Friday but there is an opportunity to see actual scenes being filmed as we did that day for Gilmore Girls and we were able to walk on the set and touch props. Downside, there were several times we were instructed to put away our cameras.
Check it out! I’m actually in the fictional town of Stars Hollow. To my disillusionment, it’s in Burbank not Connecticut.
Really, we were on the set of Friends. A view from in front of the couch since no was was allowed to go further into the room.
A mock downtown on the Warner Bros. lot where Rent, Batman and other movie were shot.
Speaking of Batman, this was a tumbler from Batman Begins.
Other things seen but no photo proof available was the set of E.R., West Wing, Two and a Half Men and Without a Trace.
My Burning Kitchen 
i was visiting a friend on the warner's lot last year, and nearly plowed through a couple of "doctors"–they actually film right where they make visitors park! someone said that they finally got rid of the gilligan's island lagoon–is that true? does that mean rory will never meet jess down by the lake again?!(having a tough time making comments with the new system, btw!)