Two things jumped out at me: First, I'd never seen (heard?) "Sounds Dangerous," and hadn't even set foot on the property when its predecessors were there. But I had seen (heard?) the ill-advised "Sounds Dangerous" version of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln; with a Drew Carey comedy, the concept probably wasn't half bad, but over on my side of the continent, applied to Lincoln, it was simply tasteless. Second, Geryak mentioned that the original concept of Studios was to give guests an opportunity to see how movies are made. I'd say that perhaps the Indiana Jones Stunt Show is more-or-less the last vestige of that. The on-site working animation studio? Gone. The chance to listen to an actual animator talk about his or her craft? Gone. You still see Creative Costuming on the Backstage Magic tour, but I'm pretty sure the tram tour that gave you a glimpse of it is gone. Then again, it's not the first time that's happened: Universal started out with that same concept, and there's not much left of it -- today's "Universal Studios Tour" is anything but a tour of a working studio. (If that's the experience you're after, I highly recommend Paramount's tour; it could very well be the last "real" studio tour left.)
Universal's backlot is still used for filming often enough that it's reasonably authentic for visitors. Yes, it tends to focus on iconic gimmicky one-off sets (like The Grinch and War of the Worlds), but there's a lot of practical stuff there too if you pay attention. For most Hollywood tourists, I think it strikes the right balance of authentic and iconic locations. Even at WDW's highest output, there was never much real production going on there, just some low-budget game shows for Disney Channel and the Mickey Mouse Club And I've never been myself, but I've heard that the WB tour is very good too. Though given that one of the highlights is the set for Central Perk on Friends, I have to think that it tends to focus on history more than current production
Well, the Paramount tour also tends to focus on history a lot. But the tour groups are smaller, and there's plenty of access to the nuts and bolts of production. Along with, as I recall, very strong restrictions on photography. I believe Sony also has a tour; the only time I was ever on their lot was a couple of years ago, when my dad and I were attending a taping of Jeopardy. He had some serious -- and justified -- beefs about their putting the studio audience waiting area in the parking structure, with no nearby access to a restroom. I still remember when Alfred Hitchcock was the pitchman for the Universal Studios Tour. Back when it was the main event, and the theme park was an appendage, as opposed to now, when the reverse is true. And I remember the tour including an indoor "Six Million Dollar Man" stunt show (lots more audience participation than WDW's Indy show).
