Trams on the Studio Tour

Custom-designed Trams have been part of the Studio Tour since 1964. The trams are designed to cope with the terrain of the backlot, and are also built to cope with driving through water, and intense vibrations.

GlamorTrams (1964 – 1983)

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The GlamorTrams were constructed specially for the opening of the studio tour in 1964. The Art Director for the Tram project was Harper Goff, a famed Disney artist and imagineer. As well as the Universal GlamorTrams he was also Art Director on the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and acted as concept designer on many elements of the Disneyland park (including Main Street USA, the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion).

The engineering and production of the GlamorTrams was the responsibility of Bud Dardene and Mini-Bus, Inc.

The GlamorTrams have been seen on screen in the following movies:

  • The Nude Bomb (1980)
  • Land of the Lost (2009)

Parts of the original GlamorTrams are still in use as parking shuttles at the park to this day.

SuperTrams (1983 – 2000)

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From 1983 brochure:
In order to easily and comfortably transport the Tour’s ever growing visitor population, Universal Tour asked Winnebago to design and build a versatile and durable, yet comfortable, people mover. With the assistance of Tour transportation specialists, they devised the Super Tram® – the world’s largest free-moving gas-driven road vehicle. Super Tram® has a passenger load of 175, 33 percent greater than their predecessor the GlamorTrams®.

The Super Trams were originally signwritten “Universal Studio Tour”. Around 1990, when Universal Studios Florida opened, the trams were repainted with “Universal Studios Hollywood”.

Thanks to universalstonecutter for additional research.

Modern Trams (2000 – present)

The trams were redesigned in Summer 2000 with LCD video screens, DVD players and more sophisticated audio playback.

In 2022, the process started to convert the trams to electric operation. 

GlamorTram (2024 – present)

In 2024, one of the trams was repainted to coincide with Universal Studios Hollywood’s 60th Anniversary. 
The gorgeous design were revealed to delighted tour guests in March.
See above for more about the GlamorTram design. 

Tram Accident:
20 April 2024 around 9pm: One of the newly decorated GlamorTrams was involved in a crash between the Jurassic Park display, heading down the steep hill towards the Flash Flood. News footage shows fire and ambulance trucks near the Jaws attraction. The incident injured 14 people, with one seriously injured. Some reports mention brake failure, which would tie in with the complex terrain at that point in the tour, where the tram descends a steep hill towards Flash Flood. 

 

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