There and Back Again: The Full Experience

We met the WETA bus near the iSite which was very conveniently located. Dean, our driver, provided interesting commentary as we drove There and Back. WETA Studios is located in a residential area and is very modest, yet the work they do there is amazing! We were surprised to find out all the different movies they have worked on - not just Lord of the Rings which they are most notably famous for. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and answered any questions as we went through the studio. Following the first tour at the WETA studios you are taken to a different building for the Thunderbirds tour. We were not familiar with the Thunderbirds TV show, however, the tour was fascinating. The guide was a young man named Tristan. He clearly knew his stuff and was very happy to answer any questions.

This tour was not what I expected. The exhibits were good and the tour guide knew his job very well. However, standing up for the whole of the tour was a little difficult, in particular for older people. It was overpriced due mainly to the price charged for transportation from the City to the premises. I would not recommend this tour to friends.

What Weta does is amazing. We have been to studio tours, and they are fun. This tour shows the mechanics of how scenes are created. You get up close to armor and things that you swear were real even though you know they are not. You will get a better understanding of how movies are made, and the people that make them. My only complaint would be a feeling of disorganization while going through the various parts of the tour, we had to keep asking What do we do now. That started with the bus, which was just down the street from Isite, but there was no Weta representative at Isite to direct you. Otherwise, would have been 5 stars for sure.