Universal Studios Hollywood ride has funny Jimmy Fallon as host

Jimmy Fallon sings “Have a Tram-tastic Day” on Universal Tour

Jimmy Fallon is very funny, so with all that he’s accomplished in showbiz, we don’t know if he was kidding when he said that being the host of Universal Studios Hollywood’s tram tour “is the pinnacle of my entertainment career.”

He certainly looked like he was the happiest man in the world when Fallon was officially introduced as the new video host of the backlot tour during a media ceremony at the studio. He gushed, “This is it. I’m going to announce my retirement very soon. Because what else are you going to do from here? You have your own ride at an amusement park. One of the biggest amusement parks in the world. It’s Universal Studios Hollywood.”

On every tram the HD monitor will show Fallon narrating the trip around Universal’s backlot. He’ll be giving the park’s history and information on filming at the studio. Each clip features Fallon inserting himself into a variety of roles within a backlot location that replicate an array of movie scenes and depict how various settings are utilized in film production. His commentary is full of jokes and songs to engage and entertain the visitors, and it is in addition to the narration provided by the live tour guides on each tram.

Besides being an outstanding comedian (as he proved as host of last year’s Emmy Awards), Fallon also has a knack for writing humorous songs, and so he wrote “Have A Tram-tastic Day” for the tour’s video. At the event, Fallon delighted the crowd when he picked up his six-string guitar and sang the new tour theme. Fallon says it’s more than a catchy tune, “It’s haunting. You will go to sleep singing that song.” He also wrote several other songs that visitors will hear as they cruise around the studio backlot.

Joking around in front of the media and the hundreds of fans on hand, Fallon gushed, “I want you to know,  I’d be happy if I was just the cardboard cutout of the guy that says ‘You have to be this tall to ride this ride.’ I would do that and I’d be psyched. I’m a very simple man.”

The host of NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon helped write the script for the tour narration. He says, “Universal is great. They let me and the writers at Late Night rewrite the script for the tour, so now there are jokes in there. We involve the audience more. We involve the tour guides more. We just give it a little bit more and make it fun for them to do the ride and experience it all.”

Fallon reports that he’s been on the tour “thousands of times, because I think it’s so much fun. And now, anytime I’m in L.A., I might just come by and take my ride and sit down, because this is a once in a lifetime thing for me. I’m honored.”

After posing for pictures and signing autographs for his fans, joking around with the tour guides and Larry Kurzweil, Universal’s president and COO, Fallon took a ride on the tram tour, which is always a highlight of a visit to the studio.

Fallon says, “The tour itself is a classic, a really great experience. For anyone with any interest in show business, it’s all there– the glamour, the glitz, all the hard work that goes into making a movie or TV show can be experienced on the Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour. I’m very happy to be part of it.”

The remake of the Studio Tour video with Fallon is just the latest enhancement at the Universal complex. Last year the “King Kong 360 3-D” experience created by filmmaker Peter Jackson was unveiled. Plus, last year Steven Spielberg was on hand for the re-opening of the rebuilt New York Street backlot, which gives guests on the studio tour a front row look at Universal’s moviemaking legacy.