Tours including Independence Day
Explore Washington D.C.'s and New York City's famous TV & movie locations!
Tours that feature Independence Day
New York TV & Movie Tour
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D.C. TV & Movie Tour
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Customer Reviews“This tour is excellent and I would recomend it to any movie lover visiting New York. A great value for the money.”
- Male, Age 20-29, International Tourist
“My solution to the strike was to hop aboard an On Location Tours bus to see some of NYC’s most famed movie and TV locations live and in 3-D.”
-Entertainment Weekly, Jan. 2008
Independence Day, or ID4, as it was known promotionally, is a 1996 science fiction film about a hostile alien invasion of Earth. The film was directed by Roland Emmerich and stars Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Vivica A. Fox, Harvey Fierstein and Harry Connick, Jr. The film has grossed over $800 million and at one point was the second-highest grossing movie of all time, currently holding the 19th highest worldwide gross of a movie.
After strange atmospheric interference is detected on July 2nd, it is soon realized that alien spacecraft are hovering over many parts of the world. David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), an MIT-graduate working for a cable company in New York City, discovers hidden satellite transmissions which he believes are a countdown to an attack by these aliens on humankind. David and his father (Judd Hirsch) gain access to the Oval Office in order to warn President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) of the impending attacks who then orders immediate evacuations, but the aliens practically obliterate major cities (including NYC) around the globe before the evacuation is complete. On July 3rd, the US launches an unsuccessful counter attack from which there is only one survivor, Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith). Captain Hiller is roaming the desert with a dead alien in tow and is picked up by Russel Casse (Randy Quaid) who is traveling with a convoy of refugees. Russel brings Captain Hiller and his convoy to Area 51 where many survivors of the attacks converge, including President Whitmore, David and his father. Area 51 is the mythical location of US-discovered aliens and alien spacecraft, and Levinson and the President devise a plan to use one of the aliens’ own previously captured ships (from Roswell in 1947) to fight back against the attackers. Captain Hiller volunteers to pilot the spacecraft with Levinson accompanying him in order to upload a computer virus and plant a nuclear missile on board. President Whitmore and Russel, both with past combat flight experience, volunteer to accompany the mission and the President declares July 4th humanity’s Independence Day. After many failed attempts at obliterating the aliens, the alien mother ship is eventually destroyed by kamikaze pilot Russel, making the ultimate sacrifice to save humankind.
ID4 was filmed on location at many points around the globe. Many scenes were filmed in New York City as well as Washington DC. You can see locations from Independence Day on two tours offered by On Location Tours.
Take the New York TV and Movie Sites Tour and see many of the Manhattan locations from ID4. Pass right by the Empire State Building, featured in an iconic shot in the film, and also seen in King Kong, Sleepless in Seattle and Elf. Drive through TriBeCa, the Lower East Side and SoHo on the New York TV and Movie Sites Tour, all neighborhoods used in the filming of Independence Day.
On Location Tours’ DC TV and Movie Sites Tour also offers locations from Independence Day. See the White House and Capitol Building on the tour, both featured in ID4. Also in DC, see the Second Street Tunnel which has been seen in many other films as well, including Minority Report, Con-Air, The Terminator and The X-Files.
* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accomodate your request.
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On Location TV & Movie Tours
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