The Walking Dead: A self-guided tour through Atlanta, Senoia, and other filming locations.

Hey everyone!

This blog post is going to be dedicated specifically to The Walking Dead and all the places we were able to see on our trip to Atlanta. I will be making a different post about the city and travel itself. 

I cannot tell you how excited I was to visit Atlanta just to visit the spots where The Walking Dead was filmed! If you have watched the show, you know that it takes place in several different locations around Atlanta. 

After much research, I was able to compile a list of the most important places I would like to see including the CDC, Rick's house, Hershel's house, Terminus, etc. We split up our "tour" into 2 different days. The first day, we visited the places in Atlanta that were important to us. The next day, we made the hour drive south to Senoia and surrounding areas where much of the other filming happened. 

DAY 1: ATLANTA DESTINATIONS

1. "CDC"

The first destination we visited was the CDC! In season 1, the CDC plays a major role in the show.  In reality, this actually isn't the CDC. It's the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. If you would like to see this destination during your own tour, the address is:

2800 Cobb Galleria Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339

 The picture on the left is from the show. You can see the tank and all the bodies surrounding the outside. The picture on the right is the one we took on our visit there. I could actually imagine the apocalypse while I was there!

 2. "Harrison Memorial Hospital"

Our 2nd destination was the hospital where Rick woke up in Season 1. Like the CDC, this filming location was set up to be something else as well. It is the Atlanta Mission. While trying to find it, we actually drove right past it and ended up somewhere else. I accidentally wrote the address down wrong. Here is the correct address:

2353 Bolton Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318

 Here is the photo from the show where Rick first walks outside to see the devastation.

 The following photos are what we took of the "hospital". We didn't go as far back to take the exact same angle shot, but we got some good ones!

 3. Where Rick rides into Atlanta

For our 3rd destination, we tried to get as close as we could  to the spot where Rick rode into Atlanta on horseback. I think we actually found a good spot! This is the address we entered:

170 Jackson St. NE Atlanta, GA 30312
We stopped on the Jackson Street Bridge after goes EAST on Freedom Parkway

Here is the photo from the show. It shows Rick riding into Atlanta on horseback.

Here are some of the photos I snapped. You can definitely see the similarities. It might not be the exact location, but it is definitely close! Of course, I had to take a selfie. :)

 4. Rick's House

Our 4th location was Rick's house from the show. After waking up from the hospital, the first place Rick goes is home to find Lori and Carl. The house is actually for sale right now. I want to move in! Here is the address:

817 Cherokee Ave. SE Atlanta, GA 30315

Here you can see Rick sitting near the road, looking down at what he thought was a person.

 Here are some photos we took of the same street. It's actually right next to the Atlanta zoo!

Here is Rick leaving his house after he finds it empty.

 These are the photos we took in front of it! I was actually really nervous to sit on the stairs, but I figured "hey, I'm only here once!" I didn't do anything crazy, like go knock on the door and ask to go inside. BUT I'm sure people have tried!

 

5. Where Rick gets trapped in the tank (and Glenn saves him).

For our 5th location, we decided to go to the corner where Rick gets trapped in the tank. Honestly, I would say this destination isn't worth going to. It's literally just a corner. It's in downtown Atlanta, so it's crowded and very confusing to navigate. However, if you would like to go, here is the address:

Forsyth St. NW and Walton St. NW Atlanta, GA 30303


Here is a photo from the show, right before Rick gets swarmed by a herd of walkers. Poor horse...

Here are the photos we took of the same corner. Like I said, nothing special. It was a rushed photo since it was traffic. I can't even say it was cool to see. It was hard to imagine the scene from the show.

6. TERMINUS

Our 6th and final destination for our Atlanta destinations was Terminus! This was the stop that I was most excited for. I really wanted to climb down there and walk around, but I wasn't trying to get in trouble. Here is the address that will get you there, but I would suggest just exploring once you find it! It is very close to Turner Field, so if there is a Braves game going on, be sure to go early. Also, the neighborhood isn't safe, so don't go after dark.

793 Windsor St. SW Atlanta, GA 30315


All of the photos are ones that we took. I didn't think it was necessary to upload any from online since this is from the most recent season! As you can see, the TERMINUS letters aren't up anymore, which means they are probably done filming here for now. Or at least on the outside...

 Here is on the other side of Terminus. We could actually hear something going on inside, so we aren't sure if they are still filming or if it was something else.

This is the train car the group gets trapped in at the end of season 4!

This concludes our tour for the stops inside of Atlanta. There are many more places you can visit, but these are the ones we chose with our short time frame. At the end of my post, I will include a map that I found that will list all the places you can go. Unfortunately, I found this map AFTER we returned home.




DAY 2: SENOIA (AND OTHER) DESTINATIONS


After we wrapped up our Atlanta tour, we had plans to wake up at 6 a.m. to make the hour long drive to Senoia to have breakfast. Once our alarm went off, we decided we were too tired to wake up that early. Instead, we woke up around 8:30 and headed out around 9. We arrived to Senoia around 10 or so. 

This is a photo we took on our way to town. It looks really similar to some scenes from the show.



Some of you may actually wonder what is Senoia? Senoia is where most of the show is filmed. This is Woodbury in the show! Senoia is actually where the studio is located as well.

 Some photos of the cute shops downtown.

This is the Woodbury Shoppe. The Official Walking Dead Store! It was SO COOL! This is a great first stop. If you chat them up, they are super friendly, and they will talk about any cast members that might be in the area! I would suggest liking them on facebook. Here is the address:

42 Georgia State Bicycle Route 45 #1a, Senoia, GA 30276

 The awesome thing about this store, they have ACTUAL props from the show! The bicycle walker!

 Why yes, I would certainly take you home for $35...

 Once you look around the shop, be sure you head downstairs to their "museum". It was so neat!

 The actors and actresses actually signed parts of the walls! Even some of the famous walkers signed as well.

Daryl's motorcyle!

 Actual prison cells from the show.

 I found Daryl! hehe. Of course, this was my favorite!

This is the chair where the Governor holds Andrea. Eventually, she is attacked by Milton.

 There were playing episodes of The Walking Dead for people to watch while they are down there.

This would definitely be my mom's favorite! She is a big fan of Carol!

 Inside the prison cell!

 I mean, basically I have touched Norman's butt now, right? :)

Yes! The doors from season 1!

 Penny's cage! They even had the walker heads on top. (electronic, not real).

 The Governor's family. They even signed the wall!

 A view of the store.

They actually offer a tour from this store. It's originally $60 or so, but they were having half off while we were there. We decided not to take the tour because we wanted to have time to go all the places we wanted. We didn't want to be rushed or anything. 

 So, earlier I stated that we were going to wake up early to have breakfast in town. This is where we planned on doing that. While we were in the Woodbury Shoppe, the worker informed us that about an hour earlier, Daryl was having coffee here. Can you say FML moment?! Since we have been home, we have seen where several people have been able to meet the some of the cast while in Senioa, including Daryl!

Of course I had to try the "zombie dark" coffee.

Some of the souvenirs I picked up. A Daryl Dixon stuffed toy and a "Claimed" magnet. I guess this will ruin the surprise for my mom. I got the magnet for her. haha

At the cafe, we had the Reuben sandwich. It was very good!

WOODBURY!

I was reenacting the scene with Carl and Michonne. I was told these are the same tracks where that scene was shot, but I am not sure if that's true.

Some awesome photos of the town.

This was a shop we went into to browse around chat up the locals. Turns out, this is the place where Rick and some of the group hid in Woodbury when they were trying to rescue Glenn and Maggie from the Governor.

Just walking around the town. The locals are all very nice! If you decide to make the trip to town, be sure you talk to everyone you can!

Senoia is actually a really cool place. Obviously The Walking Dead is filmed here, but there were also several other famous movies filmed here as well! Some include "Driving Miss Daisy", "Fried Green Tomatoes", "Pet Sematary II", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Footloose", "Lawless", etc.

Here is where they are actually filming right now! As you can see, it's very heavily guarded. There are No Trespassing signs everywhere, and police are constantly patrolling. You can see all this from the road. As long as you don't try anything stupid and aren't a nuisance, no one should say anything if you want to snap some photos.

Here is what to expect to see in Season 5!!!! I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, so I won't say what this place is, BUT if you read the comics, you will probably already know!

This house should look familiar. The pudding house! Yes, this is the house that Carl sits on the roof and eats 112 ounces of pudding. They were doing some type of work on the house when we drove by, so there are actually people sitting outside. I wanted to get out and take a photo in front, but I didn't want to look silly.

This is the road by the house where Carl leads the walkers away from Rick.

In this area is Milton's lab.

Here are some props we saw! We didn't even notice they were there until we were driving down the road! They were in a lot next to the post office. They also have signs that say no trespassing.

This is the bridge that Carol, Tyreese, and Judith walk under during the last season. This is also the same place that Glenn, Tara, Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita walk to before they enter the tunnel. The tunnel, however, was just a set.

After we visited the bridge, we wanted to try and find Hershel's farm. Instead, we accidentally found Raleigh Studios! It was actually kind of frightening. There are no trespassing signs EVERYWHERE, and it's actually a dead end. We got out of there quick! As far as Hershel's house, it is pointless to try and find it. We were told it is actually heavily guarded with security since it is privately owned.

Next, we took the 10 minute drive to Haralson, GA to visit the Esco Feed Mill. This is where the Governor and Rick set up their meeting. This is also where Merle turns into a walker.

Next, we took the 20 minute trip to Sharpsburg, GA where you will find Steve's Pharmacy and the Carriage Bar. You can remember Steve's Pharmacy as the place where Glenn and Maggie *ahem* "got to know each other". The Carriage Bar is where Hershel ran off to after the walkers in the barn massacre.

It was neat to be able to see these places, but you couldn't go in them, at least not when I was there. It was cool because they are literally right next to each other.

After we left Sharpsburg, we made the drive to Grantville, GA. This is one of my favorite parts of the trip! Here you will find Morgan's apartment from season 3.

This is the photo from the show.

Here is my photo when you drive into town.

Here is Morgan's apartment!



This is a place called "Z for Zombie". It is this neat little shop that is across the street from the apartment. Inside, you will find a very nice woman named Rebecca. Rebecca leads a walking tour around Grantville. You get to go INSIDE of Morgan's apartment, plus around to some of the other places in the show.

I snapped a photo of Eyen with the apartment. :)

 This is a photo from the show, where Morgan, Rick, Carl, and Michonne get into a brawl.

 Here is a photo I took of the corner where you can see Morgan standing!

If you remember in the show, Rick lifts up the Welcome mat to find a deep hole with spikes at the bottom. Later, you will remember Michonne eating while Rick gives her a look. She says "The mat said welcome." This is actually where the mayor of Grantville lives, and this is his mat.

Entering the apartment...

Michonne actually climbs through this window during the episode.

Everything in the apartment is actually a reconstruction. After filming was done, the walls were wiped clean and repainted for copy right purposes.

A Daryl cutout! Of course my fav.

Here are some photos of the apartment.

If you look closely at the walls, you will see "IBBEN" written many times. This is supposedly and "easter egg". They say Scott Gimple is notorious for hiding them in episodes. This could possibly mean we see Father Gabriel in the near future...

Baby Franklin from up high!

In the episode, Carl tells his dad he wants to find a crib for Judith. He says there is a baby store down the road. Here is the baby store from the episode! But, we all know Carl had other plans!

Here is the crosswalk you see in the first photo.

Here is the King County Cafe! As you can see, it isn't a real cafe.

If you look closely enough, you can kind of see where it said King County.

These buildings were used in some of the filming.

In between takes, the actor that plays Carl would put pennies on the tracks and wait for the train to drive over them. Afterwards, he would go and try to find the smashed penny.

In the show, Carl and Michonne come around the side of this building when walking towards the cafe.

The big building you see in the distance was actually where Dumb and Dumber Too was partially filmed. It is the nursing home from the beginning of the movie.

A neat building.

In the show, this building has a banner that says "Go Bobcats" painted down the side.

This building was used in the filming of "Lawless".

Here is where Morgan takes the walkers to be burned.

You can actually go inside and walk around. It's not a building but just a small, open space.

This actually used to be a place where you get your packages weighed before sending them off on the train.

Right down the road from Morgan's apartment, you will find the funeral home that Beth and Daryl find in the episode "Alone".

Down the road from there, you will find the cemetery Daryl and Beth run through before finding the funeral home. Don't try to locate the headstone that is in the episode. It is against the law to air an actual tombstone on television. It was only a prop. 

This was the last place we went to for our tour. Just like in Atlanta, there are MANY places you can see. I liked finding the places on my own and talking to the locals. I think we were able to find out more about the show that way. We were able to see places that other tours won't tell you about, like the cemetery and funeral home.

We had a blast going all over and seeing all these different places. Even though we were LITERALLY so close to meeting Norman Reedus, it breaks my heart that we didn't get to see any of the cast. But it's ok! Seeing the filming locations we did really made up for it!

I hope that my blog will help someone out who is looking to do the same things we did.

Here is a link to an AWESOME map you can use to decide where you would like to go! I think it actually includes most of the addresses as well! Just copy and paste it to your browser!

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103339227187314601354.000496a3cdd937ab6cb68&ll=33.632916%2C-84.201965&spn=1.200565%2C1.175537&z=10&dg=feature

 Stay tuned for my other blog on Atlanta. I will be posting all of our non Walking Dead parts of the trip!