If you want to see the neighborhood where Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin lived, the pool where Billy worked, or where the Mind Flayer nested, there’s a Stranger Things tour for that. Or maybe you want something more interactive, like jaunting inside Hawkins National Laboratory or venturing into the Upside Down. You’d definitely want to check out Stranger Things: The Experience.
Which is pretty exciting, right? Because it used to be the only way Stranger Things fans could spend time with their favorite show was by re-watching past seasons while anxiously awaiting the next. Which wasn’t too terrible for the first three seasons. But season 4’s delayed release (almost three years!) was particularly painful.
And it looks like we’re in for another wait with season 5’s release too. It could start streaming as early as this year (fingers crossed), but since filming hasn’t begun yet (at least not as of mid-January 2023), the final season might not land on Netflix until 2024.
Which makes Stranger Things tours and experiences the perfect way to fill the void until we can see how the show ultimately wraps up. Let’s unpack where you can find them.
Stranger Things Tour
Most of the series, especially the first three seasons, was filmed in Georgia, including in and around Atlanta. And that’s where you’ll find the Private Stranger Things “The Upside Down” Film Locations Tour in Atlanta from Atlanta DTours, which is bookable through Viator.
Speaking of, even though it’s a bit on the pricey side ($158.98 per person), it’s raked in five-star reviews. 182 out of 187 reviews ranked it five. Four gave it four stars, and only one gave it three stars. Talk about a lot of satisfied customers! That’s why it earned a “Badge of Excellence” from Viator.
But you get a lot of personalized attention on this private three-hour tour, including pickup/dropoff from select hotels and behind-the-scenes info. Stops include:
- The middle-class suburban neighborhood that serves as the “Hawkins, IN” one where Mike and Nancy Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, and Dustin Henderson live.
- The pool Billy worked at.
- Hawkins middle and high schools.
- The Brimborn Steelworks, which the Mind Flayer turned into its lair.
- A chance to get a “glimpse” of Screen Gems studio, where the show is filmed. (I think all you get to do is see it, not take a tour of it.)
To Learn More: You can either book directly through DTour, or via Viator.
Stranger Things The Experience
Stranger Things: The Experience is a touring interactive experience from Netflix and Fever that hops between cities. It first opened in New York and San Francisco for a limited time in early 2022. Then in late 2022, it opened in Atlanta and Los Angeles. It’s open in Atlanta until Feb. 12, 2023, and in L.A. until at least the final weekend in February 2023. Then it’s going international and will head to Paris, France.
But what is Stranger Things: The Experiment? As it states on their website, you get to “join Eleven, Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Max, and Will for a very special episode starring… you!”
Your experience starts inside Hawkins Lab where you’ll “Interact with your favorite Stranger Things characters” and “unlock your power and influence your surroundings,” all while enjoying “incredible special effects.”
Afterward, you can hang out in the Mix-Tape, where you’ll find “iconic locations from the show,” including Scoops Ahoy, Family Video, and the Palace Arcade.
You can even make it a lunch or dinner date experience with a visit to the Stranger Things Bar, which serves, what else? Food and drinks inspired by the series! And for shoppers and souvenir collectors, there’s even merch available for sale.
To Learn More: Tickets for Los Angeles and Atlanta are available on Fever.
Check-In
Have you ever taken a private tour before, or been to an immersive event based on a TV show or movie?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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I’ve never had a film/tv set tour. I did get a private tour of a zoo once.:-)
I like the looks of the drink with the waffle…though right about now, I’d take them all! (It is happy hour, isn’t it? Oh well, we can make believe it is! Ha!)
Say what? A private zoo tour?! How fabulous! Which one? And was there anything you liked best about it?
I have to honestly say I’ve seen drinks garnished with a lot of things but the waffle made me giggle. Good eye! And YES! You can have them all (well deserved!) because we’ll find where it’s happy hour so you can indulge! lol
The Alaska Zoo. The best thing about the tour is hearing the backstories of the individual animals. Almost all of them were rescued in dire need of help. It was uplifting!
OMG!! We went there! But no private tour and how cool to get that kind of quality time with, and info about, the animals like that! I swear, if I ever met you in person, I’d have a zillion questions for you, Priscilla. You are so fabulously interesting!!!! Whch is why I’m so grateful you take the time to leave comments like this…and even respond when I have follow-up questions.