The Stranger Things Experience Comes to Atlanta

The Upside Down and Demogorgons at Pullman Yards take over Atlanta from October to January. The experience contains plenty of interactive activities and fun sets to visit.

The 45-minute experience kicks off with guests lined up and in groups based on color code. The Hawkins doctors lead the guests through the Hawkins Lab. The guests were told they were there for a sleep study but in reality the guests are there to be experimented on to see if they have secret powers. The cast from the show have pre-filmed footage that goes along with the audience’s trip through the Hawkins lab and there is even a 3D part where guests can use their newly unlocked powers to help the characters fight the Vecna and Demogorgons.

After the interactive experience, guests get to go to the area called the “Mix-Tape.” This room has unique merchandise, Hawkins’s very own Scoops Ahoy, Argyle’s workplace called Surfer Boy Pizza, a bar with themed drinks, a retro Family Video, a scavenger hunt, props from the show on display, the Byer’s home, various photo ops and an arcade. 

The fun did not stop there. The actors are extremely committed to staying in character, which makes the experience authentic and entertaining. They invite the attendants to play Dungeons and Dragons, encourage dancing to the 80s soundtrack playing and get you involved with the other stations within the Mix-Tape. The actors made the experience truly worth the money. 

Since I had the VIP ticket, all of the food and drinks were free and unlimited. The drinks were definitely unique with eccentric flavors and ingredients. The menu named drinks after the characters, well-known sets and popular sayings from the show such as “Friends Don’t Lie,” “The Hopper” and “The Starcourt Special.” They also offered free mocktails to all guests that were delicious.

The merchandise is high quality and a few of the items could not be found in stores or on the internet. The item that caught my attention the most was the Eddie Munson jacket that had his character printed on the back of it, which I knew had to be rare. 

The 80s arcade games available were Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Joust, Space Invaders, Missile Command and Centipede. I played a lot of these games for the first time and I loved them, especially Space Invaders and Pac-Man. 

The event ended with receiving free goodie bags that contained a reusable Stranger Things themed cup and a figure of the character Dustin Henderson that doubled as a bluetooth speaker. The whole environment and actors do an excellent job of making the guests feel as if they time traveled back to the 80s and are a part of the cast. Overall, this experience was intriguing, very interactive and a guaranteed good time for fans of the show.

The experience is open for the rest of November up to February on Wednesdays–Fridays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Average VIP ticket prices for an adult are $99.90, VIP tickets for a child between ages 5-17 is $75 and VIP group bundles are $85 a person. On average, general admission tickets are $59.90 for an adult, $45 for a child between the ages of 5-17 and $51 for a standard group bundle of 6 or greater.

This experience is wheelchair accessible and contains flashing lights which may affect guests who have epilepsy or other photo sensitivities.

The Stranger Things Experience is truly a fantastic and one-of-a-kind event that I would advise anyone to attend before they head back to Hawkins in February.