"Downtown" Senoia itself is a quaint little Southern town that you might recognize as the setting of Woodbury in the show. Although the real Woodbury isn't that far away, Senoia was used instead because, if you can believe it, Senoia is bigger and better suited to filming. Fans flock to the area from all over the world, but despite the fact that one might think it would take on the feel of something more like Disney World during the filming months, it still retains a quiet, slow paced, sparsely populated feel.
The post-apocalyptic "Woodbury Wall" that we are all so familiar with from Season Three is long gone now and aside from the presence of fans and (if you're lucky) cast and crew, Senoia proper is back to business as usual. The wall sat at the Southern end of the town, at the bottom of the hill Senoia occupies, though it's difficult to tell from the show that it's actually on a hill. Across the road from "Woodbury" (behind the gazebo you can see in several shots outside the Woodbury wall) lies a set of train tracks and Gin Street, where the now famous "Gin Property" lies. The Gin Property is a housing development partially built up by production that became the Alexandria Safe Zone (in fact a large part of the Senoia revitalization can be attributed to Raleigh Studios, who erects buildings and homes to look old both for TWD and other filming projects). The Gin Property has been described as a "living back lot" for Raleigh Studios... and people really get to live there.
Yes, you too can now sit in the fan-favorite stop, Senoia Coffee & Café (The Woodbury Coffee House in the show), sipping a wonderfully flavorful cup of java just outside where the Woodbury wall once stood while looking at the Alexandria Safe Zone wall. For any Walking Dead fanatic, it's a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and should be the first stop on your list if you make the trip to town. In addition to liquid refreshments, they also serve lunch (and on Friday/Saturdays dinner), as well as a selection of desserts.
If you're planning a trip to Senoia, be sure to show up between May and November, while filming is going on... and best get there before we find out the last season is upon us. Even if the ASZ is off limits and you may or may not get to see the cast prowling around, you might still get to see the crew buzzing in and around the Alexandria wall. While we were there in early November 2015, we got to see ASZ lit up for night filming and saw Daryl's new bike being carted around by the crew.
Senoia Coffee & Café is a wonderfully not-too-kitschy nook with exposed brick walls and thickly cased windows characteristic of old buildings in a small town. It's just about as hipster as you ever hope anything in Senoia could ever strive to be (which isn't much), and the staff is incredibly friendly. They are more than gracious and welcoming to TWD fans and will happily give you the day's insight on what they've seen going on or if anyone notable has been in the shop that day. Though at the time of this writing their site is offline for an unknown reason, their social media accounts are live and well: Twitter Facebook So be sure to check them out, throw them a favorite, and drop on by the next time you get a hankerin' for a road trip!
www.WalkingDeadFamily.com
