Zombie Works

Zombie Works is a zombie-​themed «haunted house» type attraction at the Dosser Works Paintball facility in downtown Atlanta, just south of Turner Field. Similar to the Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse in Conley (
), Zombie Works throws you into a made-​up zombie outbreak scenario where you and your group are chased by actors dressed as zombies, culminating in some paintball warfare to make your final escape.
Zombie Works costs $ 25 per person, but discounts can be found online. We purchased an eight-​person package on Groupon for $ 129, which equated to $ 16.13 per person. Group limit is nine people. When purchasing tickets, we had to choose a date and time. However, tickets can be purchased at the door. Waiver forms have to be filled out and can be downloaded and completed before arriving at the facility.
The facility can be difficult to spot at night. Just look for a spotlight, a zombie pinned to a light pole, and a sign at a driveway entrance to a non-​descript, chain-​link-​fence-​enclosed property. For some weird reason, when we drove up, the sign was facing the wrong (opposite) direction.
We arrived early and waited at the check-​in shack until our start time. The men in the group were patted down for weapons. You’re not allowed to bring your own paintball gear.
I’ll try to keep the following descriptions mostly spoiler-​free.
The start of the activity began in front of a tent where we were briefed on the zombie outbreak situation by two soldiers. We were led into the tent which contained a map of the Dosser Works Paintball facility. A soldier pointed out where we were and where we were headed for extraction. Before we knew it, we were thrust into the action. There were zombies after us at almost every turn. Lots of fake gunshots going off.
Zombie Works takes place mostly outside. The terrain is primarily grass and dirt trails with minor changes in elevation. We did enter one small room (and stood in there watching for a brief moment, not even attempting to escape). The paintball portion took place in two covered, open-​air fields. Tennis shoes are recommended as you’ll most likely be jogging/​running away from zombies throughout the duration of the course. You’re guided every step of the way. It’s mostly soldiers hurrying you and telling you to, «Move! Move! Move!» It heightens the excitement level of the experience.
As is standard with other haunted attractions in the Atlanta area, the actors at Zombie Works are not allowed to touch you and you are not allowed to touch them. They can, however, get uncomfortably close to you. Unless you trip and fall, you probably will not get dirty. Note that you may step on paintballs during the run, so you can get paint on the soles of your shoes.
The paintball portion is the last segment of the attraction. There are two stations, one after the other, where paintball guns have already been mounted in a fixed position. No need to don any protective gear. You just pick a stationary gun and begin firing. Each paintball firing session lasts maybe 10 – 20 seconds. Not very long. After running through the course, especially the last section where zombies seem to be coming from every which way, you’ll be a bit winded.
I liked some of the props and special effects that were used. It’s too bad we were jogging/​running because I would’ve liked to have taken the time to appreciate them more. Some seemed well crafted. Of course, that’s often a «conundrum» at scary attractions because you’re supposed to be fleeing, leaving little time to really take in and enjoy the sights and sounds. The zombies did a good job. Kudos to all the actors, both human and zombie. One of the zombie actors broke character and told us to be careful as we ran away from one of the scares. I’m not sure what she saw, but that was nice of her. All of the staff seemed cool.
The entire experience was fun, but quite short at about 10 – 12 minutes. It felt shorter than that. I wish it was longer. We were on the move virtually the entire time. I think maybe a break to develop the story or soak in the dire atmosphere would have helped. It just seemed like everything was over in a flash. All in all, we had a good, though short-​lived, time. I do think this attraction is worth checking out if you’re looking for a blood-​pumping, zombie-​themed Halloween activity.