Visiting the Filming Locations from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Released in 1989, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is one of the most joyfully ridiculous time-travel comedies ever made. Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan are two San Dimas high school students whose band, Wyld Stallyns, will apparently become the foundation of a peaceful future — provided they do not flunk history first.

What makes the filming-location trip especially fun is that the movie’s fictional San Dimas was not mostly filmed in San Dimas at all. Much of the movie was shot around the Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona area, with additional material in California and even Italy. That means a Bill & Ted location trip becomes a wonderfully weird road map of schools, malls, water parks, bowling alleys, and one legendary convenience store.

This is exactly the kind of movie-location hunt I enjoy because the stops are so different from one another. One minute you are at a high school that doubled as San Dimas High. The next, you are standing at a Circle K thinking, “Strange things are afoot.” It is goofy, nostalgic, and genuinely fun.

San Dimas High School / Coronado High School

Address: 7501 E Virginia Ave, Scottsdale, AZ 85257

Coronado High School in Scottsdale was used for many of the San Dimas High School exterior scenes. This is where Bill and Ted’s entire problem begins: if they fail their history report, Ted gets sent to military school, Wyld Stallyns never becomes the band that changes the world, and the future falls apart.

The school has been renovated over the years, and the original auditorium was torn down during later remodel work, but pieces of the old look were preserved and incorporated into the newer building.

Final History Report Auditorium / Former East High School

Address: Former East High School area, 48th Street near E Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ

The triumphant final history report, where Bill and Ted bring historical figures on stage and turn a school assignment into a rock-and-roll time-travel spectacle, used the auditorium at East High School in Phoenix.

This location is bittersweet for fans because East High School was later demolished. That means you cannot walk into the auditorium and stand where Abraham Lincoln told everyone to be excellent to each other.

The Circle K / “Strange Things Are Afoot”

Address: 1010 W Southern Ave, Tempe, AZ 85282

The Circle K at Southern Avenue and Hardy Drive in Tempe is one of the most famous real-world Bill & Ted locations. This is where Rufus first appears in the phone booth and Ted delivers the immortal line: “Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.”

This is one of those stops that feels almost too perfect. It is an ordinary convenience store, but for fans it is instantly mythic. The whole time-travel adventure kicks into gear here, in the most casual possible setting.

Be careful - There are actually TWO Circle K's on Southern Avenue, and if you're not paying attention, there's not a lot of difference - locations change over time and it would fool the casual visitor into thinking they had remodeled. Inside the correct one, a sole poster on the wall marks the location's place in history. The young staff member behind the counter had no idea! Another staff member gave a nod - he knew, but was pretty nonchalent.

San Dimas Mall / Metrocenter Mall

Address: Former Metrocenter Mall area, 9617 N Metro Pkwy W, Phoenix, AZ 85051

Metrocenter Mall in Phoenix was used for the San Dimas mall scenes, including the sequence where the historical figures cause chaos in the modern world. Napoleon, Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan, Socrates, Billy the Kid, and the others all experience 1980s mall culture in their own very specific ways.

I managed to catch the mall before it closed its doors for good - and though it had similarities, it had already changed considerably. The mall went through a remodel which opened the roof, making a visitor question whether you are in the right place.

Its interesting tovisit locations like this because they represent a vanished era as much as a movie. The scene is not just about Bill and Ted. It is about late-80s mall culture, arcade energy, stores, escalators, and the idea that time travelers from across history would be completely overwhelmed by a suburban shopping center.

Waterloops / Golfland Sunsplash

Address: 155 W Hampton Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210

Golfland Sunsplash in Mesa was used for some of the Waterloops water-park scenes with the actors. This is where Napoleon gets his big modern-world vacation and discovers that water slides may be the greatest invention in history.

This is one of the more cheerful location stops because the scene is so silly and so memorable. Napoleon as a water-park enthusiast is exactly the kind of joke that makes Bill & Ted work: history is treated with complete absurdity, but never with cruelty.

If you visit, this is also one of the rare locations that can still be enjoyed as an actual attraction rather than just photographed from the sidewalk. It is a fun add-on for fans who want to make the trip feel less like a checklist and more like a day out.

Bowling Alley / AMF Tempe Village Lanes

Address: 4407 S Rural Rd, Tempe, AZ 85282

The bowling alley scenes were filmed at what was then a Fair Lanes bowling alley, now associated with the AMF / Bowlero-style bowling location on South Rural Road in Tempe. This is part of the modern-world tour the historical figures take while Bill and Ted are trying to keep their history project from collapsing.

I love these stops because they show how the movie gets comedy from simple culture clash. Historical figures are not just lecturing from textbooks. They are wandering through malls, water parks, and bowling alleys, turning regular suburban places into history-class chaos.

Police Station / Scottsdale Office Building

Address: Scottsdale, AZ — exact building identification varies by location guide

The police-station material was filmed at an empty office building in Scottsdale. This location connects to the section where Bill and Ted’s plan gets more complicated and the phone booth, the historical figures, and their deadline all collide with real-world consequences.

This is one of the less straightforward stops on the route because the exact current visitor match is not as clean as the Circle K, Coronado High School, or the water-park locations. The building has changed, but scenes are filmed on the street and you can match up the buildings across the street if you're careful. It was me that stole my own keys! :D

Evil Duke’s Castle / Odescalchi Castle

Address: Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini, 14, 00062 Bracciano RM, Italy

Additional filming took place in Italy, including Odescalchi Castle, which stood in for the Evil Duke’s castle. This is one of the most visually different locations in the film because it connects Bill and Ted’s suburban comedy to an actual historic European setting.

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Bill's House

Address: 112 W Kaler Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85021

Bill S. Preston’s house was actually a composite of two locations. The exterior and backyard scenes were filmed at a home off Central and Northern Avenues in midtown Phoenix, while the garage — where Wyld Stallyns rehearses — was shot at a separate house in Pacific Palisades, California that has since been demolished and rebuilt.

The Phoenix house has been remodeled over the years, but it is still recognizable if you know what you are looking for. It is a fun reminder that movie geography rarely matches real geography — Bill’s bedroom, backyard, and garage all technically belonged to different houses on different coasts.'

Ted's House

Address: 1841 E Berridge Ln, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Ted “Theodore” Logan’s house, where his overbearing cop father delivers the military-school ultimatum that kicks off the whole time-traveling scheme, is in an upscale neighborhood near Bethany Home Road in Phoenix.

The house has been added onto since filming and looks a little different today, but it is still one of the more recognizable residential locations from the movie. Standing in front of it, it is easy to picture Ted getting the bad news that sends him and Bill on their most excellent adventure in the first place.

Visiting the filming locations from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a most excellent reminder that the movie’s charm comes from ordinary places being turned into something cosmic. A high school becomes the future of civilization. A Circle K becomes the launch point for time travel. A mall becomes a playground for historical figures. A water park becomes Napoleon’s paradise.

What I enjoy most is that the locations are as unpretentious as Bill and Ted themselves. They are schools, convenience stores, malls, bowling alleys, and water parks — exactly the kind of places where two goofy teenagers might actually hang out before accidentally saving the world.

Some of the locations have changed, closed, or disappeared, but the spirit of the trip is still there. Be excellent, take respectful photos, and remember: the future may depend on your history report.