Trip to Atlanta...what to do?

[mamajag]

DH has to go to Atlanta for his global entry interview (customs express lane), and he wants us to go. Does anyone have any recommendations? He wants to take the kids to Stone Mountain but other than that we aren't familiar with the area. We'll be staying for a few days.

 

Thanks!

[CandaceC]

We loved the Coke factory/museum! And Stone Mountain is great! Also, there are some great history museums there!

[mamajag]

Thank you! I just bookmarked the Coke factory, and we've also found the botanical gardens, zoo, and aquariums.

[Dmmetler]

The American Girl Bistro is in Alpharetta, which is a Northern Suburb, and is fun-and my favorite homeschool store (Homeschool Hangout) is also in Alpharetta. (the mall also has a Lego store). The Lego Discovery center is on Marta and is fun for younger ones (My 8 yr old Legomaniac loves it, but she's probably at the higher side of the age range-there are a few things she's too old/big to do). Discover Mills has Medieval Times (and a Lego Store)

 

And the Aquarium, Children's museum, the Olympic Park, Coke Museum, and all the other downtown stuff is nice, too.

 

I'll warn you, it can be an expensive place to visit-DH'S company flies him out every couple of months, and DD and I go with him for some of those trips, and we usually pick one expensive thing, and then mostly visit parks, the hotel pool, and other free stuff because we could easily spend $100+/day on admissions alone.

[Mommy22alyns]

We went in June and saw a Braves game (not quite back in season yet though), went to the Coke Museum and GA Aquarium, and hit up the AG store.

I've never been, but I think a trip to the Jimmy Carter presidential library would be a great WTM trip -- I'd love to be able to take mine to each of the presidential libraries in the country.

[mamajag]

The American Girl Bistro is in Alpharetta, which is a Northern Suburb, and is fun-and my favorite homeschool store (Homeschool Hangout) is also in Alpharetta. (the mall also has a Lego store). The Lego Discovery center is on Marta and is fun for younger ones (My 8 yr old Legomaniac loves it, but she's probably at the higher side of the age range-there are a few things she's too old/big to do). Discover Mills has Medieval Times (and a Lego Store)

 

And the Aquarium, Children's museum, the Olympic Park, Coke Museum, and all the other downtown stuff is nice, too.

 

I'll warn you, it can be an expensive place to visit-DH'S company flies him out every couple of months, and DD and I go with him for some of those trips, and we usually pick one expensive thing, and then mostly visit parks, the hotel pool, and other free stuff because we could easily spend $100+/day on admissions alone.

 

 

I see what you mean after some Googling. It is expensive! Wow. We may not stay as long as DH would like. We're footing the bill for the hotel as the global entry deal isn't required but is a nicety for his convenience.

 

The girls haven't gotten into the whole AG thing, and I will have to think if I want to start that...though if it takes over Monster High, we may just go do it. LOL

 

The Lego place sounds good for my son. He's 4. The girls are 6 and 8.

[mamajag]

I've never been, but I think a trip to the Jimmy Carter presidential library would be a great WTM trip -- I'd love to be able to take mine to each of the presidential libraries in the country.

 

 

I'm going to try to pull this off, but DH has such a negative opinion of Carter that it may not be possible without a toddler level tantrum on his part. :(

[loulou belle]

If you are going, I would highly recommend the purchasing the citypass. FWIW, my kids (9, 5, and 3) really enjoyed the aquarium, zoo, and CNN center. We also went to the world of coke, and the natural history museum. Also, there are more affordable places to eat in the CNN center.

 

Oh, and if you visit the CNN center the floor tiles are made to the shape of the world, and there are floor plaques that show all of the CNN offices around the world. My kids loved jumping from New York to Boston and then running to Rome.

[Farrar]

We pass through every year and do various things. Fernbank is fun - if you have a science museum membership at home you may be able to get in free. The zoo is okay too - they have pandas. The aquarium is awesome, but so expensive. The children's museum is kind of dinky considering the size of the city. Center for Puppetry Arts is cool. We've never done World of Coke... my kids don't even know what Coke really is, I think - they've maybe had it once or twice and called it "a funny tasting root beer."

 

There's good history stuff there too - Sweet Auburn, lots of Civil War stuff (I have a special place in my heart for the Cyclorama), other stuff too...

[GTJo1996]

You MUST go to the Ga Aquarium. It's really remarkable especially if you have not been to a modern aquarium. The Atlanta Zoo is fun but I would say the exhibits are somewhat hit or miss this time of year. We went on MLK day and the elephants were MIA as were several other of my faves. Next to the Zoo is the Cyclorama which is hard to explain but it's a civil war museum.

 

We just hit the High Museum last week and I was not thrilled. I didn't realize their big claim to fame is their collection of American art. I like the European classics best. They have a Frieda Kahlo exhibit coming in February, if you're a big Frieda/Diego fan.

 

Oooh and one more idea. The Center for Puppetry Arts is sooo unique and fun for all ages. If you were a Muppet fan (like me!) there is a permanent Muppet collection there. I'm not a puppet guru but I love that the CPA has all styles of puppets (shadow, string, stick, and full-body) and after each show they take about 5-10 mins to explain how the different puppets worked during the show.