TheBugs Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 We will be in Atlanta for a few days while DH is doing business. I am looking for some ideas, things to do and see with kids. Thanks for any input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfinlady Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Zoo Atlanta Georgia Aquarium Fernbank Museum of Natural History Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Walk through Oakland Cemetery Stone Mountain Atlanta History Center Centennial Olympic Park World of Coca Cola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 My Atlanta family always takes kid visitors to the zoo, aquarium, and Stone Mountain. And now Legoland! (We haven't been there for that one yet.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yucabird Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I would second Elfinlady's suggestions. When we visited Atlanta, we purchased Citypasses, which included visits to some of those places. I thought it was a terrific deal. http://www.citypass.com/atlanta (I have no affiliation.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I've heard the aquarium is awesome by my best friend who works at the Baltimore aquarium. She is quite jealous of the one in atlanta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Are you coming from somewhere with a decent zoo? If so, then I wouldn't bother with Atlanta's. Other than having pandas, it is nothing special. Is your daughter into American Girl dolls? If so, there is an AG store in Alpharetta, a northern suburb. If you are coming soon, it is ridiculously hot and humid right now--we have had 99% humidity for big chunks of the day. Unless you're from the tropics, you'll want to take that into account. I love Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield National Park, for instance, and hiking up the mountain is great fun, but not now. I might also considering staying away from Stone Mountain for the same reason. White Water is a water park in Cobb County, but they may have gone to weekend-only hours already because school has started back. It will be crowded and pricey, of course. You might want to check the Fox Theatre to see what is going on there when you are in town. It is a really fun place to see a performance and very kid-friendly (you can eat and drink in your seats). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwjx2khsmj Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 We enjoyed the Center for Puppetry Arts and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. The zoo was okay. The kids really enjoyed Stone Mountain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 The Atlanta Botanical Gardens and The High Museum of Art are also fun with kids. Also Piedmont Park. It has a fun and different artsy playground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBugs Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 If you are coming soon, it is ridiculously hot and humid right now--we have had 99% humidity for big chunks of the day. Unless you're from the tropics, you'll want to take that into account. We're coming next week and we're coming from Florida, so we are already hot and humid. So basically, the weather will be much like it is here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBugs Posted August 11, 2014 Author Share Posted August 11, 2014 Thanks for all the advice everyone! Now I have a good list to work with. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I think all the big things have been covered. Will you be staying downtown? Do you have a rental car that you'll be comfortable driving in traffic? (If you drive in NYC, Chicago, LA, etc., forgive the question! Friends who lived here 30+ years have moved away come back and haaaate driving here.) Our public transportation, quite frankly, sucks... CityPass is a good deal. The Aquarium, Children's Museum, Centennial Park, World of Coke are all right there together. The Civil Rights Museum isn't open yet but is right there too. They put up one of those huge 360 view Ferris wheels last year, but if you're coming soon, it will probably be fairly hazy from the heat. If the Braves are in town and you like baseball, that's fun. You often can get cheaper tickets on StubHub on weeknight games (if there's not a big promotion that night) than directly through MLB. Season ticket holders sell their extras. The Legoland here is inside a mall. It has a couple of cheesy rides, a 4D movie, and a place to build and race Lego cars. The coolest part was walking through the Atlanta cityscape built with Legos. They may have improved it. We went 2 years ago. It's not the same as San Diego's, Chicago's or Orlando's large Legolands. There are usually coupons for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghansMom Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I would second Elfinlady's suggestions. When we visited Atlanta, we purchased Citypasses, which included visits to some of those places. I thought it was a terrific deal. http://www.citypass.com/atlanta (I have no affiliation.) Highly recommend City Pass!!! Great deal. We live in the Upstate of South Carolina and we have used these passes to go to Atlanta and had a blast! Easy to use and you beat the crowds. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 I am an aquarium dork. I planned a trip to Atlanta solely to see the aquarium. We went there for a day--about 7 hours I think. We included the shortest behind the scenes tour (it was only 20 or 30 minutes). I would have like to do a long behind the scenes thing, but I can't count on my ds who has down syndrome so we did the short one and it was good. Whale sharks are sooooo cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 We're considering a trip to Atlanta in few weeks...the idea of 99% humidity might be scaring me off though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 We're considering a trip to Atlanta in few weeks...the idea of 99% humidity might be scaring me off though! Lots of things are inside and they are all air conditioned. Lots of outdoor things have plenty of shade or splash parks. The zoo is especially shady and it has some indoor areas too. It's not usually too bad unless you plan to spend ALL day outside. But I like it hot...ymmv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Lots of things are inside and they are all air conditioned. Lots of outdoor things have plenty of shade or splash parks. The zoo is especially shady and it has some indoor areas too. It's not usually too bad unless you plan to spend ALL day outside. But I like it hot...ymmv. Thanks for the encouragement! We're having a cool summer so really not accustomed to heat/humidity this year. We are especially interested in the aquarium, zoo, botanic garden and Coke. Good to know the zoo is shady! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 http://www.nationalaviationmuseum.com/ This is a fairly new museum and near the airport. We haven't been ourselves yet but have heard great things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 Someone mentioned the Fox & it is really fun. They have a summer movie festival going on & it looks like there will be a Mary Poppins sing-along on Aug. 17, if that works for your dates. http://foxtheatre.org/fox-theatre-announces-2014-coca-cola-summer-film-festival-lineup-special-movie-tours/ or http://ev10.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=MAR&linkID=fta&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode= The fun thing about the summer movies is to get a seat in the balcony somewhere (so you can see the twinkling sky on the ceiling) & go early because they have a big organ (Mighty Mo) that they play & do audience sing-alongs before the movie starts. They also show a vintage cartoon before the movie. If you end up going to see something at the Center for Puppetry Arts, they often have a craft activity afterward (related to the show). Can't remember if there's an extra charge for that or not (I'm thinking there is) & you could either work on it there or get the supplies & take it to go. If your kids happen to love ancient history, the Carlos Museum at Emory can't be beat. It has an awesome collection. (The museum bookstore is also great & has a wonderful selection of kids' books -- many of which are mentioned in the WTM.) Too bad they don't have any of the children's workshops during your week here -- those are great. (Just so you know in case you come at another time.) If you happen to be here this Friday, there is free admission at the High Museum for homeschool students (adults have to pay). ETA: If you're near the Peachtree Plaza downtown, you can ride the glass elevator up to the top & look out at the city. Very neat views all around. http://sundialrestaurant.com/general-information/ If you decide to eat there, I'd suggest lunch instead of dinner (for price). It's kind of fun to dine while rotating around & seeing the city views, but not all kids or families are interested in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 11, 2014 Share Posted August 11, 2014 happi duck, go to the zoo as soon as it opens. It will be (slightly) cooler in the morning & the animals are more likely to be a little more perky then. Of course, the aquarium & Coke are indoors, so no problems there. I've never been to the Botanical Gardens. :o ETA: Don't know when you're coming, but DragonCon is during Labor Day weekend. Loads of fun (cool parade on Saturday morning), but downtown is packed, packed, packed then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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