Is there any reason to take kids to Atlantis if not using pools?

[daltonsdodisney]

My girls, ages 8 and 6 will be with us, so I guess the casino is out. They've seen the MaryKate and Ashley movie, featuring the Atlantis hotel, so they're wanting to see it, but we're not paying to use the pools. They are not real adventurous yet and wouldn't get their money's worth on the slides anyway. So, is there anything to do once the taxi drops you off? I'm thinking my husband and I can come back later when they're in the clubs if we want to play the slots, but it seems like a lot of back and forth. We've never cruised nor been to the Bahamas, so I would like my girls to set foot on dry land at some point. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[vicnmickey]

I too thought this same question out alot. We have decided we are going to do Atlantis on our own. We plan on going to the dig and the marina to look at the fish. Alot of people say you can get a little taste of the hotel by just doing these two things. The cost for the dig is $25 for adults and $19 for kids, and the taxi ride over is $4 per person. Hope this helps out a little.
370 days and counting everyone of them

 

[disneytim]

That could work, but you're already up to paying $88 bucks.

With AAA you can get a pretty good rate at Comfort Suites, use the beach, have use of the wonderful pools at Atlantis and still do the other things you want to do. Plus you get a place to shower and change.

It worked great for the 4 of us.

 

[queendarvet]

That's a good suggestion (to check on rates for Comfort Suites). Even though your daughters may not be adventurous for the slides they would love the pools (in one section there is a lazy river ride) and in other sections there are small slides they would like. Just walking around the marine habitats is amazing! But you would need to have wrist bands for full access to the resort (you get them by being a guest of Atlantis or Comfort Suites). I imagine if you just buy admission to the dig, you would also be able to walk the grounds. I'd double check on that one. When we stayed at the Atlantis last summer, there were guards posted in various areas and they did check the wrist bands. The resort is great for kids. My kids will never forget the sea creatures (they had names for them!). It is a beautiful place.

 

[FLeisure]

Please be aware that paying $25 at Atlantis does not give you the right to use their pools. We couldn't believe it when we were there in December. You simply get the right to look through their lagoonplus one or two other things.

To use the pools you need to book a room and then not use it !

 

[Diz-Me]

We visited Atlantis on April 22 during our Wonder cruise. We booked a room at Comfort Suites (which we never used). DD-15 and DS-14 really enjoyed the aquariums and lagoons but they were thrilled with the pools. We spent our pool time at the water slides area. The pool there has several water rides and waterfall. But the highlighted is tubing or body sliding through the shark tank. This was one of the highlights for my teens on our trip!

But unless your girls really enjoy pools I wouldn't spend the money on a room. You should be aware that there is lots of walking required to see the aquaruims and lagoons. And I don't think you are able to see all of them unless you are a resort guest.

 

[jfeasel]

We did the Atlantis tour that was available through the Magic. It was the one with the tour of the port and then they drop you off and you can walk to Atlantis. It's just a 1/2 day trip so you can do it and then go back to the ship and swim. We had 4 adults and 4 kids with us and it was a long walk to Atlantis so on the way home, we took a cab back to the ship.

Anyway, the kids (3, 5, 7 and 9) LOVED the tour of the aquariums. I will say, the adults were pretty darn impressed too. Our tour guide was excellent and told us a lot about the building of the hotel and the stars that have stayed there too. The kids didn't mind that they could use the pools because we told them we'd go swimming back at the boat and we'd just stayed at the Beach Club which has an awesome pool anyway.

If you do the tour, take the one in the morning because you'd have the rest of the afternoon to do whatever.

Also. we thought Nassau was really dirty and not kid friendly at all (like finding public restrooms when a kid really has to go) so if you are going to do anything in Nassau, the 1/2 tour that includes Atlantis might just be the way to go. Plus, our kids were really scared of the shopkeepers in Nassau that were pushing their wears on everyone. We even saw the hair braiding ladies get into a really big fight over a potential customer. I personally don't think Nassau is kid-friendly so on our trip in 2003 we're going to do the 7 day Eastern and hope for a better welcome on the islands.