Tell me about visiting Atlanta

[Neesy228]

We are going to Atlanta for a short family trip. It needs to be fairly affordable and geared towards three kids ages 12 to 6. What can we do that's awesome and fun? Where is the best place to stay that won't break the bank?

I know about the aquarium and World of Coke. That's about it though!

I'll take any tips you can offer! Thanks!

 

[crazelion]

If going this weekend. It will be very crowd because of the Honda Battle of Bands. I find Marta hard to use period. People will tell easy to use but I don't find it easy to use. People drive crazy and 100 mph is consider slow. I would stay on the outer skirts of Atlanta and not inside. Atlanta Zoo is fun for kids.
Varsity Restaurant is must visits they serve some great food.

The Underground Atlanta is not nothing special just bunch of shops. I would skip it. I mainly go there to eat. When I I am at the Georgia Dome for a event Lenox mall is where I would shop at. Plus it much nicer.

Summit Cafe has awesome cheap food. I can't tell street name because I walk there from the Cnn center.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I was just going to mention the 2 places you already know about!
We haven't been at this time of year before, but when we've gone in the Fall, we've enjoyed Stone Mountain. It's quite a distance away though (about an hour, I think.) We are also going to Atlanta in a couple weeks. I'll be in a seminar though and DH will probably just do downtown with the kids again.

 

[Jen7079]

How about Stone Mountain? There is lots of cool stuff to do there. Also try and go to World of coke, I think it is very close to the museum. I drive around the Atlanta area a lot and have never seen 100 MPH, but the drivers are very aggressive.

Also check the weather before you head down, I just saw where we might have an ice storm and if we do EVERYTHING will shut down.

 

[Jen7079]

also, for a liitle bit of history and some really good food head to Sweet Auburn Market.

 

[mickeytattoo95]

You could visit the Center for Puppetry Arts or go see the Bodies Exhibit which people say that all ages actually enjoy it. There's a Titanic exhibit there as well. Underground Atlanta is a bit of a disappointment.

The World of Coke actually bored my kids until you get to the last area where you can try all sorts of cokes and juices from around the world. I did not think it was work the $16 adult/ $12 child admission though.

You could also try touring the Braves' Turner Field. We've enjoyed taking stadium tours when we travel, but we also have a baseball nut in the family. Ticket prices vary, but you can usually find a promotional deal.

The aquarium is pretty expensive, but really nice. You can get discount tickets in advance from AAA if you belong to the auto club.

I'm not exactly sure of how much time you'll have, but you should check out the Atlanta City Pass which gives you entry to a bunch of these places for a reasonable rate, but only if you have enough time to see enough of them to make it worth your $.

It's a fun city! Enjoy your trip.

 

[Jen7079]

also, for a little bit of history and some really good food head to Sweet Auburn Market.

 

[crazelion]

How about Stone Mountain? There is lots of cool stuff to do there. Also try and go to World of coke, I think it is very close to the museum. I drive around the Atlanta area a lot and have never seen 100 MPH, but the drivers are very aggressive.

Also check the weather before you head down, I just saw where we might have an ice storm and if we do EVERYTHING will shut down.

May was out there with 100 mph. I swear does seem like they is driving that fast will not let anybody over. I don't forget 10 lanes of traffic. Yes we suppose to have a ice storm/snow storm and everything will shut down.

I hope not I am going to the Georgia Dome for the Honda Battle of Bands. The ice/snow storm suppose to happen on Friday I was work a long shift at work

 

[Agent7]

Hi!! I'm a Georgia native and I adore Atlanta. The Marta isn't that hard to use if you have used other mass transit in other cities(you will have to get a card at the station and only some have free parking) and driving in downtown Atl isn't that hard if you have driven in cities before, the interstate isn't to bad either but make sure you know your exit numbers and beware of toll roads. It's easy to take the Marta into the city, I've taken it to the High Museum of Art, it's also possible to take it to other attractions like the Zoo/Braves Stadium (same general location), and the Fox theater area, concert locations etc. Parking can be expensive so if you want to drive have cash for parking. Beware that there are a LOT of one way roads. There is plenty to do in Atlanta but you might have to do a little research first. I would recommend:

World of Coke (I loved it as a kid)

Atlanta Zoo (tickets are expensive, so beware but it's a great zoo)

Atlanta Aquarium (tickets are expensive I have heard good things about it but I prefer the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga)

The High Museum is a fantastic art museum if your little ones like art. Plus it's easy to find discounts there. Parking here is VERY expensive.

Stone Mountain can be fun and it has a laser light show rash night (plus sledding in the winter).

The Fox Theatre sometimes shows movies during the day. The theatre is amazingly beautiful and an Atlanta gem, it is a Moroccan type theme and the theatre ceiling is a night sky with twinkling stars and clouds. They do plays and concerts as well.

Atlantic Station has a lot of shopping and I think it still has the Bodies exhibit. It is also where Cirque du Sole (not sure if I spelled that right) puts its tent up.

There are Civil War and Atlanta History museums galore.

In the winter there is ice skating in Olympic Park (also Olympic history)

Dave and Busters also has an Atlanta location.

Six Flags has an Atlanta location, look for ticket coupons.

Plus loads of other stuff.

Unfortunately things can be expensive in Atl, things like the City Pass and student/child/military/etc discounts can help. I've never stayed in Atl but I would stay downtown near a Marta station or expect to drive. Atlanta is not much of a walking city, things are spread out.

Oh oh!! Eat at the Varsity! The Atl location is the original, it's near the Fox and has greasy fast food and fantastic frozen orange drinks.

 

[Halbleib1]

World of Coke is pretty neat. My kids were 1 and 7 last year when we went. My 7 year old loved trying the different sodas at the end of the tour. Same stations like at Epcot but a lot more countries/flavors to try. The tour does not take place at the actual factory/headquarters. I don't know if you have been to Hershey Park but the tour is similar to the Chocolate World tour. With the exception that they actually do make and bottle small sodas there at times. It is also a museum and they have stuff from the Olympics as well as advertising etc. through the years. The Olympic stuff is really neat to see. If you have AAA you can get a discount for the Coke tour however you have to purchase them online. They will not give you the discount in person.

We also took the CNN backstage tour. If you buy a combo ticket for World of Coke and CNN it is cheaper. It is really neat to see the inner workings of a studio. If you do not take the tour you can still go inside and go into the shops. If your kids watch The Cartoon Network they have a store in there. At the end of the tour you exit through the store.

If you take the CNN tour be aware that when you arrive to check in with your vouchers they will give you tickets with a return time on them. The earlier you get there the better. Otherwise your tour could be in the late afternoon depending on how many people are ahead of you. There is a food court inside the CNN Center but it is very expensive. They also have a cafe type place at World of Coke but it is not in the main building. It also is expensive. We were only there as a stopover on our way back home from Disney so we were able to get some food outside of Atlanta once we were back on the road. If I had to do over I would have packed a cooler for lunch/snacks though.

Overall my husband and I are in agreement that we don't have a desire to return to Atlanta though. The tours were neat to see at least once though. Be prepared for parking as well. They charge 10.00 to park for the day. So plan accordingly. If I recall correctly you have to have cash for parking. It is all done by machine.

Good luck finding an affordable place to stay anywhere near Atlanta. Esp. if anything else is going on anywhere near there. If you do get lucky enough to find someplace affordable it is most likely going to be dirty and run down. We checked into a few places and checked right back out once we got into the rooms and saw how bad they were. These were national chains such as Days Inn, Comfort Suites, etc. We ended up staying at a Quality Inn in South Carolina on Friday night. That was hard enough to find as there was some sort of college sports event going on. For miles around hotels were all booked up. I would be sure to have a hotel already booked before heading out. And btw some of those hotels that we checked into only to check right back out of were AAA prefered hotels. Just goes to show you can't go by that when picking a hotel.

 

[Halbleib1]

If going this weekend. It will be very crowd because of the Honda Battle of Bands. I find Marta hard to use period. People will tell easy to use but I don't find it easy to use. People drive crazy and 100 mph is consider slow. I would stay on the outer skirts of Atlanta and not inside. Atlanta Zoo is fun for kids.
Varsity Restaurant is must visits they serve some great food.

The Underground Atlanta is not nothing special just bunch of shops. I would skip it. I mainly go there to eat. When I I am at the Georgia Dome for a event Lenox mall is where I would shop at. Plus it much nicer.

Summit Cafe has awesome cheap food. I can't tell street name because I walk there from the Cnn center.

The traffic is crazy and the drivers are aggressive and they do drive fast but 100mphs is an exaggeration. We arrived late on a Thursday night and toured on a Friday in November. So we experienced rush hour on Friday. It is crazy with people swearving in and out of traffic and cutting you off. Not much different than most places at rush hour though. Although it is very busy even late at night on the main highway going through Atlanta.

 

[Swimalie]

When are you going? Right now Stone Mountain is Snow Mountain with snow-type activities. I didn't go when there in Dec but I hear it's a lot of fun for all ages. There is Legoland Discovery Center but it wouldn't be fun for your 12 year old. The aquarium is awesome! I highly recommend it. If you go and eat lunch there, ask of the ballrooms are open. There you can see the beluga whales and whale sharks. They are amazing.

 

[KennesawNemo]

If you are a Bank of America customer and you go on the first full weekend of the month, you can visit Atlanta History Center and High Museum of Art for fee. You can also visit Tellus Science Museum and Boothwestern Art Museum for fee, but they are in Cartersville, about 45 miles from downtown, I guess. Both museums are great though!

Ferbank Museum is also great and I believe it's part of the citypass package.

 

[BabyFu18]

The Marta is the best way to get around, it's not that difficult just look at the maps or ask someone if you need help. If you aren't used to mass transit or don't wanna try it out then driving is fine too a GPS will help with exit numbers so that shouldn't be a problem.

Places to visit:

High Museum
World of Coke
Atlanta Zoo
Atlanta Aquarium
CNN Center

Shopping:
Lenox Square/Phipps Plaza
Mall of Georgia
Outlet Malls (If you are willing to drive a little further)

Places to stay, there are a lot of nice luxury places if you are looking for that like The W, Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, St.Regis, etc.

Also there is the Marioot Marquis if you plan to take Marta transportation since its right there access wise.

 

[caribear]

I live in FL now, but grew up north of Atlanta. My mom and sister still live there so I take my 2 kids each summer (DD10 and DS5). This summer we went to World of Coke (got tickets using My Coke Rewards points!), Imagine It! Children's museum (BOGO coupon found online) and Centennial Olympic Park.....followed by a late lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. We took Marta from the Perimeter Mall location as I did not want to drive into the city. This was all in one day. My DD10 loved the children's museum even though she is older....she loves things like that though. DD10 loved the Coke museum and could have been there all day. She reads all of the signs and info.....so I had to pull her along. Both kids enjoyed the cheesy 4D movie and the Coke tastings....and the "free" bottle of Coke on the way out.

On another day we took a drive into the mountains. We went through Dahlonega....stopped off at the Cabbage Patch Museum (I had gone as a child and wanted to see it....kids laughed at the "birth" of the "baby!")....then we went to Consolidate Gold Mines and went on the mine tour....and panned gold. We also bought a bucket of gems to sift and the kids loved it! We then headed on to Alpine Helen for ice cream/chocolates and a little walk around the town. The kids wanted to go river rafting down the Chattahoochee, but since my DH did not go with us I did not want to go with the 2 kids by myself. We watched the rafters go down the river in Helen...and I promised my kids we could go next summer. This was a fun filled day....and the kids enjoyed it.....but lots of driving through the mountains.


The year prior we went to Zoo Atlanta....were there all day (packed a lunch from home/grandma's)! We also went to the Georgia Aquarium...and were there all day too. My mom and sister can walk through in 2 hours and told me it did not take long.....but my DD10 and I like to take our time and read about what we are looking at.....drove my mom and sister crazy!

Unfortunately everything is pricey and the costs add up. We had a great time though. Not sure what we will do this summer.

As a teenager I would go to Stone Mountain with my friends and walk the mountain! Cannot imagine doing that now!!! I also used to love the laser shows at night with a picnic on the lawn. Took DD there a long time ago before DS was born and she had fun. It's much different now with all kinds of things to do, but also more expensive.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We went to Atlanta over Spring Break a couple of years ago and bought the City Pass - it turned out to be a pretty good deal and I highly recommend it. We used the admissions to Fernbank Museum, which had dino skeletons and such as well as an IMAX theater and the ticket included one IMAX movie. We also went to World of Coke, the Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta, all enjoyable. We have done the Turner Field tour another time and really enjoyed that.

 

[swilshire]

I spent a lot of time working in Atlanta fifteen years ago and found the hotels along 285 or to the north to be my favorites. Alpharetta especially had a nice place or two, but traffic got worse every time I was down there. I don't miss it much.

I'll be in Duluth most of February, so will get to relive it all.

More recently, I stayed in Marrietta at a Homewood Suites and a Residence Inn.

Sheila