Over Spring Break, my family and I took a quick trip to Atlanta, Georgia! My husband and I had visited there back in 2015 when I was pregnant, so it was exciting to finally bring that baby, now 7, along for a visit.
If you are planning a family trip to Atlanta, here are some kid-friendly attractions to check out - and some to skip.
We almost didn't go to the Georgia Aquarium because of its high cost. (A single-day ticket is $47.99.) But we were so glad that we did! It was an amazing way to spend a morning - walking underneath fish swimming over us, getting a close look at sharks, and watching seals and dolphins perform!
In terms of food, the Aquarium does have a cafe. While a plant-based burger is available, there is nothing specifically for gluten-free or dairy-free diets on the menu. We ate lunch elsewhere. (Perhaps a separate post will be forthcoming!)
For the best view of downtown Atlanta, ride the SkyView wheel! This was something my husband and I did back in 2015, and the attraction is still there. (It's sort of like the London Eye, if you've ever done that, only smaller.) We went on a Thursday evening and walked right on!
I feel like it used to have an audio guide playing as you went around in the wheel, pointing out all the attractions that you could see. We definitely didn't have that this time around, but we knew what we were looking at: Centennial Park, Georgia Aquarium, Football Hall of Fame, and World of Coca-Cola, to name a few.
Located across the street from the SkyView, Centennial Olympic Park is a 22-acre greenspace that serves as Georgia's legacy of the 1996 Summer Olympics. The park has a lot of landmarks and features, but what kids will most enjoy are the playgrounds and Fountain of Rings plaza, where they can walk through the water jets on a hot day.
Honorable Mentions
While this exhibit is no longer in Atlanta, if you can find it in a city near you, definitely go! It's an interactive experience that's perfect for Harry Potter fans. The only thing I'd suggest is to not wait until three days before the exhibit closes because that's what we did, and some of the interactive features were broken. It was still pretty cool to see memorabilia from the movies and our names appearing on the Marauder's Map!
The last time I visited Atlanta, I went to a Braves game. (It randomly started raining during the game, but it was such a relief from the heat that I stayed in my seat while everyone around me took cover.)
There was a reason we didn't do a Braves game this time around. We didn't rent a car, and the public transportation options to get to the stadium are not that good for people with young kids who still need things like car seats and booster seats.
But a local baseball game is always a great experience with kids, so if your kids are a bit older or you'll have a car, I'd recommend putting a baseball game on your itinerary.
Not-So-Must-See
When I visited this museum in 2015, it was really cool. They had a 4-D movie, there were exhibits about the history of Coca-Cola, the Coca-Cola bear was there for photo ops, and everybody got a free bottle of Coke at the end!
Well, the movie is now 3-D, the bear was nowhere to be seen, and there was no free Coke bottle.
The tasting room at the end is an interesting experience if you like and can drink soda. It has soda machines with a variety of flavors from around the world. For instance, my daughter sampled Fanta Exotic from Uganda, Fanta Fresa from Panama, and Fanta Melon Frosty and Fanta Apple Kiwi from Thailand.
If you had asked me back in 2015 if World of Coca-Cola was a must-see, then I would have said "yes". However, unless you're obsessed with soda (and can drink it, unlike me), this is a pass. And there are so many other things to do and see.
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If you want to know about the places we ate in Atlanta, then stay tuned to the blog for our hits and misses of eating gluten-free and dairy-free in Atlanta!
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