Going to Atlanta on Spring Break with 5 kids!

[pleasant]

DH & I want to take the kids somewhere overnight while they are on spring break next week. I think we've decided Atlanta as we are only about 1 1/2 hr away. We will be taking our 5 children ages 9, 6, 4, and 2 yr old twins. We are thinking about going to the GA Aquarium. Any feedback? I heard back when it opened that it was a crazy nightmare and you could barely walk around b/c there were so many people. Has anyone been recently? My twins will probably do the harness thing instead of the giant double stroller if we do the aquarium. I thought about the zoo but I don't want my DD (9 yr old) to be disappointed if we go to ATL and only go to the zoo. Of course, our zoo is teeny tiny (kinda sad) so I'm sure the one in ATL is much cooler. Any advice or input would be great!

[Guest mldepalma]

DH & I want to take the kids somewhere overnight while they are on spring break next week. I think we've decided Atlanta as we are only about 1 1/2 hr away. We will be taking our 5 children ages 9, 6, 4, and 2 yr old twins. We are thinking about going to the GA Aquarium. Any feedback? I heard back when it opened that it was a crazy nightmare and you could barely walk around b/c there were so many people. Has anyone been recently? My twins will probably do the harness thing instead of the giant double stroller if we do the aquarium. I thought about the zoo but I don't want my DD (9 yr old) to be disappointed if we go to ATL and only go to the zoo. Of course, our zoo is teeny tiny (kinda sad) so I'm sure the one in ATL is much cooler. Any advice or input would be great!

My parents live just south of Atlanta and we visit every summer. I took my kids both to the zoo and the aquarium last summer ( they were 6,3, and 1-yr old twins). The aquarium was beautiful but it was crowded. It was especially hard maneuvering the double-stroller through the crowds. I would recommend that they walk if at all possible. It is a pretty long walk to get there from parking too - so you could always use a stroller to get them to the aquarium and then have them walk inside. (they have plenty of space to park your stroller outside each of the "pods". It got more crowded as the day wore on, so I would also suggest that you get there early. I would recommend it, though, it was really great.

 

As far as the zoo goes, the Atlanta zoo is also really nice! I compare it to the little dinky zoo we have here in CT and it doesn't even compare. You could spend most of the day at the zoo easily. If you can get there, it'll be worth it too. I really hope you have a great time!!! (Do you have a family membership at your local zoo? My zoo has an agreement with the Atlanta zoo and if I show my family pass I get a 1/2 price discount on admission - it might be worth looking into that too.)

 

Have fun!

[Christy Garner]

I live in Griffin which is only about 45 minutes from Atlanta - We have been to the Georgia Aquarium and it is awesome. My boys (ages 11 and 6) LOVED it but get tickets online or stay at a hotel that sells the tickets because if you wait until you get to the gate, they will most likely be sold out. Some people get to the gates WAY early to get tickets so I suggest getting them early. Also, we made a mini vacation out of it as well. We stayed at the Sheraton which is about 2 blocks away -

[mildmom]

My mom just took my son to the Aquarium in February (on a Saturday). It was crowded, but not as bad as last year. She said the biggest thing was that everyone-adults included- was walking around not looking where they were going because everything is so cool. She said they easily could have made a day of it. She went with a friend who has season passes and has been many times, so tried to rush them through.

 

She said to arrive early because even though they don't open until 10, the line forms at 9 and Yes, get your tickets ahead of time if possible. I think that is a wonderful idea for spring break for your kids. My son is ready to go back again already!

[pleasant]

Sorry for the delay in my response! Thank you all for your input! I am pretty excited about going now! :) Of course, I haven't even told the kids yet! They will be thrilled!