South - Georgia Aquarium Review

On one of my recent business trips to Atlanta, I had the opportunity to visit the new Georgia Aquarium. I found it to be absolutely spectacular. It was without a doubt, the best aquarium I've ever visited, and I have visted the NY Aquarium and the aquarium in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

What made the Georgia Aquarium so fantastic was the number of unique exhibits, from a local Georgia shore exhibit to reproductions of shores and reefs from throughout the world. But the best was the huge tank, which is the size of a football field. There is the usual tunnel, in which you are surrounded on three sides by water with all kinds of interesting fish and mammels swimming all around you. What was most breathtaking was the viewing window. At 60 feet wide and 35 feet high, this window is the largest in North America and by standing up close to it, you cannot see the other end and the feeling of being in the ocean is too real.

I toured the aquarium on a Wednesday afternoon, so it wasn't too crowded. Including a 20 minute lunch break and a viewing of the 3D movie, it took me about 2 1/2 hours to tour the entire aquarium. At a price of $22 per per adult, it was well worth it.

I highly recommend this to anyone visiting Atlanta and I also highly recommend making your ticket purchase online, where you are given a time frame to enter. I had a ticket good for a 2 to 3 PM entry, but I got there about 1:30 and had no problem getting in. They may be a little more stricter about sticking to your entry time on a weekend or holiday, when I'm sure it must be packed.

Any one else have the opportunity to see the Aquarium, and what were your reactions?

Tonypct,
Visited the GA Aquarium last week and totally agree with everything you said, and it was definitely worth the admission price. We only stayed a couple of hours, as my 3-year old niece was getting tired, but up until then, she was loving it as much as I was! Unfortunately, we decided to leave before we had a chance to see the whale sharks, but I'll definitely be back!!!

I really like that you can get "up close and personal" at most of the viewing windows, i.e., few barriers to force you to keep your distance - it was fun to see the little kids pressing their faces against the glass, reaching out with their hands, at first, as though they thought they'd be touching water!

So many unusual and fascinating creatures - of course the Beluga whales are awesome, and the views of them spectacular. There's a small exhibit of some of the weirdest-looking creatures I've ever seen - the "weedy sea dragon" and the "leafy sea dragon" are relatives of the seahorse but have weedy and leafy appendages that serve as camouflage - watching them was mesmerizing to me.

Suffice it to say that this is a wonderful place,to visit, for all age groups, and a definite star in Atlanta's crown!

I visited the aquarium earlier this week. It is absolutely stunning. The Beluga Whales are magnificent--almost hypnotic the way they glide through the water. However, if I had to give one piece of advice, save the Home Depot exhibit 'til the end.

The aquarium has five major exhibits that circle the central atrium. Start at the entrance before or after the Home Depot exhibit. You'll go through the HD exhibit on a moving walkway under the tank. You'll see a breathtaking array of fish glide overhead; however, the best is yet to come. As you exit, you pass what I'll describe as the side of the tank. It's the size of a movie screen. It is absolutely incredible. There are so many species of fish. Nature keeps changing the channel. It's truly one of the best exhibits I have ever seen.

The aquarium is stunning, but they need to handle crowd control much better than they do. I was there today - we had pre-ordered our tix online (which I recommend especially for weekends) and it was a mess - parking, lines to get in, security areas, exhibits, etc. The only place I didn't notice this was at the 3D movie (very well done). I will not return until I know things are being handled better. The kids had fun - which is all that matters, but we thought it was poorly run operationally.

A little OT - but for you aquarium fans - the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is fabulous (and can be done as a long day trip from Atlanta - it's about a 2 hour drive). Robyn