If you're expecting to take the kids on a tour of Tara on your Atlanta visit, think again. Sure, this is the Deep South, but Tara doesn't exist, nor does anything remotely like it. Modern Atlanta is just that: modern. It's a gigantic metropolitan area that visitors often find confounding, especially when traveling with children. Take a deep breath, prepare to sit in traffic a while and know there are plenty of things to do that won't bore the young ones in your clan to tears.
The thought of going to a museum while on vacation may garner eye rolls and heavy sighs from most kids, but Atlanta has two with major kid appeal: The Center for Puppetry Arts and Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta. At the Center for Puppetry Arts, kids can see, learn about and play with puppets from around the world and throughout history. The permanent collection contains some of Jim Henson's original Muppets. There's also a theater where classic stories are staged with puppets. Imagine It! is a full-on interactive museum where creativity is encouraged and "Please Touch" is the motto. There's a padded toddlers zone designed for the 2-and-under set -- shoeless parents allowed, of course.
If you only have time to visit one destination with kids in tow, downtown's Centennial Olympic Park is it. Two of Atlanta's major tourist attractions -- the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola -- are inside the park, both sure to pique the interest of even your skeptical tweens who may just raise their heads up from their mobile devices to check out the action. A glass tunnel cutting through the main tank of the aquarium lets visitors see what walking along the ocean floor might look like. The Coke museum ends at a tasting room for sampling exotic soft drinks from around the world. The centerpiece of the park is the Fountain of Rings with its dancing waters. This is a fountain you can play in, so pack swimsuits.
The Atlanta metro area has two major, longtime amusement parks: Six Flags Over Georgia and White Water. The latter is a water park with all manner of thrill slides and other water-based attractions, including a lazy river and splash-zone areas safe for supervised toddlers and younger kids. Replete with thrill rides galore, including multiple roller coasters, Six Flags Over Georgia has been a favorite with families from around the Southeast for decades. Both parks are closed in the winter months.
One of Georgia's most iconic attractions -- Stone Mountain -- is a go-to spot for locals and tourists alike, especially families with kids. Stone Mountain Park contains not only that famous, mammoth hunk of exposed granite but a scenic railroad, a lake and many amusements geared toward children. You can hike to the top of the mountain or take an aerial tram. Geyser Towers, an easy, safe ropes course, snakes through a giant, gushing geyser. To see the wow factor in your kids' eyes, an impressive outdoor laser light show occurs most nights, weather permitting.
