Spring Break 2012 - Day 2 - Georgia Aquarium

 

After very little sleep, (we got to bed around 5 AM) we got ready and walked over to the Georgia Aquarium from our hotel.  The plan was to get there and immediately eat lunch.  The place was packed.  It was a Saturday and spring break for lots of vacationers, like us.  We already purchased our tickets at the hotel, so we were able to skip the long line to get in.  That worked out perfect.  But, no matter how much planning you do, things never go as planned.

the entrance

The Georgia Aquarium is known for their Dolphin Tales show.  It's a Broadway like theater show with dolphins as the main stars.  Although, it's included in the price of admission, you have to stand in line to get separate tickets to see it.  They have several shows and can only hold a certain amount of people at each one.  As soon as we stepped foot inside the aquarium a lady walked right up to us and asked us if we wanted her tickets.  She had enough for all of us and she couldn't make that show.  Of course, we were grateful and we jumped on that.  It was starting in about 10 minutes, so we had to get right in there.  Fortunately, I packed a lot of snacks, because we were all starving.  We didn't realize until later that if we didn't see that show, we would have had to wait until after dinner and we would have had to stand in a long line to get tickets.  That couldn't have worked out any more perfectly.  The show was AWESOME!!!  The kids are now obsessed with dolphins. Plus, I took them to see the movie Dolphin Tale right before we left for vacation.

waiting for the dolphin show to begin-

no pictures allowed during the show

Right after the show, we headed straight to lunch, along with what felt like the entire population of Georgia.  It was crazy busy.  They have a cafe in there with several different types of food to choose from, then you pay and seat yourself.  There were no empty seats anywhere.  We had to split up.  I took Lincoln to get food for Lincoln, Jackson and myself.  John went to find seats with Spencer and Jackson.  Then he was going to take Spencer, so they could see what was available and pick out what they wanted.  John gave up on finding any seats near the cafe and went upstairs.  JACKPOT!!!  They pretty much ran out of seats up there, too.  So, they opened up the Oceans Ballroom.  There were tons of huge round tables and it didn't seem like too many people were on to this.  It was nice and quiet and roomy.  Normally, it would only be opened for catered events.  But, the best part is that it shares a wall with the Beluga tanks.  We pretty much had a private Beluga show.  It was so cool!  It was definitely a highlight of the vacation.  

Beluga kisses

she's smiling :')

After lunch, and that amazing Beluga bonding time, we all felt refreshed and ready to conquer the rest of the exhibits.  They have a lot of hands on and interactive things to do for the kids, tons of small tanks, penguins, the huge ginormous tank with the whale sharks and the biggest sting rays I have ever seen.  The place is amazing!  And, as we started exploring the different exhibits, the crowds started thinning out.  I think a lot of people came early and they were finishing as we were beginning.

Hammerheads in the petting tank

coral petting tank

SHARKS!!!

this dude looks mean!

moving sidewalk through the tank

making shark faces

on the moving sidewalk

whale sharks over head

giant sting rays

petting star fish

giant crabs

dragon sea horse

penguin kiss

Spencer looking at Lincoln in the tank-he's blurred behind the glass

We finished up with Deepo's Undersea 3D Wondershow.  It's a fun cartoon movie with moving seats, water sprays and confetti.  It was a great way to end the adventure!  This whole place was amazing.  The kids We all will be talking about it for a long time!  We're still in amazement about how the Dolphin Tales tickets were just handed to us upon arrival and our private Beluga show.  Sometimes, things work out so much better than you could ever plan.  Love it when that happens!

sporting the 3D glasses

pressing pennies