Atlanta Zoo - A Georgia Jewel

The Atlanta Zoo is a great place to spend three maybe four hours with the kids, or perhaps a nice place to ramble nearby for a few hours with a date.

This Atlanta attraction is mostly geared towards kids from about age five to say twelve. Kids younger than five most likely won't get it, and will bore swiftly as will any older kids.

Train Table For Kids

There are a lot of exhibits both interactive, and just static that need reading. There are rides for the kids such as the Blue Flame express which is a train ride going all nearby the Zoo, the rock climbing wall, and the carousel.

There are six small cafes scattered nearby the Zoos walking path serving whatever from snacks, to Icee's, to chicken fingers, hot dogs, and sandwiches.

There are a few areas that I legitimately enjoyed such as the bird sanctuary. This is an exhibit were when you walk in; you are surrounded by Parakeets flying all nearby you, and perched on tree limbs. The birds are so close to you that you can legitimately interact with them. This is a great exhibit if you are a photographer wanting very close up shots of parakeets, as well as for bird lovers that want to pet the birds. This is one exhibit that will undoubtedly bring some magic to kids as well as adults.

Another nice feature about the Atlanta Zoo is that about 80% of the walking areas are very well shaded, making it the excellent place to hang out with the kids even on those legitimately hot days. There are some well-shaded picnic table areas.

If you come here to photo animals, make sure you bring a legitimately good zoom lens. Most of the animals keep a fairly good length from the viewing stations making it very difficult to get good shots. Also be aware, that throughout the day, many of the animals are fully inactive, which makes a lot of the animal viewing areas a bit less than thrilling to young children, especially when parents have to point out a sleeping animal that's a hundred or more yards away.

The pricing for the Atlanta Zoo as of this write up is nearby .00 plus tax for adults, which I found a bit steep, and if you plan on eating here, the food and drinks prices are insane. .75 for a drink, and like .00 for a hot dog. I would propose bringing a small backpack with some sandwiches, and a few bottled drinks.

They also get you on the rides at .50 each, so if your not careful, especially more than one child, you can wind up spending a lot of money and most likely being disappointed in the return.

If you have some children, you may want to opt for the fun pass, which can be shared among all children, which gives you 10 ride tickets for .00.

Make sure you call ahead and ask what rides are shut down for the day, the day I visited, the train was shut down for the day, which may well be the feature for many children.

You may also want to think visiting the Cyclorama, which is right next door to the Zoo, but be aware, that the Cyclorama is concluded on Mondays.

Also, the Atlanta Zoo offers a variety of events such as the Halloween Boo at the Zoo, the Christmas visit with Santa, and the house Nightcrawlers where parents and children spend the night at the zoo with themed overnights.

Atlanta Zoo - A Georgia Jewel