Problems at the Aquarium? (Atlanta, Decatur: home, appointed, price)

[SAlexander]

Went once with no desire to go back. Spent maybe an hour. I don't think it will fold, but it could slowly become a just a big fish tank with very little attractions. For years Atlanta touted underground, and people were so let down. Underground became unsafe and unsightly and sat(yes thats past tense) directly, 50 yards, right across from the sheriff's office. So I don't think the town will care one way or the other how a fish tank does. It's up to the suburbs to bail it out.

Now if it were in Alpharetta, that's another story.

[globalnomad]

We had different groups of visitors staying with us from June 10 until July 28.

We wanted to entertain our company, so we visited the Aquarium 3 different times. It cost a small fortune and wasn't all that great.

The Georgia Aquarium is overpriced and overcrowded.

It will be a LONG, LONG time before we return.

[RoslynHolcomb]

Glad I read this thread. My MIL is visiting next week and mentioned that she wanted to take the little guy to the aquarium. We love the one in Chattanooga so we might just go to that one instead.

[CMMom]

Roslyn,

I'd say it's worth one trip. Surf around online to see whether you can get any discounts. Seniors do get a discount. My best advice is to go first thing on a weekday-whatever the earliest admission time is. As soon as you enter, do the whale shark exhibit (Ocean Voyager) before the crowd figures out where to go. Then hit the cold water exhibit for the Belugas. We did this a few weeks ago and we were the only ones in the whale shark tunnel. It becomes a complete zoo by 11:00. We got there at 9:00 and were out of there by 11:00. Lunch there is a tremendous ripoff; save the bucks and go elsewhere. The kids did have a blast, and had nothing to compare it to in terms of other aquariums.

[Homer12]

I am going to have to disagree, I thought it was Great. My twin boys, 2 1/2, absolutely loved it. We did go on a week-day on purpose so it would not be as crowded. No way you could be in and out in an hour, if so no wonder you did not like it, you missed more than half of it.

If you have kids they will love it, I actually like it as well.

[atlantagreg30127]

First of all let me say - interesting opinions.

Second, let me say, I think folks should take the time to email the Aquarium to voice their opinions about how they felt about the exhibits, viewing areas, etc. If enough folks take the time to do so, they just MIGHT listen: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/contactUs/

Third - my own view:

You have to remember, the money from this came privately from the co-founder of Home Depot (Bernie Marcus). Believe me, City leaders would never have had the vision or ability to do something like that on their own. Now, it was a big PR event when he announced $200+ million dollars for it years ago as a supposed "thank you" to the city that helped get his company off the ground, and turned him into a gazillionaire. Truth be told, let's be honest. You're rich, you're very old, and you want your name and face to live forever... so what do you do? Have an Aquarium built with money you give for it, and a nice big plaque and bronze statue of you in it, too.

But, while you're alive, you need to also do something that no one else has done before, to draw more attention to you.. er... the facility. So, you make sure it's the LARGEST Aquarium in the world! Well, actually, it just has the most water (8 million gallons - more once the expansion is complete). Having the most water doesn't make it the best. Oh, ok.. so, I'm rich, let's get some pets... er... species for it that no one else has. So, we'll hunt down some young Whale Sharks, snatch them from Asian waters, and poof - I'm...er... the AQAURIUM, is instantly famous! Yeehaw!

Forward: We have an Aquarium with more water and the largest shark/fish around. It also has no truly unique exhibit designs, the animals die off now and again, and many of the viewing ports are the size of something you'd see in a Dollywood Aquarium if they had one. Hardly "largest in the world". It is however, a success. People who have never been there WILL go at least once so they can see "the largest Aquarium in the worllllllllld" - and there's 6 billion people in the world coming here who keep having kids, so, there's no danger of it closing. They'll continue to come to see the Bronze Bernie statue... er... the exhibits. It will survive.

Personally, I drive 1.5 hours to Chattanooga when I need a fish fix. I really like the way they designed their tanks and indoor habitat areas that surround many of the exhibits. I can walk around the river area surrounding their facility and not once be asked for money by a vagrant, only adding to the pleasure.

So - remember to send those emails to ours, folks. Maybe one day it will be turned into a facility that we can all go, "I can't wait to go back there again!", instead of, "Oh - been there, done it".

[SAlexander]

Wouldn't it have just made more sense to do this in Savannah?

Why couldn't Marcus bulldozed some land somewhere and made a nice park- something that doesn't cost an arm and leg. Other cities have much better parks that people actually visit.

You know I can't tell if these two Home Depot guys have helped or hurt this place. That dufus Blank gave us Vick, and it appears this Marcus guy could be yet another moron.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

First of all let me say - interesting opinions.

Second, let me say, I think folks should take the time to email the Aquarium to voice their opinions about how they felt about the exhibits, viewing areas, etc. If enough folks take the time to do so, they just MIGHT listen: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/contactUs/

Third - my own view:

You have to remember, the money from this came privately from the co-founder of Home Depot (Bernie Marcus). Believe me, City leaders would never have had the vision or ability to do something like that on their own. Now, it was a big PR event when he announced $200+ million dollars for it years ago as a supposed "thank you" to the city that helped get his company off the ground, and turned him into a gazillionaire. Truth be told, let's be honest. You're rich, you're very old, and you want your name and face to live forever... so what do you do? Have an Aquarium built with money you give for it, and a nice big plaque and bronze statue of you in it, too.

But, while you're alive, you need to also do something that no one else has done before, to draw more attention to you.. er... the facility. So, you make sure it's the LARGEST Aquarium in the world! Well, actually, it just has the most water (8 million gallons - more once the expansion is complete). Having the most water doesn't make it the best. Oh, ok.. so, I'm rich, let's get some pets... er... species for it that no one else has. So, we'll hunt down some young Whale Sharks, snatch them from Asian waters, and poof - I'm...er... the AQAURIUM, is instantly famous! Yeehaw!

Forward: We have an Aquarium with more water and the largest shark/fish around. It also has no truly unique exhibit designs, the animals die off now and again, and many of the viewing ports are the size of something you'd see in a Dollywood Aquarium if they had one. Hardly "largest in the world". It is however, a success. People who have never been there WILL go at least once so they can see "the largest Aquarium in the worllllllllld" - and there's 6 billion people in the world coming here who keep having kids, so, there's no danger of it closing. They'll continue to come to see the Bronze Bernie statue... er... the exhibits. It will survive.

Personally, I drive 1.5 hours to Chattanooga when I need a fish fix. I really like the way they designed their tanks and indoor habitat areas that surround many of the exhibits. I can walk around the river area surrounding their facility and not once be asked for money by a vagrant, only adding to the pleasure.

So - remember to send those emails to ours, folks. Maybe one day it will be turned into a facility that we can all go, "I can't wait to go back there again!", instead of, "Oh - been there, done it".

Good Points, we all know that the Sewer Queen dubbed the aquarium as just another "Playground for Rich Folks" by Bernie, so as long as the current scrubs control the city government it will receive zero support. Coke went through the same ordeal when it moved. If we remember, Atlanta "almost" lost World of Coke and it's headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina.

It is a shame if the animals suffer due to lack of quality in care. I gather it still does bring in the crowds, but not as much as it did before. I was down there a few months ago. I think the draw to Chattanooga is the fact you have a nice aquarium in a nice area, where you can visit, walk the streets, find a nice restaurant, photograph the Choo-Choo, all without being harassed by panhandlers and carrying your wallet in your front pocket.

Again, "opinion" others will differ, but until Atlanta flushes out the poor leadership running this fare city it will not matter what there is and how many private funds build it, the tenure make be weak. As I have stated many times before the City of Atlanta has an opportunity to be a ripe peach, but until it's cleaned out the peach pit will be the reality.

Fire away

[JPD]

It's funny how people on this thread seem to think the owners of the aquarium are the same folks who are in charge of caring for the animals.

I went to the aquarium shortly after it opened. I've been to a lot of aquariums (and Sea World), including Monterey Bay, widely considered the best aquarium in the world. When I went to the Georgia Aquarium (stupid name, by the way), I though it compared favorably to other aquariums. I thought the layout was superior to other aquariums that force you to start at one point and end at another (like Chattannooga), creating crowd movement similar to a herd of cattle. The Georgia Aquarium (stupid name, by the way) allows you to choose which exhibits you'd like to see in whichever order you choose...just as the one in Monterey does. The octopus exhibit here is the best I've ever seen. The large viewing wall at the end of the whale shark tank was amazing, as was the reef exhibit and the moving sidewalk under the whale sharks. Each of those exhibits are every bit as good as anything you'll see at other aquariums.

Maybe the aquarium has gone downhill since I went. I wouldn't know.

Before we criticize the aquarium (ok, I'm now sick of typing that word) for the death or poor health of some of the animals, namely the belugas, we should remember that the Ga Aq... saved them from their previous home under a roller coaster at a Mexican theme Park where they were critically unhealthy and probably would have been thrown into a dumpster when they died a humiliating death.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by SAlexander

Wouldn't it have just made more sense to do this in Savannah?

Why couldn't Marcus bulldozed some land somewhere and made a nice park- something that doesn't cost an arm and leg. Other cities have much better parks that people actually visit.

You know I can't tell if these two Home Depot guys have helped or hurt this place. That dufus Blank gave us Vick, and it appears this Marcus guy could be yet another moron.

I agree with your statement re: parks in Atlanta...we have less park space per capita than any other major city in the US.
I do, however, have to defend Bernie Marcus, a true philanthropist whose contributions to this city extend far beyond the Aquarium.