On a cold, rainy Sunday we received tickets to the Festival of the SEAson at Georgia Aquarium, featuring SCUBA Claus, the FantaSEA in Lights, Mermaid Performance and Seaside St. Nick. Not that you really have to convince our children to go see animals. This, however, was different – we were combining Santa Claus and animals – not to mention that this was the first family trip out together in at least a month, since the entire family has been sick with stomach flu, foot & mouth or colds since mid-November. To put it simply: excitement was off the charts.
From start to finish, the staff at Georgia Aquarium made things as easy as possible for us, considering we had a four and two year old literally vibrating with excitement. Parking was closer than I expected, considering what a massive structure the aquarium is in itself. However, it was cold and raining, and GA Aquarium had staff with umbrellas helping guests from the covered part of the aquarium exterior to the front door.
As soon as we walked in our youngest noticed the FantaSEA in Lights in the Atrium, along with Seaside St. Nick. However considering they are both pretty apprehensive about Santa still, we moved on. It is nice to know he’s there though, from 11-4pm. We were lured to the Cold Water experience between the Christmas trees and the Menorah. To say that the beluga tank is large is not really doing it justice.
The belugas mirrored the excitement of the boys, which was a lot of fun to see. Next was the penguin exhibit, where our youngest wanted to run up and down the glass in front of the penguins. One penguin swimming at the time must have been attracted to his red shirt because he started following him from one end of the glass to the other – back and forth – until a crowd started to form in front of the penguin exhibit.
Back in the atrium, we packed a lunch and were able to eat before SCUBA Claus exhibit started at noon (there is another at 12:30pm, both 30min events). SCUBA Claus was in the Ocean Voyager Theater, where it was an experience just getting there. The kids were attracted to every tank and attraction on the way – but of course SCUBA Claus was the big reveal. They actually had a wetsuit made to look like the big man’s suit. We were able to stay for most of the event even, which was great.
The aquarium also has a mermaid show prior to AT&T Dolphin Tales. After SCUBA Claus we went right to the albino alligator, where we ran into an incredibly knowledgeable volunteer who was able to tell us all about alligators. The nice thing about the Georgia Aquarium is that they have probably three times as many volunteers as staff, so there is never a problem getting someone’s attention if you have a question about an animal (which for me, is often – ask my husband).
The kids were exhausted at 1:30 and we had to leave, which precipitated a large nap for small people. After the experience we had today, I just have one question: when can we go back?
We were provided with complimentary tickets to Georgia Aquarium. All thoughts are our own.
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