So, I've lurked on here for long enough, I figure I'll give my first TR. My family (includes 4 kids, 8, 6, 3, newborn) flew Southwest from CAK to ATL for about 6200 pts each. Arrived early Sunday morning, went to the Kosher Krispy Kreme and everyone (especially the kids) enjoyed the donuts and watching them get made (and I had a snack on the way to dinner later
). The hot glazed is really delicious, when it comes right off the belt. We drove to the downtown area, figuring we would go through the Georgia Aquarium (got the CityPass, which was a good deal) and head to get something to eat and back to the hotel for a relaxing, early night. I've never been so impressed with an Aquarium, ever! Between the interactive shows, scuba divers, and the most amazing dolphin show I've ever seen, we were all exhausted after walking around the place for at least 5 hours. Unfortunately, Broadway Cafe (pizza shop) was closed while we were in Atlanta, so we went to Chai Peiking, a Chinese Restaurant inside a Krogers (we wanted to pick up a few things for the hotel). Nothing special, but plenty of Kosher in Krogers. We stayed at the Hyatt Suites Northwest. Nice hotel, real cheap with points, about 15 minutes from Kosher and activities, and plenty of room for our family (just keep in mind, that when you are at any pool, Atlanta is the #1 city for mosquitoes - make sure you get some off, as they are brutal, we all got bitten up our first day we went to the pool).
On Monday we went to the Atlanta Zoo. Nice zoo with pandas, and it includes an activity area that with the citypass we had access to. It includes a carousel (great for the 3 year old), climbing wall (which my 8 and 6 year old loved), and nice 3-5 minute train ride (great for all kids). We went to Pita Palace for lunch and took back to the hotel to eat. Fantastic schwarma, but make sure to call first, as they do run out occasionally. It's a real small place with only about 3 tables inside, and 3 tables outside, but great food. That evening we went to FuegoMundo. This is a really nice restaurant, that happens to be Kosher (as opposed to the standard Kosher place that happens to have food which some Kosher restaurants turn into). Highly recommended. Good portions, the sangria was delicious, and everyone was impressed.
Tuesday we went to the Fernbanks Natural History Museum on the CityPass. Nothing special, and wouldn't recommended it, although the included IMAX movie was nice. We tried the Publix supermarket which has a kosher "sub shop", but when we got there it was closed for lunch for an hour (this was around 1 PM). I would have thought that a sub shop would be open for lunch, but whatever... - got some food from Publix and ate in the car. We then wasted the afternoon by going to the Fernbanks Science Center (don't bother, it hasn't been updated since the 70's, doesn't have air conditioning, and took us 10 minutes to walk through, although there was no charge either). Dinner was at Pita Grille, which doesn't have as good of schwarma as Pita Palace, but they are very accommodating (especially for those who have food allergies). Good food, and plenty of space for tables and to sit and eat in the restaurant.
On Wednesday we went to Stonemountain. Expensive, but a must do. We packed food and ended up staying here from about 10 AM till 5 PM, and could have stayed longer. Great mountain to climb (or gondola to ride up), miniature golf, 30 minute train ride with actors involved in a comedic shoot-out, very impressive climbing area for kids (and adults - some of the areas are 36' in the air - not for those afraid of heights), interactive shows, 4-D movies, water climbing area, etc. At 9 PM they have a laser show they display on the mountain, but our kids couldn't stay that long (and we were exhausted). We headed to FuegoMundo again (I can't recommend it highly enough) and had another great dinner.
Thursday we went to the CNN Tour (again, on the CityPass), which was OK. Interesting to see, but nothing special (about an hour, but you may need to wait to get in), then went across the street to Coca-cola (which is where the Aquarium is as well). Kids really enjoyed, especially the end with the tasting room (100's of flavors from around the world (in the North America section almost all is kosher, for the other sections, check with the local Vaad), then went to Pita Grille, grabbed dinner, and headed back to the airport.
In recap, the must do's in Atlanta are FuegoMundo for sit down dinners, and for activities, Aquarium and Stonemountain (and maybe Pita Palace schwarma and Coca-cola tour for the kids).