New World of Coca-Cola

Constance
Constance
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4 out of 5
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Editor Pick

A Day at the World of Coca-Cola

A Day at the World of Coca-Cola

Mom and I had one day to spend with my cousin Melissa, who is a school teacher, and her rugrat Molly who was going to day care the next day. Melissa suggested we visit Atlanta and The World of Coca-Cola, which had recently moved into a new building at Pemberton Place near Centennial Olympic Park and CNN. This museum is an awesome museum depicting the history of the World's favorite soft drink through photos, exhibits, movies, and other fun interactive things you can do while you are there. So after her friend's nephew was dropped off at her house by his grandmother and all of us were ready to go, we were off for a day in Atlanta.

On the way into Atlanta, we were greeted by the sight of the Atlanta skyline which was covered in haze from the hot and overcast day. Dylan and I were in the backseat of my cousin's minivan, and I was able to get some great shots of the buildings with my camera along with Dylan being my photographic assistant. The kid has a good eye for getting great shots.

After a great lunch at The Varsity Drive Through, we were on our way to The World of Coca-Cola. Melissa missed the turn to the museum and had to go around again, but we were in the Pemberton Place parking garage about 20 minutes after leaving the Varsity and took the short walk over to the World of Coca-Cola. Auntie Ruthie can't walk for long distances, so she was in a wheelchair, and that had Melissa, Molly, and her staying behind Mom, Dylan, and me most of the trip which allowed Mom and I to check out the World of Coca-Cola at our own pace. After paying for our tickets at the ticket counter ($15 for Melissa and me, $13 for Auntie Ruthie and Mom, and $9 for the kiddies), we were subject to a little bag search by security and were on our way inside. Upon entering The World of Coca-Cola, you are greeted by an awesome sculpture of huge Coke bottles decorated with images from around the world. Mom and I posed for a shot in front of the bottles along with several other groups touring the museum.

After posing by the bottles, we had a short wait to get into one of the many theaters for our orientation. You are greeted by an aweome display of Coke advertisements and memorabilia from Coke's 122-year history. Yes, Coke is that old and was invented by pharmacist John S. Pemberton in Atlanta in 1886. Our first guide Gina asked how old Coca-Cola was, and I was the one who provided the answer. Gina said, "very good!", and asked where we were from, and I told her that Mom and I had just moved to Florida from Idaho and she asked how long the trip was and wished us luck in our new home. Gina then proceeded to tell us about the history of Coca-Cola and showed us several ads from around the world that are displayed in this theater.

After this tour, we were on our own for the time being to tour the museum with the history of Coca-Cola, but before that, Mom and I had to have our picture taken with the Coca-Cola Polar Bear, that cute little guy that has warmed our hearts every Christmas in those great ads on TV during the most wonderful time of the year. Molly was freaking out at the sight of the bear, but Mom and I ignored her bawling and had our picture done (For $26, you can pick up copies of the pictures at the gift shop) and were on our way into the museum that had displays of old Coke vending machines, an old soda jerk display, and other fascinating Coca-Cola memorabilia. A lot of the displays brought back fond memories for Mom and Auntie Ruthie, and I enjoyed the displays very much, too.

After the first museum, we got to see another film on the history of Coca-Cola before going to the 4-D movie that was very entertaining. Mom, Dylan, and I sat in moving seats while the other three were in non-moving seats because of the wheelchair. Not long after the movie started, Melissa, Auntie Ruthie, and the rugrat had to leave because the rugrat was freaking out over the movie. We had to wear 4-D glasses for the movie since most of special effects looked like the objects were coming right after you! Mom, Dylan, and I really enjoyed this little film which also had water effects that would splash you a little bit.

After the movie, we got to go into the pop art museum which had paintings of Coke bottles by an artist who paints in the Andy Warhol mode. After that tour, you enter the tasting area where you can taste test over 60 Coca-Cola products from around the world. Mom and I enjoyed many of the fruity drinks that are made in places like Uganda, Brazil, and other nations. By the time I got to my favorite drink, Coca-Cola with Lime, my tummy was aching from all of the soda I tried out, and I knew I wasn't going to make it back to Douglasville without a potty run!

After all of the touring, we went into the Gift shop that has many Coke souvenirs for you to choose from. We got to take a little bottle of Coke home with us as a free souvenir, and Mom got Coke Bottle Salt and Pepper shakers and a butter dish. I got the pictures from our meeting the Polar Bear and we were on our way back home after driving by CNN and Centenial Olympic Park.

The World of Coca-Cola is open seven days a week from 8-6 for the summer and 9-5 other times of the year and is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. It's accessible by car, MARTA, and is fun for the whole family. I highly recommend it when you visit Atlanta.

From journal They Don't Call It "HOT-LANTA" for Nothing!

Better than the "Old" World of Coke

  • March 4, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Valerie_C from Lawrenceville, Georgia
Better than the "Old" World of Coke

For anyone who's been to the Old World of Coca-Cola, rest assured, this isn't the same exhibits in a new building. Although you still see the historic coke memorabilia and taste coke products from around the world, you also experience interactive exhibits, see two short movies (one is 4-D) and see a lot of cool pop-culture. The new building is beautiful, with bright colors and fun designs. The price is a little high, but it's still affordable. Possibly the best aspect of the world of coke: Active Military get in absolutely free.
Editor Pick

World of Coca Cola

  • January 5, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by travellingdave from Calgary, Alberta
World of Coca Cola

It is a little-known fact that Atlanta, Georgia is home to the Coca-Cola Corporation, the World's largest soft drink brand, in hundreds of countries.

One neat exhibit in Atlanta is not the Coke Headquarters, but the World of Coca-Cola, the World's first museum dedicated to the brown, syrupy, fizzy liquid. When I learned this, I immediately added it onto my itinerary, after all, who doesn't love Coke?

I headed to the fun neighbourhood of Atlanta Underground (but above ground) and met eyes with the fun, hip museum. I entered, paid my $7 entrance fee (using widely available discount coupons - ask any hotel), and started my self-guided tour.

First, you'll find yourself facing a huge bottling machine turned into fancy artwork. It really is impressive. The machine takes empty bottles and dances them around, through the bottling process.

After, visit the small alcove where the history of the beverage can be seen. Its origins in Atlanta will be pointed out, and how the drink was created by accident by a pharmacist, who sold the patent for a measly few pennies.

Then, you will run through the memorabilia room, seeing advertisements, license plates, and coke bottles from history. Some of them have got to be worth tons of money.

Then, things get more international, with a room dedicated to bottles from every country in the world. It's fascinating to see the global reach that this company has had.

The tour ends with a somewhat cheesy video of your favorite beverage being drank in different countries around the world. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't filmed back in the late 1980s and recycled until today.

The highlight of the tour is the tasting room, where you have the opportunity to sample coke products you know and love, as well as the "Tastes of the World" section, devoted to imported flavors not available in the USA. Some of these are the most interesting, from bitter tonic ("Beverly") to Japanese fruit punch to Sprite Ice (mint).

Enjoy your tour, it's great fun for all ages. Prices are reasonable to enter, and kids will love the free soda.

Don't miss the "jerk store" where a real life "soda jerk" will explain the concept of a soda fountain to you, and hand-pump a soda right in front of you.

An excellent, cheap Coke gift shop is towards the exit. Coke glasses are available here for $1.99 a piece.

Plan on spending at least two hours here to truly enjoy and soak up the experience. There is ample sitting area in the tasting room, so don't be shy to spend a while here gabbing and sampling all the flavors - and don't worry, bathrooms are nearby.

Visit the World of Coca-Cola online at: www2.coca-cola.com/heritage/worldcocacola.html

From journal Heart of the Peachtree State

Editor Pick

World of Coca-Cola

  • July 16, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by cr008k from San Francisco, California
World of Coca-Cola

The World of Coca-Cola was a great experience, a must for all visitors to Atlanta, especially if you have kids with you. It's a great way to kill an afternoon and get a little bit of history about one of America's favorite beverages.

The first thing we did at the World of Coca-Cola was to take the self guided tour. The first step on the tour was Creating a Classic, where you got the history of Coke. This was more interesting then it sounds—especially because you get to see this neat sculpture and learn about how Coke is bottled.

The next step was the Pause that Refreshes where you get to learn how Coke was originally made and hear some music and jingles. This is slightly annoying for adults, but kids like the cheerful music and it is interesting to see the old fashioned process.

You then get to go into a room and see history of Coke commercials—this was kind of cool, especially because Coke has always done interesting advertisements and you get to see how they have changed over the years, and some of the celebrities and things that have been in the Coke commercials. The surround sound experience is nice, and you get to sit too, which is a nice relaxing break on the tour.

Finally, you get to taste some Coke flavors—which of course, everyone has tasted Coke before, but it is still nice and a refreshing end to your tour.

After the tour, you can stop in the World of Coca-Cola store and buy everything Coke related that you could ever want—which if you don't want to buy a bunch of Coke stuff you can skip, but it is kind of cool to see all the different memorabilia and things for sale.

Overall, I'd highly recommend a visit to the World of Coca-Cola, it's a nice way to spend a day, and you get to learn about the inner workings of the soft drink world.

From journal Atlanta

Editor Pick

World of Coca-Cola

  • March 21, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by lucinda3 from Alpharetta, Georgia
World of Coca-Cola

The World of Coke is a museum dedicated to telling the story of the invention of the Coca-Cola beverage and the development of it as a global brand.

The museum tracks advertising from the 1800s to present-day. It was very interesting to see how they positioned the product over time and their challenges related to distribution. They didn't believe that bottling Coke would take off, so they sold the rights for only $1.

The best part of the museum is the tasting area. You can taste different Coca-Cola products from around the world. The most interesting one is a bitter aperitif from Europe. It was fun to watch kids trick each other into tasting the strong, unpleasant beverage (at least for most American palettes).

Touring the museum doesn't take long, unless you want to read every word about the advertising. You may also want to see the entire real of highlights from past TV commercials. You should allow about 1 to 1.5 hours to see the whole thing.

From journal Atlanta

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