Touring The World of Coca-Cola -- Atlanta Georgia

It's been a few years since I have visited Coca-Cola World in Atlanta, but every time my husband and I have driven through Georgia, I have told him we need to visit there sometime as he has never been.

I was at a convention in Atlanta, and this was back when Coke had the rewards program going.  You could turn in points for a ticket into the museum.  This is what I did, and so the visit cost me nothing.  However, Coke Rewards is a thing of the past, and the current admission price is $17 for adults.  This is very high by my "Small Budget" standards.  Even so, I still recommend this because it is a couple hours entertainment.  Plus, this is not something you can do just anywhere, you have to be in Atlanta to visit.

I have always loved seeing where things are made,  pop culture (no pun intended -- okay so pun was intended), and I've always loved junk food and sugary snacks (and my waist line shows it.)  I also love Christmas, and where better to visit than the factory of the company who invented the American Santa Claus?



The tour did not disappoint.  There were a couple short films-- including one in a 4-D theater (if you have never been to a 4-D film, that's something I highly recommend) There were items about Olympics -- I even got to touch one of the Olympic torches!  Plus the historical items.  I sell on eBay, and all I could think was how much money some of those items were worth (and some were honestly priceless.)  My absolute favorite item in the whole museum was an early advertisement where Coke was sponsoring A Charlie Brown Christmas.  It was first shown in 1965, and the ad said it was returning to TV, so it's not from the very first showing, but I would say it likely was from the 1960s.

It was fun to see the "Old Coke", "New Coke", and "Coca-Cola Classic" cans.  For those who don't remember, in the 1980s, the formula to Coke was changed.  I was on my 6th grade field trip when I tried the "New Coke".  I hated it, as did much of my class.  Our sentiments pretty much echoed what America thought of the new formula.  Before long, there was "Coca-Cola Classic" brought out (but not before the few remaining old Coke formula drink had garnered high prices with people selling through classified ads.)

My favorite room was the sampling room.  There are region specific flavors of drinks they bottle, and I found myself mainly hanging out at the Asian flavors.  My favorite was Fanta Melon Frosty from Thailand!  My least favorite, by American taste, was the drink Beverly which is popular in Italy.  I even was able to taste Tab.  That was a favorite of my mother, and I hadn't tasted it since the early 1980s.