polka dot suitcase

We knew the Georgia Aquarium was going to be a tough act to follow. But we had to keep pressing on. So after leaving the peaceful waters behind, we walked on over to the World of Coca-Cola. When you first enter, you mill about, not sure what you’re doing. There’s a countdown clock, though, so like good cattle, we obediently waited for the clock to count down and let us know what to do next.

Turns out, doors opened and we filed into the “loft,” a room filled with Coke paraphernalia from over the years. A very cheerful gal who may want to consider switching to decaf Coke shared with us a little about all the stuff in there, like a proud kid giving a tour of her attic stuff for 25 cents. After that, we were herded into a theater to watch an animated flick about what happens when a coin drops into a Coke machine. (It was far more entertaining than this sounds.)

Finally released from the theater, we were on our own to self-tour the rest of the rooms — a 4D movie loaded with odd and gratuitous effects (but the screamers in the row behind us sure seemed to get into it); a “real” bottling facility; a history of Coke itself. And then, the final destination, and the whole reason Mister agreed to go on this trip at all. I think if they had an angel choir singing when you first walked into this room, that wouldn’t be too extreme. Because in this room — the “Tasting Room” — were over 60 taste-testing stations of Coke products from all over the world.

Now, if you’ve been to the one in Disney World, you think that’s Da Bomb. But that’s an extreme Minnie version. Here, you could drink yourself to beyond bladder capacity within five minutes (and we did). There’s the flaunted Beverly from Italy that everyone loves to gag over and the old familiars like grape Fanta. Each of the kiosks represented a different continent and its drinks. And then the piece de resistance (imagine appropriate accent marks over the appropriate letters — can’t figure out how to do that here) — in its own room, all the varieties of Coke itself. Lime, vanilla, decaf, recaf, half-calf, there it all was. It was a burping mecca.

After a quick trip to the bathrooms, we were given a small bottled Coke to take home and we were on our way. Worth it? I’d say so. If you’re already visiting the aquarium — which you must — then include a trip over to the World of Coca-Cola. I’m not a huge soda fan (and here’s a secret: I prefer Pepsi), but it was a fun walk through Americana on a hot day. (Burp!)