Chatter

By patrick

May 24, 2007 9:42 PM | Link to this

Can’t wait to go back. A truly magical experience. Surprisingly different from the first World of Coke!

By Wrick C

May 25, 2007 7:22 AM | Link to this

What a rip! $15 to look at old soda fountains and Coke bottles? I can think of much better ways to spend $60 taking my family out. Nothing but a tourist trap.

By David V

May 25, 2007 7:32 AM | Link to this

I agree with Wrick C. If I’m going to spend that kind of money, I’m going to the Pink Pony. Music, entertainment, great conversation. What more can you ask for for $60?

By Larry

May 25, 2007 7:53 AM | Link to this

If you are a collector of Coca-Cola items OR enjoy antiques, then this is a great place to go. Interactive displays, 4-D movie (3-D and then some), old commercials, A little something for everyone in the family. You can’t take the family to the Pink Pony!

By hdd3

May 25, 2007 10:12 AM | Link to this

There will always be people who can only see the negative side, even when there is nothing negative about a particular issue. If the new World of Coke and other Atlanta attractions bring in more revenue for the city from out of town tourists, conventioneers, etc, what is the problem? The downtown area is being revitalized (new hotels, restaurants, condos) and according to the Atlanta Police, downtown crime is declining. Fact is most attractions, in any city, are expensive. That is just the way it is. One more thing, any person who is a patron of the Pink Pony or any other strip club is a pervert and should not be taken seriously.

By Koz

May 25, 2007 10:41 AM | Link to this

What’s going to be built on that empty piece of land behind it?

By Scott

May 25, 2007 11:41 AM | Link to this

Koz - according to an article I read, that section of Pemberton Place was donated by Coca-Cola to the new Civil Rights Museum.

By Bill

May 25, 2007 6:25 PM | Link to this

They pay to see stale advertisements for colored sugar water? Give me a break people. What a waste of time and money.

By Jess Lamar

May 25, 2007 11:50 PM | Link to this

How can I become part of the team.

By Fizzled

May 26, 2007 8:10 AM | Link to this

I got to go to a preview prior to the official opening a few weeks ago. Had never been to the old one so can’t really compare the two. However, I certainly wouldn’t have paid money to go. Seeing the original Warhols was cool. The different flavors of soda was eh. I was surprised that there wasn’t more memorobilia or historic information. The opening movie (where the screen lifts) was…odd and too edgy for kids (a creature with six pierced nipples?????). The building itself is beautiful.

Save your money and go to the Aquarium instead.

By DYJ

May 26, 2007 8:18 AM | Link to this

Coke was nice enough to invite 2000 employees from my company for a preview visit, 2 weeks ago. It was OK but I would be mad if I had paid. I’m not a big Coke fan so it was only semi-interesting to me. The merchandise in the gift shop is painfully overpriced. The building is nice, clean, open. I didn’t have to hunt for a bathroom. I won’t be taking any out of town guests there. The aquarium is much better.

By Gus

May 26, 2007 8:39 AM | Link to this

I think they should put cocaine back in the New World of Coke.

By John C

May 27, 2007 8:48 PM | Link to this

Colored sugar water. BFD. Maybe the most unhealthy drink available worldwide, and this stupid city thinks that’s something special.

By chip jones

May 28, 2007 9:35 AM | Link to this

I see the point about the “colored sugar water.” However, Atlanta might not be quite what it is without the Woodruffs, who might not be quite who they are without Coke. I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say: Not that Atlanta needs anyone’s charity. Don’t drink it if you don’t want to, but let the horse get up to the trough if that’s what he wants. You know…

By Sven

May 28, 2007 9:45 AM | Link to this

I went to the WOC last Saturday (May 26th). $15 spent to watch the Coca-Cola Company’s navel-gazing orgy of narcissistic self-love. They got rid of the functioning soda fountain that was at the old joint, replacing the real people who used to work behind the counter with metallic statues. That was a shame. However, the rest of the staff, with their Orwellian all-praise-Coke saccharine smiles, are still there — along with their highly limited acting skills. That makes a visit worthwhile. Unfortunately, there’s no repeat value, unless you really like the taste of Beverly.

By Andy

May 28, 2007 5:09 PM | Link to this

What is with the recent fascination with Coke? Does the Cox family have previously lagging stock it needs to dump? Every time I open this stupid paper or website on weekend for the last month or two it’s nothing but enormous sized ‘articles’ praising Coke.

There’s no question the AJC/Manheim/Auto Trader is ‘owned’ by the auto dealers and wouldn’t dare say anything negative about a dealer or car brand but who is Coke other than yet another Atlanta icon that continues to make market changes fast enough to meet consumer demand?

Give me a break! This is appears to be a classic pump and dump media blitz to me.

Say what you want but only the next few quarters will tell…

By fred b.

May 28, 2007 10:45 PM | Link to this

People will always be negative about something. Every major city in this country has some sort of attraction to keep people coming back to the inner city so Atlanta is no different in that regard. IMO this is exactly what downtown needed to revitalize that area hence the city’s bid to attract NASCAR and their hope to open the Civil Rights Museum next door. When the aquarium opened PETA protested for the first couple of days but do you think that stopped them from drawing 5 million people in a year and a half. People have a right to their opinion of couse but if you didn’t like the experirnce don’t go back. Bottom line people will still attend regardless of the negativity.

By henry recio

May 29, 2007 2:43 AM | Link to this

What downtown needs more than a museum is a shopping area…Is anyhing ever going to become of the old Macy’s building?

By doobeedoobeedrew

May 30, 2007 1:52 PM | Link to this

The WOC is a tourist attraction - plain and simple. Whether it’s a tourist trap or not depends on your level of fascination with the mixture of sugary syrup and fizzy water. The WOC was not built for the hometown folks to patronize over and over again. Once you’ve seen it once, what on God’s earth would attract you to go back? I went to the old WOC once and never desired to go back. It’s kinda like the laser show at St. Mountain, it’s okay the first couple of times you see it, then the thrill is over.

In WOC’s defense, I imagine it’s the same for other corporate shrines in other cities (Hershey World in Pennsylvania comes to mind); the locals have been there, done that. Yawn and let’s move on.

By GAGal

May 30, 2007 10:09 PM | Link to this

Not sure how this is a gift to the city. Do they get the profits? The design certainly isn’t cutting edge. $15.00 seems pretty pricey to me just for a walk through a museum about one product. Does this one finish by dumping you into a high priced store like the last World of Coke did? Nothing I would pay to see. Coke needs to do more than this for Atlanta.

By GAGal

May 30, 2007 10:11 PM | Link to this

Not sure how this is a gift to the city. Do they get the profits? The design certainly isn’t cutting edge. $15.00 seems pretty pricey to me just for a walk through a museum about one product. Does this one finish by dumping you into a high priced store like the last World of Coke did? Nothing I would pay to see. Coke needs to do more than this for Atlanta.

By MarcG

June 5, 2007 3:32 PM | Link to this

When the original WOC opened in 1990 it was never intended to be a profit center for The Coca-Cola Company. There was a nominal admission cost at $2.50 for adults with lower price tickets for seniors, kids and students. Schools with a reservation were admitted free and received a guided tour from trained and professional staff members. The prices in the “Trademart” store were under traditional retail pricing and most of the merchandise in the early 1990s was exclusive to the WOCC. Senior Executives at the Company wanted the WOCC to be a place where guests could visit, learn about the history of the product, see how Coca-Cola was enjoyed around the world and leave with a “fizzy good feeling” about the overall experience. It was fully expected that the operation would be a cost center to the company at around $4+ million per year.

The original expected attendance according to the attraction industry experts was around 250,000. During the first 9 years of operations the WOCC Atlanta averaged around 860,000 visitors topping the 1 million mark just one time. Internally the pavillion (never used the museum word) was viewed as a HUGE success and the showcase for the company and brand.

Companies including Disney, Harley Davidson, Guinness, Sony, McDonald’s and others sent marketing teams to observe the operation and how the brand, Coca-Cola, was being portrayed.

The overall objective was to make people happy, deliver more than what was expected and to offer an experience that was unique for the time.

The exhibits were cutting edge for the time. The WOCC featured the first large screen high-definition theater in the country. There were interactive touch screen displays featuring prototypes from IBM. Guests loved watching the old television commercials that were made during a simpler time of our lives. The drinks from around the world were different and yes, “Beverly” became famous. The store sold something to one out of every three guests with an average transaction of over $6.00 per person.

The late 1990s brought a new team of experts from the GAP to “improve” upon what was working so well. Admission prices were increased along with the store merchandise. Visitors still came. There is only one former GAPPER still around.

The Company invested nearly $28 million to build the WOCC Las Vegas on one of the busiest streets in the world, Las Vegas Boulevard. The attraction was going to be bigger, better and more theatrical than Atlanta. Less that two years after opening the Company closed the doors to the attraction. The store remains open today and a restaurant occupies the leased space above.

The NEW WOCC is nice…it’s actually very “nice”. Now there is the Disney team running the show including the store. The parking deck of the new WOC actually cost more to build than the entire original WOC project.

I question why the Coca-Cola Company is charging $15.00? Yes, the $100 million project costs more to operate. Yes, there is more to see. Yes, there is more to drink (how much do you think guests actually consume - not that much. However, while the mission of the Coca-Cola Company is to create value for its share owners, I don’t believe charging valued consumers a premium is the way to do it. While I don’t advocate the facility being “free” the Company should bear the expense of the operation.

Many are comparing the new WOCC to the Aquarium which is not a fair comparison. The GA is a “for profit non-profit” with revenues going back into the operation. There are no share owners and most of the funding came from private resources and not a Fortune 50 company.

So, what’s the real difference between the “original” WOCC and the new? The uniforms are new, many of the staff are new, the prices are new, the exhibits are new and the location is new. Other than that it is still an attraction about a “brand”, albeit a great one. It’s still a drink and the Company is a still a company in business to be profitable. It’s a marketing tool that in reality is a fabulous tool to immerse and capture the hearts and minds of consumers - new and existing. It’s not a “franchise” - it’s a carbonated soft drink…..cheers!