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Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Crowds flood big opening
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“It’s official. It’s open!”
With those words, volunteer Bryan Shaw, 36, of Duluth welcomed the first of more than 10,000 people expected at the Georgia Aquarium on Wednesday.
The world’s largest aquarium opened to the general public with fewer glitches than earlier in the week when season ticket holders tested it out and found frustrating delays trying to park, get through security and obtain laminated passes.
The aquarium’s Web site and call center, however, continued to work poorly for scores of people trying to buy tickets or make reservations.
For the hundreds of people who had already made reservations and lined up well before the 9 a.m. opening, there was little trouble making their way inside .
“Oh, it’s so much better,” aquarium Executive Director Jeff Swanagan said of how staffers handled the crowd. “I’m so happy it’s improved.” Once inside, visitors were wowed by the massive displays.
“Daddy, look at the jellyfish!” cried Christian Jones, 4, pointing above his head. The Sandy Springs child was mesmerized by the glowing jellyfish floating up and down in the dark tank while his father, Chris Jones, 32, tried to coax him to move on. The child turned to a blue, illuminated tank in the Tropical Diver gallery. “Look, more jellyfish!”
Jones, who purchased tickets online three weeks ago, said his family rode MARTA and arrived at the aquarium at 8:15 a.m. He said it took him only 30 minutes to get in when the doors opened. “I expected it to be longer,” Jones said.
Several kids flocked to the touch pool near the Georgia Explorer gallery, waiting for a personal encounter with little stingrays and bonnethead sharks. Nicolas Reich, 4, of Duluth kept his hand in the water until, all of a sudden, he felt the back of one of the sharks. “He feels, like, smooth,” the giggling child told his father, Vince Reich, 43. “He knows sharks better than his ABCs,” the father said.
Retired teacher Dianne Lockwood, 62, of Lilburn said she was pleased with the mix of education and entertainment. She especially liked the touch-screen displays in each gallery that pop up interesting facts about the more than 100,000 fish and mammals in the 500,000-square-foot facility.
“I was almost afraid I’d be disappointed. I’ve heard so much about it,” Lockwood said. “I can’t wait to bring my grandkids.”
Aquarium spokesman Dave Santucci said the facility is fully booked through the weekend.
The rush to get tickets had been fueled by the national attention the aquarium has generated. CBS, CNN, the “Good Day Atlanta” TV show and six radio stations reported from the $290 million aquarium.
Officials late Tuesday increased the Web site’s bandwidth and added a subcontractor to their call center operations. On Wednesday, however, visitors to the Web site (www.georgiaaqua rium.org) and callers continued to find trouble getting through to the aquarium (404-581-4000).
Swanagan said planning ahead is still key. “I’m encouraging people to think about Christmas through New Year’s Day,” he said.
The day also attracted protests but far fewer than the dozens Monday. Mike Vosburg-Casey, an advocate for the homeless, stood alone outside the aquarium’s exit all morning, holding up a sign that said “House people before fish” and clanging a can of loose change.
At noon, 20-year-old Micah Risk took standing up for a cause to another level, appearing topless in a mermaid costume and crammed into a small cage.
“I’m just trying to boycott the world’s largest sea prison,” said Risk, who was one of three protestors with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
But there were no security problems, security workers said, other than grumblings from some visitors whose pocket knives and cigarette lighters were taken before they entered.
Inside, a line quickly formed with kids wanting to take a photo with the aquarium’s large orange mascot, Deepo. But another line was longer. It led to Bernie Marcus, the Home Depot co-founder and aquarium benefactor.
“Thank you,” visitors called out to Marcus as they passed by. The 76-year-old billionaire, in turn, waved.
“It does my heart good,” said Marcus, who put up $250 million of the money needed to build the aquarium. “This is why I did it.”
— Staff writers Ernie Suggs and Jim Tharpe contributed to this article.
Doors open to everybody
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“It’s official. It’s open!”
With those words, volunteer Bryan Shaw of Duluth welcomed the first of more than 10,000 people expected to visit the Georgia Aquarium today.
The world’s largest aquarium opened to the general public with fewer glitches than earlier in the week.
While its Web site and call center continued to respond slowly to demand for tickets, the hundreds of people who had made reservations and had lined up outside the massive fish tank well before the 9 a.m. opening had little trouble making their way inside.
Once inside, they were wowed by the massive displays.
“Daddy, look at the jellyfish,” cried Christian Jones, 4, pointing above his head. The Sandy Springs child was mesmerized by the glowing jelly fish in the dark tank while his father, Chris Jones, 32, tried to coax him to move on.
Jones, who purchased tickets online three weeks ago, said his family took MARTA and arrived at the aquarium at 8:15 a.m. He said it only took him 30 minutes to get in when the doors opened.
“I expected it to be longer,” Jones said.
Several kids immediately flocked to the touch pool, waiting for a personal encounter with stingrays and bonnethead sharks. Nicolas Reich, 4, of Duluth, eagerly kept his hand in the water until all of a sudden he felt the back of one of the sharks. “He feels, like, smooth,” the giggling child told his father, Vince Reich, 43. “He knows sharks better than his ABC’s,” the father said.
The rush to get tickets to the hottest attraction in town has been fueled by the national attention the aquarium has generated. CBS, CNN, the “Good Day Atlanta” TV show and six radio stations were broadcasting from the aquarium, today, once again inflating interest.
Aquarium spokesman Dave Santucci said the facility is fully booked through the weekend, and only those who have made reservations are getting in. Still, many people have flocked to the aquarium’s Web site and called its offices hoping to buy tickets, only to find trouble getting through.
The Web site (www.georgiaaquarium.org) and call center were still swamped early today. Officials late Tuesday increased the Web site’s bandwith twelvefold and added a subcontractor to their call center operations. Many callers, however, were getting busy signals when they dialed the call center (404-581-4000).
Shaw, one of more than 700 volunteers working at the aquarium, was just as excited about the opening as those passing through the doors.
“I just wanted to be a part of this new great addition to this city,” the BellSouth project manager said.
Staff writers Ernie Suggs and Jim Tharpe contributed to this report.
