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DEL.ICIO.USCrowds 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.
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By Gary
November 25, 2005 10:03 AM | Link to this
Visited the “Wonderous” aquarium and found it not to be that wonderous. Average is a more appropriate term with a terrible layout for crowds to view the exhibits. I will probably not waste $23 plus $8 for parking again.
By Sam King
November 28, 2005 09:58 AM | Link to this
Beth,
You’ve got to do a story about the horrendous problems with getting tickets. I’m an annual pass holder and can’t use the internet or the phone to get a ticket. The website times out on every purchase attempt and the phone line automatically disconnects after 5 seconds of being on hold. Outrageous. Further, the phone line practically demands you use the website. That would be fine except the website doesn’t work! So frustrating.
By Mellanie
November 28, 2005 01:13 PM | Link to this
I was able to attend the Aquarium on it’s opening day to the general public. I had expected a longer delay than what was, I only waited for about 20 minutes. I was very pleased with the atmosphere, the friendliness of the staff, and the wide selection of marine life. Preparing to leave the facility, full on excitement, I exit the parking garage to face a woman wearing a mermaid suit, sitting inside of a dog cage holding a sign that said “life sentence.” I thought to myself…these animals are in fact being held in captivity….but they no longer have to hunt for food, their health coverage is better than mine, and they looked VERY well to be serving ‘such a sentence.’ The other concern I have is why so many visitors are complaining about cost. The last time I visited Six Flags, the admission was $35, it was scorching HOT and on top of that, it started to rain and the rides were shut down. But then again, I guess those people wouldn’t know anything about Six Flags either.