• How to get there

(ENLARGE)
Babyland General Hospital is a birthing center for dolls -- but they prefer to be called babies.
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WHY GO

Babyland General Hospital is where Cabbage Patch Kids are born.

HISTORY

Most people met Cabbage Patch Kids at Christmastime 1983, when parents stormed stores for the must-have gift of the season. But artist Xavier Roberts created the needle-molded fabric "sculptures" in the 1970s, calling them Little People and selling them at craft fairs and art shows.

In 1978 he opened Babyland in a turn-of-the-century medical clinic and incorporated his company. Four years later, Roberts changed the name of the hand-stitched babies and licensed his new Cabbage Patch Kids to a toy company for mass production. The babies (the company gets offended if you call them dolls) were an instant success. Roberts' business, which employs 300, was credited with salvaging Cleveland's economy and creating a tourism market.

FOR KIDS

Self-guided tours take wide-eyed kids (mainly girls) through baby nurseries, a school, a playground and other rooms filled with Cabbage Patch Kids of all shapes and sizes. The tour culminates at the cabbage patch nestled under the Magic Crystal Tree. Licensed Patch Nurses (LPNs) administer healthy doses of TLC and Imagicillan to birth one-of-a-kind babies from a head of a cabbage.

WHAT TO KNOW

Have a talk with the little ones before you go. They will want a baby, and the tour feeds into a mesmerizing gift shop. "Adoption fees" for most of the hand-stitched babies range from $170 to $190 if fully clothed. The price includes the birth and adoption proceedings. The toy version of the kids are on sale in the gift shop starting at about $30. You don't have to buy a baby to enjoy the tour, though. Plan to spend 60 to 90 minutes seeing everything. Feel free to let your daughter bring in her Cabbage Patch Kid — the nurses will put a visitor tag on the baby.

DON'T MISS

Little Bit of Everything. This antiques and gift store next to Babyland General has a cool display of Cabbage Patch Kids collectibles. Helen is 10 miles away, if you are up for tourist shopping in a Bavarian-style village.

REFRESHMENT

Nurse Wanda recommends West Family Restaurant on Ga. 75 toward Helen. It's a traditional country fare buffet, but there are kids' specials and you can order off the menu.

LOCATION

73 W. Underwood St., Cleveland, GA 30528

DIRECTIONS

Take I-20 or I-285 to I-85 north to I-985 north; take Exit 22 and turn left; right on Ga. 11; right on U.S. 129 to Cleveland, then follow the Babyland General signs.

HOURS

9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays.

INFORMATION

706-865-2171, www.cabbagepatchkids.com