World of Coca Cola

Saturday we visited the World of Coca Cola in Atlanta. Many people (natives and visitors) suggested we visit here, my parents and Jody's Mom were in town this weekend so we decided to all go :) My absolute favorite pop (soda for you southerners) is Coke so what an awesome place to visit!!!

I'll give you some background...The original Coca-Cola Formula was created by John S. Pemberton, a respected pharmacist, on May 8, 1886 (just a few blocks from where the World of Coca-Cola stands today). He was looking for something unique to refresh customers who were coming into soda fountains in the late 19th century.

Here are some fun facts about Coca-Cola:

*Rights to bottle the beverage were purchased for $1.00 by Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead from Chattanooga, TN.
*Sprite was created in 1929, Fanta in 1941 and TAB in 1963.

*Diet Coke was introduced in 1982, the first extension of the Coca-Cola trademark.

*The first change in formulation in 99 years took place in 1985 with the introduction of New Coke.

*In 1985, astronauts tested the "Coca-Cola Space Can" onboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. The Space Can featured a special drinking nozzle and a Velcro strip for sticking the can to the space shuttle wall.

*Before it goes to market, each Coca-Cola product undergoes nearly 450 different tests to ensure that ingredient and packaging quality meets the Company's standards.

*The Coca-Cola contour bottle shape is so distinctive it can be recognized in the dark and is one of the few physical objects granted a trademark by the U.S. Trademark Office.
*Today over 450 brand exist worldwide, and you can find Coca-Cola even in the farthest corners of the globe.

*90% of construction waste in building the World of Coca-Cola was reused or recycled.

*If all the Coca-Cola ever produced were put into 8-ounce contour bottles, there would be more than six trillion bottles stacking 468 miles high.

When you enter the World of Coca-Cola there are two levels....

Level 1...

Area 1: Lobby

Area 2: Coca-Cola Loft-Heritage of Coca-Cola, artifacts from yesterday and today.

Area 3: Happiness Factory Theatre-Gives a glimpse of the magic that goes into every bottle of Coca-Cola. A very cute animated movie the kiddos really enjoyed and we adults thought it was pretty funny too!

Area 4: Coca-Cola Polar Bear-Meet and have your pictures taken with the most beloved character.

Area 5: Coca-Cola Connections-Discover hot the global reach of the Coca-Cola system connects people around the world. A movie that shows how Coca-Cola is distributed to the world, by boat, airplane, on foot, by bicycle...

Area 6: Milestones of Refreshment-Revisit the fascinationg story of The Coca-Cola Company and it's products, walk through history.

Area 7: Bottle Works-Step into the center of a real bottling line and get a behind-the-scenes view of the actual bottling process. This was my favorite sign, who knew it was this easy?

Level 2...

Area 8: In Search of the Secret Formula 4-D Theater-We followed an eccentric scientist and his assistant on their quest to uncover the secret formula of Coca-Cola, a multi-sensory movie expereience. We wore 3-D glasses, got sprayed with water, blasted with air, poked in the back by stingers, and were thrown all around by the moving seats, Lizzy didn't like it too much but Jack was amazed!
Area 9: Pop Culture Gallery-see how your world has celebrated the Coca-Cola brand and made it an icon of popular culture.

Area 10: Perfect Pauses Theater-Relive the best of Coca-Cola television advertising throughout the years and from around the world. The kiddos really enjoyed the animation moments and songs.

Area 11: Taste It!-Take your taste buds on a trip around the world, sampling 64 different beverages. This was the best part of the tour!!!

Anna thoroughly enjoyed her tasting, note the redish stains on her face from the drinks (like a Kool-Aid mustache) :)

Area 12: Coca-Cola Store-Take the excitement of Coca-Cola home with clothing, collectibles, gifts and custom-styled bottles. This place was huge and circular in shape.

And that is the end of our Open Happiness Tour, notice we are all holding our FREE Cokes, even Jack :)