AAA Editor Notes
World of Coca-Cola is at 121 Baker St. N.W. (MARTA: Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center or Peachtree Center stations), adjacent to the Georgia Aquarium and Center for Civil and Human Rights and across from Centennial Olympic Park. Dedicated to “the real thing,” this tribute to the dark brown soft drink—which moved from its former Underground Atlanta location to the 20-acre Pemberton Place site in 2007—features more than 1,200 Coca-Cola-related artifacts that will remind you just how globally ubiquitous this product is.
The journey begins in the Coca-Cola Loft, filled with Coke logos, framed posters and all manner of memorabilia. From there visitors can trace the history of The Coca-Cola Company (chronicled in Milestones of Refreshment) and get an up-close look at the bottling process in Bottle Works.
Feel closer than ever before to Coca-Cola's most guarded trade secret and learn about the intrigue behind the secret formula in the Vault of the Secret Formula experience; visitors can see the vault where the formula is secured.
Upstairs, watching TV commercials from the past is a nostalgic trip down memory lane in the Perfect Pauses Theater (remember “I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke” sung to the tune of “I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing in Perfect Harmony”?). Coke's iconic influence is showcased in the Pop Culture Gallery. Hang on to your seat in the 4-D theater as you're taken on a breakneck quest to discover just what it is that makes Coke, well, Coke.
Don't miss Taste It!, where you can sample more than 100 different beverages from around the world. Five stations arranged geographically offer a variety of flavors unique to each region. Grab one of the small plastic cups and sip away. If you've ever wanted to know what Vegitabeta, Thums Up or Sparberry taste like, here's your chance to find out. Visitors also get to take home a commemorative bottle of you-know-what.
Food is available at the Pemberton Cafe in Pemberton Place.
Time: Allow 1 hour, 30 minutes minimum.