With winter just around the corner, Stone Mountain Park prepares to celebrate the holidays with more than 2 million lights and lots of snow. The Atlanta attraction, commemorating its 50th anniversary, unveils its popular holiday event, Stone Mountain Christmas Nov. 7 to Dec. 30 and opens Atlanta’s first snow park, Snow Mountain Dec. 31. Featuring three football fields of deep snow including a 400 foot tubing hill and a 30,000 square foot play area, Snow Mountain opens New Year’s Eve and continues weekends through March 1.
“For the past seven years, Stone Mountain Christmas has offered Atlantans a spectacle of lights, parades, entertainment, shopping and foods where families delight in the holiday spirit,” said Gerald Rakestraw, vice president and general manager of Stone Mountain Park. “With the addition of Snow Mountain, a first-of-its-kind snow park in Atlanta and the Southeast, Stone Mountain Park stays true to its mission of bringing families together in the great outdoors.”
Stone Mountain Christmas light display illuminates Crossroads® village at the base of Stone Mountain. Guests can board The Polar Express 4D Experience, where the scent of hot chocolate fills the Theatre. Enjoy the many sounds of traditional and contemporary Christmas carols during two musical reviews: A Hometown Holiday and Kickin’ Up Christmas. Each evening, parents and kids can gather to welcome Santa Claus during the nightly parade featuring five lighted floats and favorite holiday characters. End the night with Stone Mountain Christmas’s own Snow Angel. New for 2008, the Snow Angel flies high in the sky over Crossroads waving her magic wand creating snow and fireworks. Additional entertainment includes the holiday favorites, A Crossroads Christmas Carol and the Christmas Story performed during the five-mile train ride around the base of the mountain. An array of unique shopping is also available for guests looking to purchase the perfect gift.
Beginning New Year’s Eve, Atlantans will be able to play in guaranteed, real snow. Snow Mountain is Atlanta’s first snow park and allows the young and young at heart to connect with their inner child. Situated on what is commonly known as the “laser lawn,” the family snow park includes 11 tubing runs, special places to make the ultimate snow men and snow angels, a snowball making zone and a play area for younger kids. In addition, the snow park has various sites from which to view the activities including an observation area, a group of warming chalets and bonfires for roasting marshmallows and making s’mores.
To create the attraction, Stone Mountain Park will use a closed loop system that borrows water from Stone Mountain Lake and will not tap into city water.
“Research indicated our guests enthusiastically welcomed Snow Mountain particularly if it’s created in an environmentally friendly way,” Rakestraw said. “Nearly 40 percent of Atlantans have never experienced snow as a family unit, and nearly 70 percent of Atlanta kids have never seen significant snow. This is a great way for families to take a winter vacation without driving far from home.”
The two winter attractions will round out the holiday season at Stone Mountain Park. Stone Mountain Christmas is open weekends Nov. 8-Dec. 14 and nightly Dec. 19-Dec. 30 and will be closed Dec. 24 and 25. The holiday attraction will also be open Thanksgiving week beginning Nov. 25. Tickets for Stone Mountain Christmas are $20 (plus tax) for adults and $17 (plus tax) for kids 3-11. For more information on Stone Mountain Christmas, visit stonemountainpark.com.
Snow Mountain tickets go on sale Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. but advanced ticket offers are available by registering at snowmountainpark.com. Tickets are $25 for adults and kids 3 through 11 and are for timed entry. The snow park is open to all ages. To tube, guests must be 42 inches or taller. Advanced reservations are strongly recommended. Snow Mountain opens New Year’s Eve and weekends through March 1. For information on the new attraction, visit snowmoutainpark.com.
Listed in Frommer’s 500 Places to Visit with Your Kids Before They Grow Up and cited by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as one of “35 Natural Wonders in Georgia You Must See…,” Stone Mountain Park is located just 16 miles east of downtown Atlanta. To get to the park, take I-285 to Exit 39B, Hwy 78 East. Stone Mountain Park is Exit 8 on Hwy. 78.
www.stonemountainpark.com
Labels: Georgia Stone Mountain Park, snow mountain
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Brian Vanderhoff @ 9:56 AM
