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Beasts all over Atlanta
Suddenly, there are big hulking beasts all over Atlanta.
Some are tall, fast, and loopy, while others are very old and fond of meat (or were, in their day).
Six Flags Over Georgia has opened two monster rides in the past year. The latest is a suspended, looping boomerang roller coaster called Dj Vu. It joins a ride called Acrophobia ("fear of heights," get it?), which drops you from a 200-foot-high tower at 60 mph. Meanwhile, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History has welcomed Giganotosaurus and Argentinosaurus, two of the largest dinosaurs ever, as part of its "Giants of the Mesozoic" permanent exhibit.
There's mellow fun, too
Dj Vu straps you into sleek ski-lift-style chairs suspended from an overhead track, then sends you up a 200-foot tower, into a 20-story free-fall, and then through a vertical loop, a butterfly turn, and up another 200-foot-tall tower. Then you do it all backwards.
Six Flags Over Georgia now has nine roller coasters. If you can eat anything after those breathtaking rides, there are more than a dozen eateries serving chicken, burgers, pizza, hot dogs, ice cream, and barbecue. Among the entertainment options are a Wild West comedy gunfight show, a Russian circus, a magician, and several other thematic shows.
The big boys from the Patagonian badlands
The Fernbank Museum of Natural History is the first museum in the world to assemble the world's largest dinosaurs, which were found in the badlands of Patagonia, Argentina. The Giganotosaurus is the largest meat-eater ever classified, checking in at 47 feet long and 8û10 tons. Its neighbor, the Argentinosaurus, measures more than 126 feet long and weighed over 100 tons, making this plant-eater the largest of all dinosaurs.
Joining them in the museum's Great Hall are two species of flying pterosaurs, a flock of 21 Pterodaustro and three Anhanguera, also of the pterosaur species. Fossils of various animal species and plants, and dinosaur and pterosaur tracks from the Mesozoic Era add to the collection, set as a major fight scene between the two giant dinosaur fossils. Also at the Fernbank are an IMAX theater and the exhibit, "A Walk Through Time in Georgia," with 15 galleries, theaters, and interactive displays covering the natural history of the state.
Planning a trip
Six Flags Over Georgia is open weekends (Saturday 10 AM to 9 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 8 PM) in September; and Friday (6 PM to midnight), Saturday (10 AM to10 PM), and Sunday (noon to PM) in October. The park is located at 275 Riverside Pkwy. in Austell, Georgia. For more information, call the park at +1 (770) 948-9290.
The Fernbank is the first major U.S. natural history museum built in a half a century. It's open Monday—Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM and Sunday from noon to 5 PM, and is located at 767 Clifton Rd. N.E. in Atlanta.