Wake Up with Santa

Wake Up with Santa is back at the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday, December 5, from 8 AM to 11 AM. It's one of the morning events that kick off the aquarium's holiday season, and it's held in the Oceans Ballroom, which looks right into the aquarium's largest aquatic exhibit. While you're there, Mrs. Claus and her elves set the stage for a winter wonderland, and you eventually step into Santa's workshop to meet him and have your photo taken. After that, you've got full access to the rest of the aquarium for the rest of the day.

The morning is part of WinterTide, the aquarium's broader holiday celebration, which fills the place with festive lights, music, themed animal presentations, and Santa's North Pole Village. The season's signature spectacle is Scuba Claus, who dives among the whale sharks and manta rays in Ocean Voyager, one of the world's largest marine habitats, with the rays gliding past as underwater reindeer. A new 40-foot LED tree is lit daily at 10 AM in the atrium, and Santa's North Pole Village has a gingerbread whale shark plush and a meeting with the whale shark mascot, Domino.

Wake Up with Santa runs on December 5, 13, and 20, from 8 AM to 11 AM, and it's included with general admission. If you're going on the 5th, you'll be there right as the season gets moving.