Stone Mountain, GA?

Aquarium might work for the little ones and it is inside so you don't have to worry about heat stroke. Check the dome and area convention centers for boat shows, etc. August is HOT so try for inside or water based stuff.

We went to Elijay, about an hour north of Atlanta a couple of times, we rented cabins. There is fishing, boating, horseback riding, lots of fun and very pretty area. It's not too far to Chattanooga, you could make a day trip there to the aquarium and the Chattanooga Choo Choo.

Terilyn has a great suggestion. The aquarium in Chat is great (we've gone twice) and the I-Max theater adjacent to it usually has a great show. The kids would love the train ride up the mountain where you can see 5 (?) states. Don't know about a major airport your daughter could fly into. Maybe Terilyn knows???

You used to could get special tickets for Dollywood and
Whitewater combined. Whitewater is just north of Atlanta.
It was quite a discount if I remember correctly.

There is also Dahlonega, site of the first gold rush.
Underground Atlanta is a big shopping mall that is fun.
Stone Mountain with the tram and the train ride around the mountain.
Also Chickamauga Battlefield National Park.

Take a look at the link below.

Pooh Bear

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.exploregeorgia.org/

thanks all. Been checking websites all day. DH overruled me and booked a cabin in Pigeon Forge. His excuse is that we know there is plenty to do there for the kids.... :( I wanted to see something different.
terilyn... i found some cabin sites in Ellijay and Blue Ridge. It looks really pretty there. I also saw a site about Helen, an alpine village. I think I want to go over there after we have our vacation in PF with the grandkids,,, will not be that far to drive to check out north georgia.

Atlanta has:

Six Flags over Georgia

Whitewater - water park (with an amusement park for young kids next door)

Aquarium - the aquarium is very nice

Coke Museum

Stone Mountain - water slides, cable cars, duckmobile, riverboat ride, shops, etc.

Lots of shopping - Atlantic Station downtown has lots of restaurants and stores including Ikea, but not outlet stores like Pigeon Forge. I think there are some nice exhibits going on down there right now, too, but I don't know what they are. There's other shopping all around Atlanta, lots of outlet malls around the fringes of Atlanta if you know where they are.

Atlanta Braves baseball

Fernbank Museum of Natural History (kids like the dinosaur skeletons)

Atlanta has an art museum and other art venues and a history museum, but you may not want to do those things with young children in tow.

Olympic Park has a big fountain the kids like to play in.

If you feel like driving to north metro Atlanta, the Mall of Georgia is nice. There are often concerts outdoors beside the mall, lots of shopping and restaurants. In Duluth there is a train museum that is probably nice if you have a young train enthusiast. It's been years since we went, but my son loved it when he was little and crazy about trains.

Other attractions that I've heard are nice but aren't as kid friendly are touring the historic Fox Theater (or taking in a show there, and sometimes in the summer they have movies there that are very affordable) and touring the TBS studio or CNN studio.

I don't know where you'd rent a cabin with a pool in the Atlanta area. Instead of Pigeon Forge you might try Gatlinburg. It's in the mountains and within driving distance of Dollywood. Gatlinburg might be a little closer to Atlanta than Pigeon Forge, it might cut an hour off your drive (I don't know).

If you just want to rent a cabin and relax, you might try Calloway Gardens. It is nothing like Pigeon Forge, but there are cabins, bike trails and bike rentals, beautiful gardens, a lake with a beach, it's very close to Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park (as in you could easily bike to it). I think there's an animal safari type attraction over there, too. But it is nowhere near as built up as Pigeon Forge and there's no amusement park. There's not a lot of shopping and few good restaurants.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Don't forget the Atlanta Ballet - they usually have a kid-friendly performance going on - you might get to see my niece performing - her dad is the artistic director there.

I just came back from a tip to Elijay last week. We did a lot of hiking and also tried river tubing-lots of fun! I don't think there would have been much to do with babies though.

The last time we stayed in Pigeon Forge they were building a water park in Westgate.

When my DD lived in Atlanta, we went to Helen. I LOVED it! Picturesque, little (I mean little) town just like a little German village (I traveled in Germany for 6 wks.) Atlanta would be the closest airport. Probably not much for the young'uns to do, but this grown-up loved the laid-back relaxed experience. We lived in Jacksonvile, FL and LOVED the south Georgia coastal towns (St. Simon's Island is a great mix of old South & upscale new -- DS & DDIL lived there for 2 years when he was in the Coast Guard.) Jekyll Island has a terrific water park. Jacksonville is the closest airport for both.

Jennava, Helen would be fun for all ages. Every building (even the McDonald's) is built like a chalet. Kids of all ages love tubing down the Chattahoochee. The town is mainly little shops--they have a neat Christmas shop. The restaurants serve a lot of German food which ranges from not-so-good to tasty. We used to go there when friends came up to Hiawassee to camp with us. The men would go to the Troll Bar (called that because you walk under a bridge to get to it). They'd sit out on the patio on the river and watch the tubers go by and have a couple of brewskis while we ladies took in the shops. We'd meet them for lunch at the Troll Bar--they had a great smoked rainbow trout salad!

Not far from there is Oconee State Park with Anna Ruby falls. It's a pretty long hike (at least for me) but it's paved and the triple falls are just spectacular. There's also an interesting miniature golf course and other things for kids, a winery, grist mill--lots of things to do in the area. Nearest airport would probably be Atlanta--clear on the other side of Atlanta from Helen--about 1-1/2 hour drive.

Weather is usually cool, especially the evenings. It's beautiful country.

trying to reply to these posts, keeps kicking me out..... :(

Daisyinga... thanks for the Atlanta info. SOunds like a good vacation for just DH and myself.

Sorry for all the short posts... try to type a long one, GW kicks me out again and again