Illuminarium Atlanta — Attraction in Atlanta

I found the Illuminarium online. Thought it was an original idea and bought a pair of tickets for 'After Dark'. For about $160 (full package), my thinking was that it would be like a dinner at a really nice, upscale restaurant and a movie. I was wrong and very underwhelmed.

Let me start by saying the food was actually pretty good. However, the menu was curious. They had something called a Puree and another called Garlic potatoes. They were both mashed potatoes. The establishment was almost full when we were seated. Yet, we were given our appetizers before a couple who'd been there before us. I felt bad for them and mentioned this to the waiter. I feel like that set up what was next because he wanted a steak that was well-done and I wanted med-rare. Well, I think the staff (waiters and cooks) ...in an effort to make sure the other couple got their food first... gave the guy a med-rare steak (my steak). He sent it back and that delayed everyone's order. My date and I nearly passed out from hunger and were served last. (no good deed...)

Despite the tickets being for a predetermined time (6:30p) I felt as though the service staff were unprepared for us. Everyone was extremely nice and the place was very clean, but the dining room was barely decorated for a 'Winter Wonderland' motif. In fact it looked like a high-school cafeteria with flimsy orange chairs and garbage cans against the wall as if diners were supposed to clean their own tables and throw stuff away. Even though this was definitely not the case, the garbage cans and chairs did not leave me with the feeling of dining in an upscale establishment. It felt like a low-effort cafe.

Next was the main attraction, the Winter Wonderland laser/projection show. This was nice and very beautiful. There is two rooms with the first having complementary champagne and the second an open bar. Our package came with two (2x) free drinks in addition to the champagne. We indulged in the drinks while taking in the visuals. It was all very nice.

After about 20 minutes or less, there was not much new to see. I was left feeling like I was in a bar with no music. The attraction, visuals and experience was all very nice and beautiful, but there wasn't anything left to take in and there wasn't any other activities to engage in that would occupy our attention. There was Xmas music but not exactly the type of music you can dance to. So we left. I felt as if we could have had a better time at a bar like Taco Mac and gone to see a movie.

Let me also end this by saying, this place is extremely hard to find. GPS doesn't do it justice and none of the Illuminarium's business neighbors even know who they are. We stopped in a Tattoo parlor because there was a billboard in their parking lot for the Illuminarium ... they had no idea who or what the Ilumminarium was. We were never in danger but ended up walking almost a mile through a questionable neighborhood before we found it and when it was all said and done I had gotten a $75 parking violation. There were no 'no parking' signs (it was night) and I would have gone back, moved my car and used valet, but at this point we were running late and I was just glad I wasn't towed.

Don't waste your money. If you're curious just by the least expensive package. Still even that's...

FULL REVIEW Illuminarium is a very big room with 4K laser projectors on the walls and floors with a surround, deep-bass sound system and ostensibly odors themed to what's projected. The visual and sounds are what you're there for. It's the experience of large scale, high color, crisp projections that constitutes the "art" of the experience. We were there for SPACE.

You start in a smaller room for a pre-view/introduction: still with good projections and sounds. After this 5-ish min. intro you move to the big room. SPACE starts with rocket launches from earth to space, then the Apollo mission moon landing. Then it moves to a futuristic moon, the other planets, into outer space with Nebulas and more. Then loops back to the beginning. You might enter the room part way through the loop so you leave whenever you want or after you've seen what you walked in with.

There's occasionally text on the wall with some facts about what you're seeing but for the most part it's slow moving asteroids, planets, fly-bys, nebulas, ships, stars, etc. accompanied with music (contemporary as well as thematic) that can often be felt. (They claim all 5 senses are engaged.)

You're free to walk about the room (I said it was big, right?) sit in limited cushy seating, take pictures and video (but don't touch the walls), talk, etc. The only interactive part is occasionally the floor projection would create foot prints where you walk or you could crush asteroids if you step on them. (Kids liked this part the best.)

PROS: If you like art, space (or animals or whatever they're showing), standing/walking, deep bass sound, and want the experience, then this is a fantastic experience. I enjoyed it for the most part. But now that I've seen one, doubt I'd want to see another version (just not my thing). The timed entry with tickets (that they never checked or scanned) means the rooms aren't too crowded and it's easy to move around. The staff was ultra friendly, and knowledgeable: don't hesitate to ask them questions. It's only 45 minutes long and the loop means you can see it all.

CONS: The big room wasn't rectangular: it's L-shaped. So it was difficult to see everything without walking around. I bet this experience is meant for a rectangular room and this is where they found in Atlanta to perform it. (the reason I gave it 4 stars). All ages were there but IMHO this is best for middle-school age and up. The youngsters got bored until the floor asteroids came out then they loved RUNNING around to break them up (just 2-3 minutes of it). But it was only 45 minutes long so not awful for them I hope. We didn't experience any of the odors as advertised (Yes, my smeller works).

The negatives certainly don't outweigh the pros. If this is your jam or want a family outing/date night, you could do worse.

The building is in downtown Atlanta (near 5 Points / Jimmy Carter Library) and not difficult to get to with Google Maps. There was plenty of paid parking when we were there ($3.75/3-hours) but I can imagine it getting full on weekends with the other businesses there. It's right on the Beltline--get there early or stay after for a stroll to some art. There's an onsite cafeteria (alcohol for the adults) as well as 1 or 2 restaurants in the facility. Don't forget...

Super cool honestly. I saw space after dark and enjoyed being able to experience the illuminarium with a 21+ crowd only. Surprisingly there was a bar and a (really good) DJ. The first room you enter for after dark shows is sorta like small club. There's a dance floor, a bar, DJ, seating for you to order drinks or food. All while being surrounded by a loop of projected spaceship/astrology/and moon visuals. Like a fool, I thought that was the only room for half of my time there. I was disappointed that the room only had a small loop of visuals (maybe 10minutes). Eventually I walked towards what I thought was the "exit" only to find myself in a much larger room with far more stunning projections. The vibe was substantially more chill in this main room. The projection sequence played on a loop. It is about 30-45 minutes of content. I enjoyed the music accompanying the projections. There was a lot of educational content which I deeply appreciated. I learned a lot about our solar system and space in general as well as about space travel. I appreciated that information was included on Russian, Chinese and Canadian space travel. The non eurocentric focus was smart. The scale of it all is really "illuminating." Being able to walk on the moon or face off with Saturn was stunning. There was really comfortable seating (sorta like bean bags in shape and form but not composed of beans). I imagine this experience would be breathtaking on a wide range of substances, especially psychedelics. The staff were very chill and seemed to enjoy the venue themselves a lot, sometimes they'd dance to the music. The space was clean. I did not check out the bathrooms though. There's a robust gift shop and restaurant with outdoor seating as well. This would be a great place for a date. Mostly everyone at the after dark show were couples although a small group of singles were in the club area turning up. I arrived 2 hours before closing. I assume if you want a more chill and less romantic experience that's still adult only, to arrive earlier when they open up the evening show. The ticket prices are adequate although they could be cheaper. The food is expensive inside the illuminarium but I'm not sure about the adjacent restaurant as I didn't...