We did not go to nationals last year. But we did attend the year before in Houston. There we got to go to Six Flags at night and had a great time. What is there to do in Atlanta? Are there things set up for the students to do after the daily compitition or do we need to find things ourselves?
Well I don’t think that they have something set up for every day. But I remember that at the Championships in Atlanta, they had the “team social” on Saturday, I believe. I can’t tell you where it was because my team did not go 
. But I’m sure that wherever it was, its sure to have been a lot of FUN! 
From what I remember:
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday teams had to find thier own activities to do. Wildstang went to The Varsity Drive-In and then bowling on Wednesday. Thursday we went to Atlanta Underground for dinner & Shopping. Friday, we caught a bus from the Underground to the Braves game against the Marlins. Saturday there was a huge rap party at Centennial(Sp.?) Park. The party included carnival stuff, tons of food, live entertainmnet, arcade games, and ended with fireworks. If you stay at the Omni hotel, the Underground & bus stop is about a 5 min walk away. Centennial park is right there, and so is the Georgia Dome. That’s where we stayed, and it worked out pretty well. Other things to do while in Atlanta:
Six Flags over Georgia
Coca-Cola world museum
CNN Headquarters tour(in Omni Hotel)
etc.
Atlanta is Good
The most memorable thing for me to do in Atlanta after the competition was to ride those jet-powered elevators in the Westin. Those things are a blast! Atlanta Rocks!
The party at the end was alright… There were long lines for a goofy inflatable punching ring (hilarious, none the less), and a special hypnotism show ( ). Never miss the chance to see the hypnotism show! That was amazing! (Not to mention double hilarious). Then at the end there was a recap of nationals on a bigscreen with fireworks shooting out in the background (AKA the fireworks show). Nonetheless, it was FUN!
Three words about the Georgia Dome: Too many escalators! :yikes:
Did anyone try that pop over at the Cocoa-Cola museum that tastes like nail polish remover?
…you know what nail polish remover tastes like? 
Either way, I’ve been to the World of Coke a few times (when I was younger, FIRST was that thing that came before second, and Atlanta seemed so far away). Good times.
My team didn’t go to the social after the event, but each night we would walk around a different part the city by our hotel, visit restaurants, all the stuff that requires no beforehand planning.
While at the event, riding the escalators is a great way to take some time off. For example:
STRESS! STRESS! STRESS! [get on escalator] zzzz… [stumble off escalator] STRESS! STRESS!
My memories of Atlanta.
_Alex
Personally, I really liked the party in Atlanta. For those who weren’t there, it was a giant bash at Centennial Park.
Things I liked, that you might too:
- good food
- fun rides
- lots of SPACE (to spread out, eat, etc.)
- sitting in the grass watching the fireworks! I absolutely loved them.
- everyone seemed entertained
- large variety of things to do, and nobody seemed bored
Things I did not like:
- the ride guy that wouldn’t let us do one of the games because it was all wet from the sprinklers (boo!)
As you can tell, I thought it was a great time. Instead of dealing with Mandy Moore (any singer or band is hit or miss with such a huge crowd of people) or anything like that, FIRST went with some tried-and-true fun. I hope everyone had as great a time as I did.
Speaking of a band at the wrap party, I was just thinking the other day, that a great band to play there would be They Might Be Giants. I thought they were just offbeat(not literally) enough for us
If FIRST could book them, I’d be happy. Because what other band has an awsome rock song with scientific facts about the sun? And the song “Robot Parade”!!!
Otherwise I thought that last year’s party was pretty good, even though I couldn’t stay too long. Good food and games were all that i saw, but it sounds like the rest was great too.
Both students and mentors on our team enjoyed the food and entertainment in Centennial Park last year. The hypnotist is Dr. Travis Fox, of Atlanta, and he also had entertained us at the UTC New England Regional in March. RAGE had so much fun with him that we have invited him to come to Connecticut and put on his Hypnomania show for us again! He’ll be here next weekend so if you’re in the CT area, be sure to stop by…
If you end up staying in the Embassy Suites Hotel adjacent to Centennial Park, bring along some footballs, etc. - our students enjoyed being outdoors in the nice weather after a long day inside the venue. And there was a free wireless connection at the deli next door in case you want to check out the Internet while you’re there.
[quote=Pat McCarthy]Speaking of a band at the wrap party, I was just thinking the other day, that a great band to play there would be They Might Be Giants. I thought they were just offbeat(not literally) enough for us
If FIRST could book them, I’d be happy. Because what other band has an awsome rock song with scientific facts about the sun? And the song “Robot Parade”!!!QUOTE]
YES, I totally agree, They Might Be Giants would be a perfect band. They also perform other weird educational songs like “Instanbul, Not Constantinople” Another band that would be good would be R.E.M. All we really need though is a DJ because FIRST is all about Techno, am I right?[/quote]
I second that too! 
Someone tell Lavery about this! The higher-ups in FIRST must know what we want! 
Don’t tell me - I have nothing to do with the music selections at the events! But if I did… (just check this and this :rolleyes: )
Anyway, the person to talk to is Bob Hammond at FIRST in Manchester. He is the competition event director, and in change of all things “Championship.”
-dave
Yes, all you need is a DJ, but there is a specific clause in the contract that requires them to be a bad DJ to play at any FIRST event 
Gets on it Is his email address on the FIRST website? If not, could you or someone post it or PM it to me?
By the way, very nice music playlists. 
Hey, I wouldn’t so much mind some ‘Harvey, harvey, harvey the wonder hampster…’
Just running around on her hampster wheel,
Amanda
Funny you should mention that … (/me checks what is playing on iTunes RIGHT NOW!)
-dave
The baseball game was awsome! good times good times.
I was really disappointed that my team didn’t get to go to the rap party last year in Atlanta. I would definitely be willing to pay the extra few dollars and attend the party.
We instead ended up going to Benny Hanna’s, which was slightly entertaining, to say the least. But, in my opinion, our team was just really unenthusiastic and we didn’t get to experience much of Atlanta. =(
Anyway, if you go to Atlanta, make the most of it! It’s not every day you’re surrounded by thousands upon thousands of FIRSTers…If your team can’t afford to attend the rap party then make arrangements with teams you already know or teams that are staying in the same hotel. Yup.
-Alaina
I really enjoyed the party. I fell asleep in the crowd.
I think that no matter what FIRST decides on, it’s the people that count. I spent the Rap party catching up with people I didn’t get to see as much of during the competition because they were driving in different divisions or something and our schedules just didn’t fly.
I think even if something goes wrong, a year later what you’re gonna remember is how cough your friend’s pants fell off in the middle of the ring cough and fun stuff like that :).
i think my favorite part of the wrap party in centennial park was the lights. gosh were those cool! i must have sat and ate dinner for almost an hour just waiting for them to heat up enough to float up into the air!