The good: The staff is very nice and helpful. Particularly the groundskeeper/horticulturalist,…read moreRobert, who described many of the bansai trees and their age, soil and process and care. The restrooms are very clean. Admission is reasonable at $10 per adult. No cash accepted. Plenty of walkable area and trails, many places to comfortably sit and enjoy this slice of nature. This was a pleasurable distraction from the busyness of the surrounding commercial area. There was also a nice covered area for observation of the koi pond and waterfall features, which would be great in a mild rain shower. The butterfly tent area sounds amazing, but we were too early for the season. The gardens are set up for educational purposes for children, which is nice. The bad: some areas are in desperate need for weeding, Robert said a large group of volunteers were coming out this weekend to help with weeding. There were many poison oak plants and poison ivy plants in some areas where kids might roam, especially, or adults too. The trails could be marked better, even though maps were available at the main admissions shop and a couple on property. Generally, this seemed newer rather than well established, but it is on its way to a nice gardens area and even now is a great spot to spend a couple of hours or more in nature!

The garden is very inviting. It's not very expensive to come and see all the beautiful plants that…read moregrow in Georgia. They have a waterfall upon a Koi Pond another Koi pond and just plenty of flowers and birds to just enjoy. as well as a butterfly house. They have plenty of programs for kids and adults live music throughout the year overall it's a very relaxing place nuzzled in the city of Marietta Kennesaw Mountain.

Fun and happy times. Everyone should experience this kind of family fun at least onceread more

Beware before booking All Out Gaming Atlanta…read more I chose All Out Gaming despite their significantly higher price because I was specifically told they had a Nintendo Switch 2 available. That was a major deciding factor in booking with them. On the day of the event, a different gaming company showed up instead. They arrived late, with an inferior gaming truck, and no Switch at all--which was not what was promised or contracted. It was clear the event had been outsourced to a cheaper third-party provider. Due to constant game updates and extremely long loading times, the kids were only able to use the gaming truck for about 30 minutes total. They quickly lost interest and ended up playing on our own PS5 and Switch inside the house, which worked far better than the truck. The experience we paid for was essentially unusable. After the event, All Out Gaming acknowledged that the service delivered did not match what was promised and offered a refund. Despite multiple follow-ups on my end, no refund has ever been issued. This experience was incredibly disappointing and did not come close to what was advertised or paid for. I would strongly caution others to confirm exactly who will be showing up, what equipment will actually be provided, and to get everything in writing before booking

This was my very first time coming out for the festival. It does remind me of going to Marietta…read moreSquare where there are vendors and local owned businesses. The location was cool but could be on the dangerous side due to the train still running. Not many places to park and the places you can park they were charging $10. If you plan on eating any food from the trucks make sure your prepared to spend some money. There were three different stages with many local schools performing and also dance schools. Unfortunately it rained all Sunday so we did not get to catch any of the performances.

THE KID IN ME The…read morekid in me loves a big festival in a small town. Kennesaw is the perfect backdrop for this annual festival that features a parade, musical performances, food and arts and crafts. I was determined to get to the festival regardless of the weather. As always, we arrive early, just after 8:30 so that we can get the lay of the land and take it all in. Parking was great, very close, well-staffed with attendants and only cost $5. Can't beat it! The parade usually precedes the beginning of the festivities. I did not get to see the beginning of the parade because I was distracted by one of the jewelry vendors and was too busy purchasing items. We did however get there before all was done. Every parade is unique, but audience participation is essential if you really want to have a good time. This parade is not as open as others. The streets are very narrow, so gates are used to contain the crowds. They don't throw candy from floats because they don't have them. They actually walk along the route and politely put the candy into the hands of the kids. If you yell out "Hey! I want candy too , they will give you some. If you yell out to the square dancers to "do-si-do", they will comply. The Steampunk group was one of my favorite as the fashion is just so cool and their sign read something like: Steampunk gun club and sewing circle, (interesting combination). That Harrison High School Band was the bomb! They sound so professional! After the parade, we continued to check out the various vendors. Some of my favorite vendors are the jewelry vendors that travel around with their wares. Stones to Wear is my favorite as I love sterling silver and big bold pieces. Phil and Sharon are like family and we always stop by and visit with them. The Panjo guy was unique. He took kitchen pans, (cake, brownie, heart-shaped etc) and made banjos out of them. He actually did a demonstration which was very cool. If you like dulcimer music, then you would appreciate this. I want to give a special shout-out to Superior Plumbing who provided superior toilet facilities complete with sinks and running water. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! If you decide to go, be careful as the ground is very wet and muddy. I wore sport sandals that can be easily cleaned and are quick to dry. If you don't want to eat typical carny food, eat before you go or eat afterwards because the only healthy vendor we saw was the Smoothie vendor. We wanted something more substantial so we just ate after we left. We had a great day and it was made even more special because of the train that frequently runs right through the festival! Love it!

A perfect place to spend an evening after finishing dinner. They are a cocktails and dessert place,…read moreso go eat somewhere else in the square (may I recommend Spring 2nd Branch?) and then walk over here. I felt a little like I was on vacation, sipping on a tropical drink while listening to live music. Is there anything better than a nice evening outside with live music? I think not. The drinks were good, the service was good, and we loved the music. We'll be back!

We went in Saturday about 6:45 to grab a drink while we waited for a table at 7 tequilas next door…read more The door person called it a full service cocktail bar. What we experienced with the couple that walked in before us was a no service bar. We left after waiting at 10 minutes and never seeing a server. We saw the other couple leave shortly after us. Bummed was hoping this would be good.

Urban Air is the kind of place that makes you forget you're an adult for a minute…read more From the moment we walked in, it felt like controlled chaos in the best possible way. There are go-karts (which were genuinely fun), a zip line that suspends you over the entire park, ball pit dodgeball, arcade games, a skywalk-style ropes course jungle gym, a gladiator foam pit, VR experiences, and just about every high-energy activity you can imagine. It's basically a giant indoor adventure park. My son had an absolute blast. Shoes off, special socks on, running from station to station like he had discovered his personal paradise. We ended up signing up for a membership, which felt worth it since friends get half off when he brings them. That alone made it feel like we'll be back often. For parents, there's a café with pretty decent pizza and massage chairs scattered throughout the park where you can actually sit and pay for a quick massage while your kid burns off all their energy. I appreciated that the bathrooms were relatively clean, especially for a place with this much traffic. I skipped the popcorn because it looked a little dried out, but everything else we tried was solid. My only real critiques: staffing seemed a bit thin. Some of the teens working there appeared more focused on chatting with friends than actively monitoring the stations. And personally, I found it a little dark inside, which made it harder for me to keep eyes on my kid. That might just be my "I'm not 22 anymore" moment talking. Overall though, if you have an energetic kid and want a place where they can truly go all out, Urban Air delivers. It's loud, it's active, it's a little chaotic, and it's a whole lot of fun. Wear: Joggers Listen to: I Wanna be Sedated by the Ramones

This is a new location in the area as such it's a hot destination for birthday parties. I've been…read morethere 3x since April. Overall each experience has been nice. There are lots of things to do to wear the kids out. Most things were in working order. I hope they maintain the facilities. Definitely recommended for kids.

We were meeting friends here to celebrate a birthday with a few kids. I had never been here before…read moreand only had instructions to meet at a designated time. Walking in, it looks like a small painting studio and wasn't very busy/crowded. I arrived ahead of my friend and the young lady asked if we had a reservation. I explained that I hadn't organized the meet up and was waiting for my friend who had. She then proceeded to lecture me - over and over and over and over (seriously it was more than 10 times) that parties over a certain size needed a reservation. So... I called my friend. She said that there wasn't a reservation because she was informed that they are only required for groups over 10 (we had 4 kids who wanted to paint). When I relayed this to the young lady, the lectures started again and I was told that the number 6 for a reservation. A moot point since we are still only 4. After several more minutes of grief-giving, she told me that I could sit in the back room with our group (it was completely empty). While sitting there quietly waiting, she came again ... more lectures. At one point I told her that her point has been made very clearly and asked if we can just move on. So there we waited for the rest of our group. When my friend arrived, the lectures started again. Doing this painting activity was a special request from the birthday kiddo. It wasn't a party; more like a few hours with a couple of besties. If it weren't by special request, I would have walked out and not looked back. As is - this business is not somewhere I will frequent in the future. The customer service was appallingly bad, downright rude, and extremely unprofessional.

So many amazing options to choose from and we were able to walk right in, pick a piece, and enjoy…read more Was definitely not a "go once wouldn't go again." PERFECT date night spot! Owners were so nice.

I showed up to Portal Pinball Arcade completely on a whim after seeing a Facebook event. No plan…read more Pure "what the heck" energy. And honestly? Best accidental decision I've made all week. Flippin' Ladies Night was a blast. Amazing humans, great vibes, and enough pinball to activate my inner feral arcade goblin in the best way possible. Here's what I loved: you pay for time, not per game. Which means unlimited pinball + arcade chaos while sipping drinks from the bar, vibing to good music, and making new friends between flippers. It's basically a retro playground for grownups who still love buttons that go clack. The atmosphere is welcoming, fun, and delightfully unpretentious. One minute you're strangers, the next minute you're cheering each other on like you've been in a league together for years. I came in spontaneous... next time I might actually plan ahead because WOW. Also, firm believer in this life rule: if it's not a hell yes, it's a hell no. Well friends... this place is a HELL YES. 10/10 would wander in again. Bring friends. Make friends. Flip everything.

My family and I travel around the east coast visiting classic arcades whenever we can. Portal…read morePinball Arcade is just okay compared to many other arcades. Let's start with the good. They have a decent variety of pinball machines. They also have classic arcade games. They offer a variety of beers and snack which is nice. They also have lots of seating and stools. Stools are great because you can play while you sit which is great. Now for the bad. If you're looking for a classic arcade feel this is not the place. It's so quiet! Really all we heard was the ambient music (80s-90s hair bands which I love) but not why I'm here. Classic arcades are filled with the sounds of the games. Sadly there was little of that. Many of the video games had volume so low we couldn't hear them at all. The ones we could we had to strain to hear it. Also the upkeep of the games was not great. The terminator gun didn't work well at all, QBert was down, The Simpsons was down, dig dug was down. Star Wars was a 1-up system you can buy at Walmart and worn out, terrible experience. Many of the joy sticks were in need of maintenance as well. The Neo-Geo was not a MVS but rather a poor emulator that had color problems and terrible video tearing plus awful audio. Let's talk about the pinball machines. Most were modern machines that are still available for purchase. I saw a couple older ones but there was no information provided about the age. Overall this just okay. Many of the machines are not taken care of and this really ruins the experience for gamers.

My niece had her birthday party at sparkles. It was such a great experience. They decorated the…read morespace using things our family brought, and even blew up balloons for us. The food was ok, nothing to write home about, but that wasn't why we're there. We went to skate! The staff was amazing with the group of 8 ten year olds. They engaged and were so kind. They even played laser tag with us when the numbers weren't even. I would definitely recommend having a birthday party there.

Looking for a place me and my daughter could go to practice our moves and learn some new ones…read more It was not really busy and we had a great time. We'll be back soon to go keep practicing. We'll try out the lessons and the other areas with our whole family.