Nothing quite beats the excitement around New Year’s Eve, the countdown to midnight and dropping things. The history of dropping things at the stroke of midnight started with the Times Square Ball, which made its first appearance in 1907. Since then various cities have added to their own flair to this New Year’s Eve tradition by dropping various objects as we countdown to the new year.
According to Mental Floss, Atlanta has one of the 34 most bizarre items dropped (I don’t think it is as weird as the duck decoy or 200 pounds of bologna). Our Peach Drop is also the largest New Year’s Eve celebration in the southeast. This celebration definitely needs to be on your list of things to do, if you aren’t a fan of hanging out in the freezing weather of New York City. 🙂 Here are a few tidbits to survive your first Peach Drop experience.
Plan Ahead
Peach Drop has several activities leading up to the midnight countdown, including live performances. Be sure to check the schedule to find out who is performing at what time. Keep in mind gates open at 5:00 PM and performances generally start around 7:00 PM.
This is a free event, but you are not allowed to bring food or drink with you inside the gates. Make sure you have enough cash to buy food and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic).
Getting There
Parking is available at Underground Atlanta, but very limited. I recommend riding MARTA to get to and from the event. Trains on New Year’s Eve run every 12 minutes, but here are a few tips to make the most of your ride.
- Purchase your tickets in advance. Round-trip tickets are $5.
- The last train leaves at 2:00 AM, so if you think you’ll be spending the night out make sure you park at a station with long-term parking.
- There are two station options for getting to the Peach Drop. Five Points Station is right next to Underground Atlanta and the Peach Drop, very convenient for when you are arriving. If you aren’t a fan of crowds, walk a couple of blocks to Peachtree Center Station.
Celebrate!
Now that you have arrived at Peach Drop all you need to do is listen to the live music, grab a bubbly beverage and wait for the countdown and fireworks! This is definitely worth adding to your Atlanta to-do list!
Peach Drop Fun Facts
I’m going to conclude with a few fun facts about the history of the Peach Drop.
- The first Peach Drop was in 1989 at Underground Atlanta
- The peach weighs over 800 pounds, which is almost as much as an average adult horse
- Once the countdown begins, it takes the peach 58 seconds to descend the 138-foot tower of lights
- The peach measures 8 feet tall and is 8 feet wide
