Childhood Legacies: Babyland General Hospital

If you grew up in the 1980s or had kids growing up then in the US, you undoubtedly know the Cabbage Patch brand.  Kim had a few dolls: Kerry Ann, a preemie, an astronaut; Justin had some as well.  Kim also remembered her dad telling stories of seeing some people fight over them at a Roanoke, Virginia, Hills store--they were a BIG deal.  So big that a related tourist site emerged in Georgia: Babyland General Hospital.  Basically, it was the place the Cabbage Patch Kids were born--a center where you could pick them out from a "nursery."  Once in a small building, it graduated in 2009 to a custom-built mansion in Cleveland, Georgia.  This became a perfect surprise destination trip for G this spring break.

Babyland General Hospital is a truly delightful location for young kids interested in dolls, about age 7 and down, that inspires the imagination as well as some shopping. Free admission makes your visit easy, and you can come anytime and wander the large combination simulated hospital-birthing tree-doll nursery-large gift shop.  You shop from the displays, which include cribs full of dolls and a "cabbage patch" of dolls as well as more conventionally-displayed items. Various souvenirs include T-shirts, postcards, limited edition dolls, baby accessories, and the like.  If you ever visited the now-defunct Boyds Bear Country, you have the idea.

We spent about two-and-a-half hours on site on an extended visit with a very impressed G.  She particularly enjoyed the large number of stuffed animals available (that's what she wanted to take home) and the birthing tree, a little show where a Cabbage Patch doll is "delivered" by a patch nurse or doctor every 45 minutes or so.  The delivery features a lot of vague references to actual childbirth and results in a new Cabbage Patch doll the audience names.  G helped name two dolls while we were there: Gwen Amelia and Elijah Alexander.  All of the staff are dressed as medical staff, and the dolls are transported about the center in cradles and incubators.

If you go, this is an affordable outing.  Admission is free, parking is easy, and signs to Babyland abound once you are within about 5 miles.  Some of the dolls are priced upward of $200--but the hard-to-find smaller dolls are plentiful here and start at around $9, the various souvenirs are affordable, and there are sales on overstock dolls also with very reasonable prices.  The site itself is large (so large that the ballroom hosts weddings), and you could easily take a picnic (bring a blanket) and eat on the grounds.  Babyland General Hospital is not, however, super close to the interstate system, so you will be getting off the beaten path.  The nearby small town of Alpine Helen, Georgia, can provide you a place to stay.