If you love baby dolls and a one-of-a-kind magical experience, then you’ll love Babyland General® Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia! Kidding Around’s Jordan got to visit Babyland with her family and has all the details you need to know! Admission to Babyland General® Hospital is totally FREE!
Cleveland, Georgia is about 1 hour and 15 minutes outside of Atlanta and the drive is so beautiful from the city to Babyland General® Hospital. Cleveland, Georgia is roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes from Greenville, SC so you could easily visit Babyland on a day trip. To make it a weekend getaway, you can drive another hour to the city of Atlanta where there are tons of fun things to do.
Watch! Our Trip to Babyland General® Hospital
History of Babyland General® Hospital
In 1976, a 21-year-old art student, Xavier Roberts, started learning how to “needle mold” which is a German technique used for creating fabric sculptures. Xavier Roberts’ created his first soft sculpture that year which he originally called his “Little People”. Two years later in 1978, Xavier won a first-place ribbon at the Osceola Art Show in Florida after entering “Dexter” one of his original Little People. He started taking his Little People to art shows where people readily paid $40 to adopt a new friend.
Upon returning home, Xavier and a few friends purchased and renovated the L.G. Neal Clinic in Cleveland, Georgia to create Babyland General® Hospital which would be home to many original Cabbage Patch Dolls. Little did Roberts know at that time, that he was creating what would become one of the most popular new dolls in the history of the toy industry.
Today, The Little People and Cabbage Patch Kids are celebrating over 40 years of adoptions in Cleveland, Georgia! The best part? You can visit Babyland General® Hospital and adopt a “forever friend” of your own at the magical cabbage patch.
The Cabbage Patch Legend
So where did Xavier Roberts get his inspiration from? Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of North Georgia, Roberts was playing in the woods one day when a strange creature flew past him. The creature was a mix of a bumble bee and a bunny. Xavier chased the creature which led him to jump through a magical waterfall that revealed a hidden cave. Inside the cave featured many sparkling crystals so Xavier followed the Bunnybee further into the cave.
As he neared the end of the cave, he realized there was a bright light at the end of it leading to a large field. In this field, he saw Bunnybees sprinkling magic dust from the crystals onto the cabbages. To his surprise, the cabbages contained many small kids and babies inside and around the leaves. Otis Lee, a baby from among the patch, introduced himself and asked if Xavier would please promise to find them all loving homes. Xavier readily agreed and promised to build Babyland General® Hospital.
Read more about the Cabbage Patch Kids Legend on the Cabbage Patch Kids website.
What To Expect: Babyland General® Cabbage Patch
When you first pull up to Babyland General® Hospital, you will be amazed at the beautiful building and the vast property it sits on. They have a huge front porch area that wraps around the building where you can sit in a rocking chair and admire the North Georgia Mountains.
When you venture inside the building, you step foot into what feels like a real hospital. The front desk receptionist will have you “check in” and then tell you if there are any upcoming Cabbage Patch Baby deliveries and all you need to know about the hospital.
After you stop and take a photo at the giant cabbage leaf, you can walk through the Babyland General® Hospital doors to explore. The first few rooms are the nursey rooms where freshly born Cabbage Patch Babies live until they find a forever family.
Once you pass the nursery rooms, you’ll enter the large main area of the hospital. The massive Magic Crystal Tree is the focal point as this is where Mother Cabbage lives and all the Cabbage Patch Babies that are not yet born. The Licensed Patch Doctors and Nurses bustle around taking care of the Cabbage Patch.
Your tour is a self-guided tour through several rooms and areas of the hospital with different themes. You can look through the circus room, Christmas room, school bus-themed area, barnyard-themed area, and more!
There is no time limit on your visit so take your time exploring all of the hospital. When it is time for a Cabbage Patch Baby to be delivered, they make an announcement over the loudspeaker so you can make your way to the magic crystal tree.
Once you arrive at the crystal tree, you’ll watch as the nurse tends to Mother Cabbage, checks the sonogram to see if there will be a girl or boy baby, and then the audience helps in the delivery by shouting “Push!” on the count of three.
Once the baby is born, the proud owner will follow the nurse to the nursery to watch the baby be weighed, swaddled, and checked out. At the end, you get your official adoption papers from the nurses at the main desk.
The whole experience is really fun and magical! We visited for our daughter’s 9th birthday so she did customize her own Cabbage Patch Doll (more on that in a moment) and we watched its birth. It was really neat and she loved every minute of it!
How It Works: Cabbage Patch Babyland General® Hospital
Although admission is totally free, you can adopt your own Cabbage Patch Doll at Babyland General® Hospital.
Here are the options they offer:
Customize your Cabbage Patch doll
You can totally customize a Cabbage Patch Doll and then watch as it is “born” from the magical crystal tree. These dolls from the tree are hand-stitched and one of a kind. They have you fill out a birth certificate where you choose the doll’s name, eye color, hair color, and skin color.
The adoption fee is $275 and includes the doll, a swaddle, a baby gown, and an official birth certificate with footprints. They announce the delivery and you can watch the birth of your very own doll with this option. This is what our daughter did and she loved it. It was totally worth every penny!
Select a premade Cabbage Patch Doll
If you don’t want to customize a doll from the tree, then you can select one of their many premade Cabbage Patch Dolls that start at $20+. Although you won’t watch its live birth from the tree, you can still take your forever friend home to love and enjoy. They have tons of dolls and other stuffed animals and creatures to choose from.
They have a lot of different outfits, strollers, and accessories to purchase as well as other toys if your child doesn’t like dolls.
Other Tips Before You Go
- They do not have food here. There are two drink machines and a deep freezer full of ice cream bars inside of the hospital but otherwise no food on-site.
- I suggest packing a picnic to enjoy on the grounds.
- They have large bathrooms.
- No eating or drinking is allowed in the hospital.
- Visiting hours are Monday through Saturday 9 am to 6 pm and Sundays 10 am to 6 pm.
- They are closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
Babyland General® Hospital Website
Address:
Babyland General® Hospital
300 N.O.K. Drive Cleveland, Georgia 30528
Phone:
706.865.2171
There are lots more things to explore in Georgia!
Here’s our Georgia Travel Guide
