The Georgia “Hospital” Where Doctors Deliver Cabbage Patch Kids Before Putting Them Up for Adoption

Babyland General Hospital, Georgia

Welcome to Babyland General, where Xavier Roberts’ hand-stitched ‘Little People’ grew into the Cabbage Patch empire.

Here, doctors’ still deliver Cabbage Patch Kids from beneath cabbages, ‘nurses’ still hand out adoption papers, and visitors still line up to witness one of the weirdest and most successful toy origin stories ever created.

The Cabbage Patch Kids Birth Story

Xavier Roberts was working his way through art school in the late ’70s, making hand-stitched dolls based on old German fabric doll patterns.

He took something interesting from Appalachian craft traditions – a kind of soft sculpture technique – and turned it into “Little People” dolls. Xavier eventually called them Cabbage Patch Dolls.

The Hospital Thing Wasn’t Planned at All

He set up shop in an old medical clinic in Cleveland, Georgia. That’s where the whole hospital theme started, including the adoption marketing strategy.

He took what people were already doing with his dolls – treating them like real babies – and went all in on it, dressing his staff as nurses and turning the clinic into “Babyland General.”

From “Little People” to Massive Phenomenon

The rest snowballed fast. Coleco saw the dolls at a toy fair in 1982 and knew they had gold.

By Christmas ’83, parents were literally fighting in store aisles to get their hands on mass-produced Cabbage Patch Kids.

Meanwhile, back at Babyland, Roberts kept making his original, pricier handmade dolls.

They moved the whole operation to a white columned mansion on the edge of town in 1993, where the staff still delivers dolls from under a 40-foot tree with flashing lights, mist, and a crystal that dilates before each “birth.”

You Don’t Buy Anything Here – You Adopt A Baby

If you call them “dolls” at Babyland General Hospital, staff will quickly correct you. They’re “babies” waiting for adoption.

The whole concept revolves around not buying but “adopting” through a formal process.

When you adopt, you’ll take an official oath, get personalized adoption papers and a birth certificate for your child.

A Magical Tree Grows Babies At The Center of the Hospital

The Magic Crystal Tree sits right in the middle of Babyland General Hospital with Mother Cabbage always on display beneath it.

This big fiberglass tree has crystals hanging from the branches and flying bunnies with crystal wands that supposedly “fertilize” the cabbages.

When a “birth” is about to happen, the tree’s lights start flashing to let everyone know. Around the tree, you’ll see cabbage heads with doll faces peeking out.

The whole tree is covered in animatronic baby cabbage heads and colorful glowing rocks.

They recently added the Mt. Yonah Magical Forrest display near the Magic Crystal Tree with almost 40 trees filled with Cabbage Patch Kids, Little People, birds, bears, and other creatures.

Babies Are Born From Cabbages Every Hour, on the Hour

Babyland General Hospital is the only place where you can watch a hand-sculpted Cabbage Patch Kid being “born.”

It starts with an announcement over the loudspeaker: “Cabbage dilation, all staff on standby!”

Then everyone gathers around the Magic Crystal Tree.

As things progress, staff announce updates like “Cabbage dilation is now nine leaves apart” and finally “Code green!” when birth is about to happen.

A staff member in medical scrubs uses big salad tongs to pull back the cabbage leaves before reaching in for the newborn.

During the birth, everyone chants “Push!” until the new Cabbage Patch baby appears in the nurse’s arms.

After birth, the doll gets swaddled and placed in a basket held by a large animatronic stork.

About five Cabbage Patch Kids are “born” every hour, so you’ve got a good chance of seeing a birth during your visit.

Medical Staff Take Their Hospital Roles Very Seriously

Babyland General Hospital goes all-in on the medical theme.

Staff dress as doctors, nurses, and orderlies who carry the dolls as if comforting or burping real babies.

When you arrive, someone in medical scrubs welcomes you at reception, and all staff wear these uniforms. You even sign in just like at a real hospital.

There are specialized areas including nurseries with “Preemies” in incubators and “Lullaby Babies” in cribs, complete with piped-in baby sounds.

They even have gender-specific blue and pink rooms. A glass-fronted Recovery Room lets you watch newborns being measured and weighed under a giant stork’s watchful eye.

The hospital setup includes a maternity ward and “preemie” maternity ward with Cabbage Patch Kids in incubators.

Your Adopted Baby Can Come Back For Checkups And Repairs

Babyland General Hospital offers complete aftercare for Cabbage Patch Kids, including a “Bath Camp” for soaking and scrubbing.

They also maintain a “surgery” department that repairs damaged dolls with common problems like rips and burns.

The Birth Story Mixes Fantasy With Farming In The Best Way

According to official Babyland lore, Mother Cabbage gets pollinated by creatures called Bunnybees® before being cared for by Licensed Patch Doctors and Nurses.

This creation story combines fantasy with farming by having babies grow in cabbages.

The birth involves flying bunnies with crystal wands that “fertilize” the cabbages, though they don’t explain exactly how it works.

During births, doctors ask visitors to “hold their breath to help mother cabbage” deliver.

After birth, dolls receive “imagicillin” and get pronounced healthy before adoption.

Original Cabbage Patch Dolls Can Be Worth More Than Your Car

In the front room display cases, you can see some of the earliest Little People dating back to 1978.

Many of these special dolls were “re-adopted” from private collections.

Originally sold for $35-$40, some now fetch up to $37,000. Specific dolls have become highly collectible – “Webster George” is valued at $6,000, “Dexter” at $15,000, and “Wade” at $37,000.

The facility keeps a historic archive of collectible babies worth $15,000 and up. One Cabbage Patch Kid named Christopher Xavier even flew on a space shuttle in 1985 and now lives in the Smithsonian.

The 1987 limited edition Iddy Buds doll, a smaller version wrapped in a cabbage leaf, is especially valuable because each one was numbered and signed by Roberts on the foot.

Certain face styles bring more money too, particularly the “brat” face from the second production year with dimples and a long nose – these can be worth $100-$500.

Local Artists Still Hand-Stitch Dolls Right In Cleveland, Georgia

The Cabbage Patch Kids born at Babyland General Hospital are totally different from store versions.

While retail dolls are vinyl and mass-produced, Babyland dolls are individually hand-stitched from cloth right in town.

According to staff, only two women create all the faces for the soft babies, making each one unique.

These hand-stitched Originals are considered works of art with adoption fees starting at $275, while mass-produced versions cost between $10 and $70.

Local artists in Cleveland, Georgia continue making these artisanal dolls, keeping Xavier Roberts’ tradition alive.

The Beautiful Gardens Honor Xavier’s Mother and Her Green Thumb

The gardens surrounding Babyland General Hospital pay tribute to Xavier Roberts’ mother, Eula Roberts, and her love of plants.

Xavier enjoyed cross-pollinating different varieties of native azaleas, irises, daylilies, and amaryllis to create unique hybrids.

He personally maintained the grounds as a living memorial to his mother’s influence. The highlight is the display of deciduous native azaleas in spring.

You can sit in rocking chairs on the porch while taking in the fresh mountain breeze cooled by nearby Mount Yonah and shaded by sugar maples, dogwoods, cherries, apple, oak, and Japanese maples.

You Can Visit For Free And People Of All Ages Still Love It

Despite changing toy trends, Babyland General Hospital doesn’t charge admission, making it accessible to everyone interested in this unique attraction.

The facility offers various displays including a castle, school bus, treehouse, and the Mt. Yonah Magical Forrest.

In 2025, they’re open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closing only for major holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.