Gatlinburg-- Just got back

[Deb123]

All of the Ripley attractions (Aquarium, Believe it or Not, etc) offer Homeschool discounts. $7.00 a ticket, just bring in some proof that the child is homeschooled. We used this when we went a couple of months ago with no problems. Saved us a good bit of $$.

 

[doobie11]

we went for the very first time last August. While we had alot of fun, we are in no hurry to go back. We stayed at Music Road Hotel, and it was very nice. Kids (11, 8) loved the pool area. Breakfast was delicious. We did alot of hiking in the GSM park, but I guess I didn't realize how far everything was. There was quite a bit of extra driving. We stayed in Pigeon Forge, not Gatlinburg, and so not only do you have to drive 15 minutes or so, to get to the park, but then you have to drive quite a bit IN the park to get the trail heads. We did Cades Cove, Roaring Forks, Grotto Falls, and Laurel Falls. We also did Wonderworks, Dixie Stampede, Ripley's Aquarium, and white water rafting with NOC. We had discounts to all. some were from the coupon booklets hanging around, rafting was because we booked after 4pm, and Ripley's was having a (unadvertised) special where kids were $1 with each paying adult. We also ate at Magic Mushroom (I think that's what it was called), a popular Italian place in Gatlinburg that was terrible, and the Apple Barn, which was delicious. I found that the coupon books were not hugely helpful in finding discounts. Or maybe the discounts were for things we were not interested in doing.

 

[lledman]

Love'n this thread - heading to the Smokeys in 2 weeks for a spring break trip - going to mostly do the free things in the park but glad to read reviews about tourist attractions and restaruants in town. We stumbled across the Magic Mushroom on a trip to Jacksonville Beach one Disney trip and loved it - sorry to hear the one in Gatlinburg wasn't as good for pp - I have already printed a $5 off coupon to give it a try.

 

[EMode]

So happy to see this thread. Just yesterday I booked a cabin in Gatlinburg for our Spring Break trip in a couple weeks. We were supposed to go to Universal Studios but decided to wait until Diagon Alley was finished so we were just going to do a couple semi-local day trips instead. A friend at dh's work was telling him about Pigeon Forge so dh said lets rent a cabin there. I hate planning last minute for a place I have never been so its really nice to see these suggestions here.

I would really like to visit the Titanic Museum and go to the Dixie Stampede. Do you all think they are worth it? (Sorry OP, I don't mean to hijack).

 

[biminibigblue]

I didn't read all the previous comments so idk if it's been mentioned, but my family LOVES Huck Finn's. It's mostly fish/seafood plus some kid-friendlier options, but you pick an entree and get unlimited sides included. They bring them out in bowls family-style. Everything is delicious!! We are going back to Gatlinburg/PF for Spring Break '15 and this is one of the things I'm most looking forward to!!

 

[GoofyLovingFamily]

So happy to see this thread. Just yesterday I booked a cabin in Gatlinburg for our Spring Break trip in a couple weeks. We were supposed to go to Universal Studios but decided to wait until Diagon Alley was finished so we were just going to do a couple semi-local day trips instead. A friend at dh's work was telling him about Pigeon Forge so dh said lets rent a cabin there. I hate planning last minute for a place I have never been so its really nice to see these suggestions here.

I would really like to visit the Titanic Museum and go to the Dixie Stampede. Do you all think they are worth it? (Sorry OP, I don't mean to hijack).

We loved the Titanic museum. When we went it was busy so we bought our tickets ahead of time. Even our kids enjoyed it I have heard others say it was just OK.

 

[kymom99]

JT Hannah's Kitchen in Pigeon Forge is really good and reasonable.

 

[hammie59]

So happy to see this thread. Just yesterday I booked a cabin in Gatlinburg for our Spring Break trip in a couple weeks. We were supposed to go to Universal Studios but decided to wait until Diagon Alley was finished so we were just going to do a couple semi-local day trips instead. A friend at dh's work was telling him about Pigeon Forge so dh said lets rent a cabin there. I hate planning last minute for a place I have never been so its really nice to see these suggestions here.

I would really like to visit the Titanic Museum and go to the Dixie Stampede. Do you all think they are worth it? (Sorry OP, I don't mean to hijack).

I can't say enough good things about Dixie Stampede. We had the best time last summer. The food and show were outstanding. My kids are begging to go back.

 

[Marsheliz]

I recommend Dixie Stampede and eat at the Apple Barn!

 

[My3kiddos]

I didn't read all the previous comments so idk if it's been mentioned, but my family LOVES Huck Finn's. It's mostly fish/seafood plus some kid-friendlier options, but you pick an entree and get unlimited sides included. They bring them out in bowls family-style. Everything is delicious!! We are going back to Gatlinburg/PF for Spring Break '15 and this is one of the things I'm most looking forward to!!

I agree with Huck Finn's! It's my kids favorite place to eat.

 

[crazelion]

I agree with Huck Finn's! It's my kids favorite place to eat.

I agree with everyone else Huck Finn's is awesome. i love the place

 

[EMode]

Thanks guys, I think I'm going to get tickets in advance for both places

Just wanted to let anyone who was interested know that I was able to get tickets for Dixie Stampede and they had a special that included Titanic Museum tickets too so I saved over $100.

Also, I had to call and ask a question and then just got the tickets over the phone and doing that saved the $20 processing fee I would have been charged if I ordered them online.
Every little bit of savings helps!

 

[mom2t]

Cheddars is a new restaurant in PF. Great food very reasonable. Our favorite is Alamo Steak House.

 

[jojo0612]

Has anyone stayed at the Westgate Resort in Gatlinburg? Trying decide on where to book a vacation and would like some other opinions!

 

[memy26]

Has anyone stayed at the Westgate Resort in Gatlinburg? Trying decide on where to book a vacation and would like some other opinions!

We stayed there back at Christmas. The resort is nice and has lots of amenities, plenty to do around the resort. The room however was TINY. For the price we got it at it was worth it, however if I had to pay regular price I wouldn't stay there again

 

[dr&momto2boys]

All of the Ripley attractions (Aquarium, Believe it or Not, etc) offer Homeschool discounts. $7.00 a ticket, just bring in some proof that the child is homeschooled. We used this when we went a couple of months ago with no problems. Saved us a good bit of $$.

Any idea what we can use for proof? We do homeschool and that would save us a ton of money! In IL we don't really have to do anything to homeschool. We don't have any "proof."

Edit: We did find a way to print ID cards

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Thanks everyone for all the help!

We leave early tomorrow morning! We changed our itinerary several times over the planning months and finally decided that we would get season passes to Dollywood and go to Splash Country one day too. We love theme parks and it keeps us from spending toms of money on other attractions. We will also do the Visitor Center, the Auquarium, some scenic drives and mini hikes (little ones) and a little shopping. Good thing we're flying and I can't bring a ton home or I would do a lot of shopping!

We ruled out dinner shows because it's cost prohibitive for us especially considering our littlest one will keep one of us walking him out at some moments and we may not fully get to enjoy it.

We do want to hit some good restaurants while we're there. Here's my wishlist so far...
Old Mill (dinner)
Apple Barn (breakfast and dinner?)
Log Cabin House (breakfast)
The Mexican restaurant near the Auquarium (lunch or dinner)
Alamo Steak House (maybe)

Any where else? Hurry and let me know! Thanks!
If you want to read bout our trip, we plan to blog while we're gone. If we have internet access we'll post it as we go. Gatlinburg Trip

 

[loveswdw]

Old Mill (dinner) Apple Barn (breakfast and dinner?) Log Cabin Pancake House (breakfast) The Mexican restaurant near the Auquarium (lunch or dinner) Alamo Steak House (maybe)

Your meals look great. Old Mill is worth every penny. There and Log Cabin House are must eats every trip. Personally, I'd skip the Alamo. We've dined at the PF one & the Gburg one. They are fairly expensive and the food is just average. Outback & Longhorn both serve better food. We had the Alamo in Gburg for dinner last trip. 2 adults, 2 kids and it was $90. We didn't have any alcohol either. We were not impressed and won't be going back again.

We love Bubba Gump's on the parkway in Gburg. It is a chain but Gburg is the closest to us so we don't eat there often. The seafood is yummy and if you're a Forrest Gump movie fan, it's a lot of fun. We eat there every trip.

 

[tina.tina]

We had an excellent meal at Longhorn when we were there in October.

We are heading down next weekend and plan to check out The Island on Friday night. When we were there in October, there was an excellent band that played a great variety of music. I believe they said plans were to have live music there this summer, too. Margaritaville just opened there.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Okay we'll skip the Alamo Steakhouse and consider Longhorn. Thank you!

We always like Bubba Gump's even though we're not seafood fans (otherwise we'd definately try Huck Finn's!) But I'm hoping to try local places or chains we haven't tried.
Where can we try good BBQ? Equally important is where should we avoid? And how about good food in Dollywood? Miss Lillians? Any good snacks?