Do you think this is silly?

[Zippa D Doodah]

By all means go to WDW. There is no comparison between that and a Pigeon Forge vacation. The first time we went (May 2000) we went for only three days in the parks. We did not hop, but did MK for two days and AK for a day. As others have said, you won't even know what you missed, but that is what the subsequent trips will be for. I would recommend forgoing the hopper option and focusing on the Magic Kingdom and one other park. Research and see what that might be for you and your family. Allow two days for MK because it deserves it. You will leave feeling like you had a wonderful vacation, and you will be aching to go back soon. Our family of four has been a total of six times now and are looking forward to trip #7 in just over 100 days.

 

[poohluvr]

You can see alot in 3 days. Just plan your days wisely, and have a great time!

 

[LilyWDW]

Also from East TN here (about an hour from Pigeon Forge) and all I can say is...

If I could run away to Disney, I would leave this moment!

I am very glad to see you decide on Disney! Heck, even if you can only do one or two parks, it will be better then Dollywood

 

[Flanigan]

...had planned to visit Pigeon Forge, TN for 3 nights and go to Dollywood and Splash Country... What do you guys think, is it a wise choice?

Living as close as I do to Dollywood and Splash Country, I'd say you made a wise choice. Then again, I'd take a few days in Disney over the horrid traffic of Pigeon Forge,TN any day...

Just make sure you know what things you definately want to do in Disney and remember to allow time to just enjoy things.

 

[Lizziejane]

Our first trip was 7 days, but we only went to the parks for 4 of those, and we did/saw everything we wanted, and even some we don't care to ever see again! 3 days will be enough time to get the major stuff done - you might miss out on things like shopping on main street or DD, but my way of thinking is that you can shop Disney in any major city! Go, have fun, and savour every minute of it! You can plan to catch the minor attractions on your next visit...oh yes..there will be a next visit

 

[disneyfan6301]

I live in East TN, about 2 hours from Dollywood. You made the right choice. I would go to WDW anytime over Dollywood, if given the choice!! Dollywood and Pigeon Forge are a great day break-----if you know the back roads!! Luckily, we know most of them. The traffic is worse than horrible in the summer and fall. If you can come up sometime during the week in the fall it is not as bad. If you do, eat at Apple Barn (Pigeon Forge) and Pancake Pantry (Gatlinburg).

 

[sammielynn]

Another East Tennessee body here, live a little over an hour away from the mountains. I dearly love PF and Dollywood but Disney has my heart .
If the folks from the Tennessee Department of Tourism read this they may kick a few of us out of the state

 

[Robin4]

LET ME JUST SAY YOU'RE A GENIUS FOR GOING TO WDW INSTEAD!!! I WAS AT DOLLYWOOD TODAY (WE STAYED IN PIGEON FORGE) AND THE WHOLE TIME I KEPT THINKING THIS IS NO DISNEY IT ACTUALLY MADE ME SAD BECAUSE I WAS AT ANOTHER PARK BESIDES WDW!!! DON'T GET ME WRONG PIGEON FORGE IS FUN BUT IT IS NO COMPARISON TO DISNEY!!! I'M NOT SAD THAT MY STAY AT DOLLYWOOD IS OVER BUT I'M STILL SAD OVER DISNEY WHICH WAS ALMOST 2 MONTHS AGO SO THAT'LL GIVE U AN IDEA OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO! WE ONLY WENT THIS TIME TO PIGEON FORGE BECAUSE IT'S AN HOUR AWAY FROM OUR SUMMER HOUSE AND MY DAD GETS MILITARY DISCOUNT! I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT TIME BUT PLAN ON DOING LOTS OF PLANNING EVEN THOUGH IT'S FOR THREE DAYS AND MAKE ALL YOUR RESERVATIONS BEFORE HAND IF YOU'RE STAYING AT A VALUE I WOULD RECCOMEND ALL STAR MOVIE'S BECAUSE IT HAS THE MOST DISNEY THEMING! I WISH WE COULD HAVE TRADED OUR DOLLYWOOD TRIP FOR A DISNEY TRIP

 

[Robin4]

As someone who lives about 45 minutes from Pigeon Forge, I say RUN! Don't walk, to Disney! My family enjoys the mountains, and I enjoy shopping at the outlets occassionally, but I DO NOT understand why people spend their vacations here. I guess you always want what you don't have easy access to, but the traffic is horrible during the summer & fall; the restaurants aren't that great (except the Apple Barn); and all of those cheapo, money-grabbing "attractions" are just so tacky. The Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies is the best attraction in the area. And don't even think about Cades Cove -- it will be bumper to bumper for the entire 11 mile loop. And if anyone even THINKS they see a bear, it'll be jammed up even worse!

Have I convinced you to go to Disney yet? The first trip DH & I took to WDW was way back in 1995. We stayed 3 nights at Disney & were able to do a lot! Granted, AK didn't exist then, but we still got to see & do a lot of stuff. We stayed at a value resort (All Star Music) and had a wonderful time.

EXCELLENT POINT TRAFFIC IS HORRIFIC! EVERYONE IS TOO BUSY LOOKING AT THE AIR BRUSH T SHIRT PLACES AND FANTASY GOLF I'M SUPRISED WE DIDN'T GET IN A WRECK BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE NOT LOOKING WHERE THEY WERE GOING AT ALL! I DON'T GET WHY PEOPLE SPEND ALL THAT MONEY EITHER WE WENT BUT OUR TICKETS WERE ALMOST HALF OFF AND WE HAVE A HOUSE AN HOUR AWAY! AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SHOP AT AN OUTLET THERE'S AWESOME ONES IN ORLANDO NOT TOO FAR FROM DISNEY! SO UNLESS U WANT TOO SEE MOUNTAINS REALLY REALLY REALLY BADLY I WOULD STICK TO WDW!

 

[mikewdw]

uga,
1st, of course Disney, my wife and i went on our honeymoon and i love it more than any other place on the planet. we went by ourselves 5 times before we had kids and now (in a way) i want them to grow up quicker so they will love to go just like we do! our DD is 2 1/2 and twin boys 4 months so i have a little while to wait but our little girl goes around the house with a cinderella nightgown saying, "i'm a rella girl." you gotta love that.
anyway some tips i think might help you on your first trip.
i live just 30 min from GA line on I 20 (in AL) so for us it is only a 7-8 hour drive so its not bad at all. not sure where your from in GA but i would recommend driving all the way to orlando and finding a motel close by. we have stayed at the HOJO maingate east a couple of time at only $29 a night. some internet searching on google can get some sites with lots of hotels there with cheap rates.we always drive down the day before our tickets start (leave at 7-8am) and when we get to the motel the night before our reservations start we go to downtown disney for a few hours to get in the Disney spirit. for our days at disney we always stay on site. it will really add to the magic. on first day of tickets we get up early from the motel outside disney and go straight to our resort (7am or so) and get our tickets, then head to the park. we leave our luggage in the car and come back after lunch to put our stuff in our room. for my first trip i would recommend something different than the others have done. i recommend MK a whole day, mgm whole day, ak and epcot 1/2 each
(ak in morning, epcot at night so you can see illuminatiions fireworks, ak has no nightly fireworks). i know you cant do it all but you want to hit the big ones in each park. must does in each park, parades and fireworks, nobody does it better than disney. any how i have written some notes for some friends of mine who went on their first trip last summer. if you would like a copy pm with your email or address and i will send it to you. just let me know if you have any questions. good luck getting ready to go and have a great trip.
mikewdw

 

[marconat]

Yes, WDW... here is a good site to get you going www.allearsnet.com enjoy yourself.

 

[lorrainesy]

I would take disney for any time I could get it. You can see plenty in 3 days. Staying on property will help A LOT. Less travel time and the magic hour will give you more park time. I would research the parks and make a list of your must sees

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

As another East Tennessee native about 2 hours from Piegon Forge, I totally absolutly would, not a doubt in my mind, jump at the chance to go to WDW instead of there. Of course since I have been to PF over 100 times in my life I may be a just a little biased.

Actually next week I leave for Disney for 4 nights, even with it taking us 10+ hours to drive there and staying at a DVC resort, it came out cheaper for us to go the beach or PF for a week. We already have AP's for disney, so entertainment is taken care of, for free and the dining at disney for us is going to be all CS this trip, at the beach or PF we would have been spendeing upwards of $40/night for one meal, so we are still saving a boat load.

Have a great trip!

 

[bettyann29]

I dont think its silly at all!.. I have been at WDW for a week and didnt see or do everything, but in 3 days you can do quite a bit.. and as someone mentioned, since you havent been you wont know what you are missing until you go back and then you will realize and then you can do those things.. I am also going for 3 days in September and cant wait.. I think 3 days is just fine..

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

If the folks from the Tennessee Department of Tourism read this they may kick a few of us out of the state

No kidding!! But, if they do, that's ok. I'm from Alabama, and as you see from my username, I'm still a Bama girl at heart!

 

[lacy1101]

This will be our very first visit to WDW

I just gotta ask . . .

How do you get to be a DIS Cast Member with 1184 posts without ever having been to Disney?!?

Anyway, having been to Gatlingburg/Pigeon Forge several times and lucky enough to go to Disney 4 times (always planning my next trip, though!), I'd do Disney in a heartbeat, even if only for 3 days! It's a dream of mine to surprise DH with a trip to Disney, and it would probably be a 3-4 day trip. Have fun!

 

[ItGirl753]

This will be our very first visit to WDW

I just gotta ask . . .

How do you get to be a DIS Cast Member with 1184 posts without ever having been to Disney?!?

and living in Georgia too! Only a state away from WDW.

Glad you picked Disney. My BF doesn't understand why I would pick Disney over almost any trip. I'm trying to get him to go again this summer.

 

[willis37862]

Let's see...3 days in Pigeon Forge, Home of the endless-all-you-can-eat-pancake restaurants vs. WDW...a no-brainer. Go to WDW and have a fabulous first trip!

You forgot the many lovely airbrush t-shirt shops we have lining the streets. Yes I know everyone else is jealous.

But seriously I would go for Disney. I don't remember what time of year you said this was, but right now they have our main roads all tore up trying to make them better and traffic is a nightmare. So you would spend plenty of time sitting in the traffic here depending on when you got here and where they were working on the roads. We wish we were headed for Disney now ourselves. Just two months..............................

 

[AlaskaMOM]

The DH and I REALLY, REALLY want to visit WDW for our vacation this year. Initially we had planned to visit Pigeon Forge, TN for 3 nights and go to Dollywood and Splash Country. But after I got to thinking, I decided that maybe we could just go to Disney for those 3 nights instead if I could find something along the same price. We could stay in one of the value resorts for only about $50 more than just going to Pigeon Forge, with 3 day Park Hopper tix included. This will be our very first visit to WDW, and I know that there is no way to do everything in those 3 days, but I think that we could at least do some of it. I know it's only for 3 days, but I'll take that over not going at all. What do you guys think, is it a wise choice?

To get a really unbiased answer I think you also need to pose the question on the PFboards.

I think the op already had her mind made up and was looking for agreement!
And yep I totally agree!

 

[Sonno]

Dollywood???

Why would anyone go to the Smoky's and go to Dollywood? Not even 100 miles away is one of Nature's own (and one of the best) roller coasters - The Ocoee River! Heck, even closer than that is the Nantahala.

I just don't get it