Looking to vacation in Pigeon Forge TN

[lisaross]

Thinking of visiting next April during spring break. If you've been what are your thoughts, we'll have 2 teenage boys. Is there a lot to do? What do you recommend besides Dollywood?

 

[crazylady]

Thinking of visiting next April during spring break. If you've been what are your thoughts, we'll have 2 teenage boys. Is there a lot to do? What do you recommend besides Dollywood?

We've been several times. There is alot to do there but you need to find the stuff that interests you. There is alot of cheesy touristy stuff there. For teenagers, I would look at stuff like zip lining, caving, rock climbing etc. The traffic on the main strip is horrible. I would recommend staying in a cabin away from the main strip. We usually did a sit down lunch and ate in for dinner.

 

[mommajo143]

Agreed with PP. just got home yesterday, had a blast. Lots of outdoorsy adventures to be had - great stuff like hiking (all skill levels), tubing/rafting/kayaking/canoeing, zip lining, ropes courses, horseback riding, blacksmith lessons, etc plus history which I love - tours of Indian village, cades cove loop with several examples of 100+ year old farms, mills, churches, graveyards, etc... There are plenty touristy type attractions- haunted & mirror mazes, escape rooms, etc plus of course various shows (magic, comedy, western, religious, etc). I personally found it to be a great vacation spot for all ages.

 

[lisaross]

I was actually thinking of staying In pigeon forge - we can park the car and walk to many things is this correct? We will be going mid April during spring break driving down from NYC. The weather is prob be 70's.

I would like to do a bit of everything - Dollywood - take a hike or 2 - and some mini golf, shows etc

Any must see?

 

[LadyBeBop]

I'd spend at least a day exploring the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. And a day may not be enough.

Take a drive to Clingman's Dome, the highest peak in Tennessee, and view the beautiful panorama of the park. Go to Cades Cove; there are a number of well-preserved 19th century homesteads. Or go on one of the many walking trails that lead to flora, wildlife and waterfalls.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Following - I'm looking at planning a 2018 trip here...maybe. I would love to hear thoughts on all the attractions and food for a multi-aged group (15 to 6 plus a 70 year old grandparent). I would love to know what the "best" attractions are and if there are any side trips worth taking (like Knoxville, etc). Not sure we'll pull the trigger for here vs Florida, but I'm starting to lean this way...

 

[kymom99]

I have been many times with various groups. Extended family, groups of women, etc.

If you want to walk to things, stay in gatlinburg. My fav was baskins creek condos. In pigeon forge you can walk from place to place but it is more spread out. There is a trolley you can ride also. We have stayed in cabins and that is fun but if you have teens they won't be able to walk on their own to do things they may want to do.

I have not been but there is a new entertainment area called the island I believe. You may want to check that out.

Dixie stampede is great for all ages.

Eat at the old mill, Apple barn, hard rock. Those are all good choices. I e also eaten at JT Hannah's. It was good, not crowded at lunchtime, and reasonable.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Question - is Dollywood a day and a half park or more? I know you can get in after 3pm and then go the next day all on a 1 day pass...is there more to the park or would that be good (if we picked days that cooperated)? Leaning against the water park b/c we may go to a resort with an indoor waterpark.

Anyone gone white water rafting (on gentle rapids for newbies/kids) or down in the caverns or on horses and love what they did and the company they used? Anyone tried all the Ripley's stuff and the other attractions (Wonderworks, Titanic, etc) and can compare them to Orlando?

 

[kymom99]

Question - is Dollywood a day and a half park or more? I know you can get in after 3pm and then go the next day all on a 1 day pass...is there more to the park or would that be good (if we picked days that cooperated)? Leaning against the water park b/c we may go to a resort with an indoor waterpark.

Anyone gone white water rafting (on gentle rapids for newbies/kids) or down in the caverns or on horses and love what they did and the company they used? Anyone tried all the Ripley's stuff and the other attractions (Wonderworks, Titanic, etc) and can compare them to Orlando?

Titanic is good. A day and a half is plenty for Dollywood

 

[TwoMisfits]

Hmm, so for a 7-10 day plan...
1 day and 1 1/2 day for Dollywood
3 1/2 days for dinner shows/evening shows - maybe Dixie Stampede, Hatfield and McCoy, and Comedy Barn (or the new Dixie Lumberjack or the Murder Myster one), but I will decide closer and when deals come out
1/2 day for caverns/underground lakes
1/2 day for family-level white water rafting
1/2 day for horse back riding or hiking in the mountains
1 to 2 days for other attractions (either Ripley's Aquarium and its attractions and/or Titanic, Wonderworks or the Island)
1 day for Knoxville - I'd like to see the World's Fair stuff, since the Simpsons episode peaked my interest - I know it was redone and awesome now and I figure I could visit some other attractions, too
1-2 days for indoor water park (if at my resort - I am choosing between 2 - one has free mini golf/pools and we could stay an extra 2 days and one has the free water park, but we'd stay shorter - we'd enjoy one of the resort's attractions for at least 1 full day), mini golf, shopping, local restaurants, extra hiking, or maybe a side trip to Nashville or NC...
2 date nights for my spouse and I - who knows what we'd do, but I always plan for these in my vacation when I get Nana to come...

My family is not nature-phobic, but they enjoy the "entertainment style" of Orlando...so while I would like to soak in all the nature, if I do this trip, I'm trying to balance my top 3 nature desires (underground caverns, white water and the mountains) with getting them as entertained as they like on vacation - they are big fans of Ripley's, so that's why that's on my list - since our resort would be my timeshare rental fees (so paid for) and we would drive (keeping the travel cost way low), I figure I can spent about $100/day per adult and $60/day per kid and still come out 50% ahead of my Orlando trip costs (so I could splurge and double my planned daily costs, but I'd rather see how I could do at my budget, knowing we eat at least 1 meal a day, and probably 2, in our timeshare kitchen). However, I'd love to have the trip be even cheaper...

Does this seem like a reasonable 1st hack at a plan?

 

[kymom99]

Be warned. This area is very very expensive. I have never spent more than 5 days there and still ended up spending a lot of money. The attractions in town generally don't take much time so it's easy to shell out for the next thing to catch the kids' eye, and the next and the next....

You would do well to make a day of it when you venture into the mountains. Those experiences will be free with the exception of gas and food. Try packing a picnic and taking the kids to places where they can wade in the stream. Walk some trails, look for waterfalls. Plan a scavenger hunt. Balance out the touristy things with some pool time and family game time.

If you and your husband go off alone you may want to check out the artisan shops around the loop. You can find info about these places online. Your kids won't be into that but it's a nice peaceful way to spend an afternoon. You can find a little cafe to grab a sandwich

 

[TwoMisfits]

Be warned. This area is very very expensive. I have never spent more than 5 days there and still ended up spending a lot of money. The attractions in town generally don't take much time so it's easy to shell out for the next thing to catch the kids' eye, and the next and the next....

You would do well to make a day of it when you venture into the mountains. Those experiences will be free with the exception of gas and food. Try packing a picnic and taking the kids to places where they can wade in the stream. Walk some trails, look for waterfalls. Plan a scavenger hunt. Balance out the touristy things with some pool time and family game time.

If you and your husband go off alone you may want to check out the artisan shops around the loop. You can find info about these places online. Your kids won't be into that but it's a nice peaceful way to spend an afternoon. You can find a little cafe to grab a sandwich

Yeah, I've noticed that is also seems if you do more of one thing, you get a better and better deal (so 1 Ripley's attraction is a lot, but 4 of them makes a better value, 1 dinner show is a lot but then they add on free and discount ones if you do more from the same company, etc...I figure I'll live on Groupon/Living Social for awhile and then look at the best deals to put it all together and see if the family likes it...I do know that if I go, my own personal other "must do" (other than the caverns and the white water rafting) is Paula Deen's restaurant b/c I love eating at Food Network and Bravo Top Chef chefs restaurants (I've done Emeril, Morimoto, Wolfgang Puck, Brian Voltaggio, Mike Isabella, and Spike M's places and I'd love to add more...it helps to know I can trade off places (just like I do in Orlando) when I get a deal I can't refuse (it's how I visited Legoland the 1st time and this year, how I'm doing the Merlin 3 pack...since it will be all new for my family if we go, they won't know what they are missing...it's why I also like to stay at a resort - guaranteed entertainment if we just want to veg for "free"...

 

[lisaross]

I have been many times with various groups. Extended family, groups of women, etc.

If you want to walk to things, stay in gatlinburg. My fav was baskins creek condos. In pigeon forge you can walk from place to place but it is more spread out. There is a trolley you can ride also. We have stayed in cabins and that is fun but if you have teens they won't be able to walk on their own to do things they may want to do.

I have not been but there is a new entertainment area called the island I believe. You may want to check that out.

Dixie stampede is great for all ages.

Eat at the old mill, Apple barn, hard rock. Those are all good choices. I e also eaten at JT Hannah's. It was good, not crowded at lunchtime, and reasonable.

Can u walk from pigeon forge to Gatlinburg? Does the trolley ride between both? I saw great reviews for a hotel in pigeon forge with great reviews and both an indoor and outdoor pool which would be great since we r gonna go mid April so no guarantee on warm weather.

 

[kymom99]

Can u walk from pigeon forge to Gatlinburg? Does the trolley ride between both? I saw great reviews for a hotel in pigeon forge with great reviews and both an indoor and outdoor pool which would be great since we r gonna go mid April so no guarantee on warm weather.

No you cannot walk between the two. But yes there are trolleys to take you.

 

[lisaross]

Where can u find discount tickets for attractions?

 

[Thing 1]

What we did one year was to rent a cabin. We were two couples with three tween/teen kids. We would cook a big breakfast every morning before going out and then we came back to the cabin most nights and we grilled. It was so easy and fun and saved us so much money. We did two days at Dolly Wood and one at the water park. We have done a lot of the tourist stuff through the years. Some of the shows are good and we really enjoy the Ripley's aquarium. There is an indoor miniature golf downtown that is really nice during the heat of the day. Be sure to spend plenty of time in the Great Smokey Mountains. Cades Cove is a favorite but there are tons or creeks and trails to check out. Plan a picnic one day. The Titanic Museum would be fun for teens too.

 

[crazylady]

Personally, I think 7-10 days is too much time. I think you could pair your pool days or 1/2 days with your dinner show nights and be done in 6. I don't think I'd do more than 2 dinner shows. You mentioned Nashville. That is @ 4 hours away, but it is a great place too. Maybe you could split the trip between the two areas and stop in Knoxville on your travel day? (Forgive me if my geography is off!).

We really liked the aquarium but my son was alot younger than your kids. Kids loved Wonderworks. Wonderworks got insanely crowded, but just like Disney, you'll be OK if you get there at "rope drop". They spent most of their time at Wonderworks on the ropes course. If we went again, I'd check on just getting a pass to that exhibit.

 

[crazylady]

Also, there is/was one morning a week that you could bike through Cade's Cove. I think that would be a great way to experience the ride. If you hike to the falls at Cade's Cove, it is a 5 mile hike. That takes longer than you think in the mountains. You would need more than 1/2 day to do that and see the cabins.

 

[tami82]

I can't add anything new to the above but I highly recommend Riverstone Luxury Condos in PF. We always go through VRBO and rent through the owners for a cheaper price. There is also an indoor pool there along with their lazy river pool.

 

[Cajun_country]

We stay in Pigeon Forge often. I am bad with road names etc. Anyways, I recommend staying at the end of Pigeon Forge closest to Gatlinburg. I've nearly gone once or twice a year in 17 years in a row minus 2 years when I had my kids. I got married in the Smokies because I love it so much. On some early years I made mistake of staying closer to Sevierville which ends up wasting your time in some traffic. I know the locals have a few backroads they use, and I remember there was a thread here with some nice tips on traffic. You have so many options where to stay but we often stay in a hotel, because I try to save money and we usually don't cook on vacation. We often stay at a Best Western that is right next door to the Dixie Stampede. I like it's location because it is pretty close to the end of the strip of Pigeon Forge. We often take the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge by-pass roads when we are headed into the National Park. If you get a cabin, I've always liked the Wears Valley area. I would try to go on some hikes-there are several and they are basically free. The Chimney Tops, and Alum Cave Bluffs (this one might be under construction though) are two that I like. There are several hikes to beautiful waterfalls. Just be careful of slippery rocks. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the beauty. I think for activities for teenages the zip lining would be great. I'm not sure if white water rafting if offered at that time of the year (the water is so chilly) but that is something else teenagers would probably love. In Townsend, there are places that rent tubes to go tubing in the streams. My nephew seemed to enjoy Dollywood as a young teenager, but I'd say 1 day is all you need there and if you go after 3pm one day you can go the next day for free (I think anyways, and that would be all the time you needed there probably). Plenty of places with go-carts, etc, but i'd try to enjoy the free stuff We always make a donation at some point in the National Park (in Cade's Cove) in the donation boxes, as it is the only "free" national park to enter. If you go to Cade's Cove, stop in at the Campground store before you drive the loop. you will see 100s of people walking around with ice cream. This is always our tradition to get some of the Mayfield ice cream and then eat it as we drive along the loop (or even before we make it back to the loop (it's the traditional chocolate, vanilla, or you can swirl them- waffle cones or cup whatever you want).

On our last vacation we stayed at the Clarion Inn that is located at the end of the Gatlinburg Strip. I loved this location, as it was very close to the National Park and it was easy to hop on the by-pass road and head to Pigeon Forge if we wanted to go to PF. The Clarion Inn had several restaurants within walking distance: Texas Roadhouse, Crockett's (I hear it is really good and it was right across the street), The Smoky Mountain Brewery, Calhoun's, The Best Italian (another favorite), Cherokee Grill (another favorite). I love Pancake Pantry but it's not really too close. The Clarion Inn had an indoor pool and a hot breakfast served every day.