No Disney for us next year :-(

[Lesley Mahler]

But...we are going to Tennessee!!! We are going to Loretta Lynn's Ranch (my daughter & I love her), Dollywood, Splash Country, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Cade's Cove, Clingman's Dome, Wonderworks, Hoot n Holler, Dixie Stampede, Miley Cyrus' ranch, eat @ Miley Cyrus' favorite Cracker Barrel and visit the Jack Daniels Distilery...we are staying in a cottage in the mountains!! I'm sad not to be going to Disney, but very excited about going on our Tennessee Adventure!!! Anyone been there that wants to give us some tips, advice, etc?

 

[MissMichelle]

No advice, but this sounds like SO much fun!!!

I need to plan something other then WDW next.

 

[susykt4]

Yeah, I'm going back and forth 100 times a day whether to do Disney or something else next year. I guess I'll decide when I find out what the "deal" will be for Jan/Feb. I've been to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Dollywood. You will have a blast! It's been a while so I don't have any good suggestions.

 

[goofyisinphilly]

We love Gatlinburg. It's only about 4 hours so we make day trips sometimes. Be sure to go to Cades Cove either early or late but not in the middle of the day. You will see more wild life. Most trips we have seen a few bears.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

You mean there are other places other than WDW.

Have a great time.

 

[LWatson]

We are moving back to TN in a few months, and will probably be taking our next vacation in either Ohio or Gatlinburg/Chattanooga.

I always thought it was funny that the JD dist. was in a dry town, but they have some awesome lemonade (Non Alch) at the end of the tour. When we went the town had this little old time Ice Cream Parlor that if its there you should try. If you guys have time you should see about going to Chattanooga too and going to Look Out Mtn, Ruby Falls, and the ChooChoo.

 

[minniebeth]

No advice, but would love to hear about what others say...
sounds like an AWESOME trip!!

 

[LJRJR]

It is good to try different places. We have gone to Disney 4 years in a row and my family is tired of it and say they will not go back. This year we went to Atlantis in the Bahamas instead, which was great. Maybe in years to come they will change their minds.

 

[Lesley Mahler]

We are moving back to TN in a few months, and will probably be taking our next vacation in either Ohio or Gatlinburg/Chattanooga.

I always thought it was funny that the JD dist. was in a dry town, but they have some awesome lemonade (Non Alch) at the end of the tour. When we went the town had this little old time Ice Cream Parlor that if its there you should try. If you guys have time you should see about going to Chattanooga too and going to Look Out Mtn, Ruby Falls, and the ChooChoo.

I have a few questions:
1. What is JD dist.
2. What tour has awesome lemonade at the end
3. What town is the ice cream parlor in...we love ice cream
TIA

 

[bjscheel]

Haven't been there yet, but I've done some looking into it. For a while I was addicted to vrbo.com, looking for cabins to stay in. I still have several on my Favorites list, for future reference. Wahoo Ziplines looks fun, expensive, but everybody on tripadvisors says it is worth it. We wanted to do that, some rafting, Dollywood, and the National Park. Tripadvisors.com has great information.

Request a book from Tennesse.com too.

I decided to put TN off for a year or two so DD8 can get a little bigger and braver for some of these activities. She is also not looking forward to the 14 hour drive.

 

[jdkk424]

FYI: Loretta's Ranch is about 6-7 hour drive from Gatlinburg, I would not plan on staying in Gatlinburg and driving to Loretta's and then back. The ranch is ok but you do not need an entire day. You can tour her house, her cabin from KY and a museum. You can rent horses for trial rides. There is also a creek that you can play in. I live about 1 hour from her ranch and my husband grew up approx. 5 miles from her house.

 

[princessmom29]

I have a few questions:
1. What is JD dist.
2. What tour has awesome lemonade at the end
3. What town is the ice cream parlor in...we love ice cream
TIA

JD dist. = Jack Daniels distillery. It is the tour with the lemonade. (Should be lynchburg lemonade, but the town is dy. they can't serve alcohol at a distillery!) That is where the ice cream parlor is.

 

[Lesley Mahler]

FYI: Loretta's Ranch is about 6-7 hour drive from Gatlinburg, I would not plan on staying in Gatlinburg and driving to Loretta's and then back. The ranch is ok but you do not need an entire day. You can tour her house, her cabin from KY and a museum. You can rent horses for trial rides. There is also a creek that you can play in. I live about 1 hour from her ranch and my husband grew up approx. 5 miles from her house.

We are 12 hours from Gatlinburg, so what we are going to do is drive to Loretta's Ranch and sleep there for the night and tour, then finish the drive stopping in Lynchburg and then to the Gatlinburg area!!

 

[Lesley Mahler]

JD dist. = Jack Daniels distillery. It is the tour with the lemonade. (Should be lynchburg lemonade, but the town is dy. they can't serve alcohol at a distillery!) That is where the ice cream parlor is.

Oh, ok. So you can't even buy a bottle of JD at the distillery?

 

[LWatson]

Sorry I didnt get back to you on the shortenings I did. I have had a busy day. I dont remember if you can buy there or not. I know you cant consume though. It is Lynchburg that has the icecream. Sorry again.

 

[momof1princess]

this is JMHO, but i would skip wonderworks in pigeon forge. we spent over $50.00 to get in last year and it was really nothing special. half of the exhibits either didn't work, or didn't work properly. DD and DH were especially disappointed that the flight simulators weren't working. the one thing we did enjoy was the "air hockey" table. you used your hands and the puck was a ball of light on the table. pretty cool. we loved fort fun in downtown gatlinburg-it was our first time playing laser tag and we enjoyed it so much, we did it twice, lol. the drive to cades cove was spectacular and the museum of the cherokee indian in cherokee, NC, was very interesting AND inexpensive-about $8 each to get in. my DD "mined" for gems at 3 bears gift shop in pigeon forge and that was the highlight of the trip-she found a 1 carat sapphire and a 2 carat emerald! also a few pieces of garnet, a few pieces of citrine and amethyst. all from a $15 bucket of dirt!

 

[Lesley Mahler]

Did you do the Hoot n Holler dinner show? If you did, was the show and dinner worth the money, or no???
TIA

 

[dogodisney]

We've been to Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg. It's a beautiful area. Dollywood was fun. Another good place is Ripley's Aquarium. I really enjoyed it.
We went up for Christmas this past Christmas and stayed in Sevierville at Wilderness in the Smokies. Christmas Day we went to Ober Gatlinburg (Mtn.) so the kids could go ice skating. For dinner we went to the Black Bear Jamboree Christmas Spectacular. It was an awesome show and the food was decent too.

 

[Lesley Mahler]

We've been to Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg. It's a beautiful area. Dollywood was fun. Another good place is Ripley's Aquarium. I really enjoyed it.
We went up for Christmas this past Christmas and stayed in Sevierville at Wilderness in the Smokies. Christmas Day we went to Ober Gatlinburg (Mtn.) so the kids could go ice skating. For dinner we went to the Black Bear Jamboree Christmas Spectacular. It was an awesome show and the food was decent too.

Is Ober Gatlinburg (Mtn) an indoor or outdoor ice rink? My daughter is a figure skater and would love to ice skate if it will be available to do in June!!!
TIA

 

[Lesley Mahler]

Has anyone done Hillbilly Golf? If so, is the ride scary? I saw the track and it looks like you are going straight up and will drop off like a roller coaster...my daughter hates roller coasters, so I don't want to do that mini golf course if there is a sudden drop on the ride...any input would be greatly appreciated!!!
TIA