Pigeon Forge budget ideas

[MissBritt]

Applewood Farmhouse (Apple Barn) is a great place to eat- portions are large and definitely enough to split. Old Mill was nice, too, but we much prefered AB.

 

[Bete]

you can get at Dollywood celebrating her 25th year of the park. Anyway, the very large mug goes for under $15. All refills are then 99 cents thereafter. On the 25th of every month your refills are free.

Many beverages are included with this mug including slushies. We went in the spring when it was still a little cold and we had our fill of hot chocolate. Three regular sized hot chocolates fit into this mug. The cost would be around $7 OOP for these hot chocolates. We got our money back in two refills basically. We were there on the 25th, as well and we tried different beverages; because, it was free. There were many places were you could get refills. Not all the places offered the same refills.


On July 3rd on the Hallmark channel, there will be a 25th anniversary celebration about Dollywood showing the park off. There's not much out there to show you a glimpse of the park; so, I consider it a must see for those who are going there.


We went during the Festival of Nations at Dollywood. I loved all the special entertainment. Kid's Fest is going on, right now and has special entertainment, too. In the fall there's a Harvest Celebration and a Gospel fest. In early November, Dollywood's Christmas season hits. We will be back for the Christmas season. It will be more chilly there than at Disney for this time of year (usually).

If you have a car by all means take a look at Carolina which is about a two hour ride to a Cherokee reservation (casino, too) and Biltmore Estates is close by, too. There's a Carolina side to the Smokies, as well.

There are alot of small theaters with live entertainment and there are museums, too like one for Elvis. Many of these places have coupons. You go to the various tourist offices to get these books with the coupons. Hotels/resorts have these books, too, but there are more of them at the tourist offices. These same coupon books have deals for restaurants. Don't expect 2 for 1, but it ranges from a $1 to $3 off per person.

Dolly has a water park, too if you are going there in the summer.

 

[Mom_Rides]

We honeymooned in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and loved the area. We went to the Aquarium, which I would highly recommend doing. It's pricey but it was super cool! We also loved Cades Cove. We stopped at the enterance and bought a little guide book (maybe $12) that told the history of each place and had maps. We saw lots of wildlife (wild turkeys, deer, wolves, etc). My mom saw bears on the trail. On the road between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, in the park, there are some pull off spots that my DH and I really enjoyed stopping at. We got some great pictures in those spots!

We spent an afternoon browsing the outlet malls and another afternoon walking the main strip in Gatlinburg. We also played putt putt one night and went to The Black Bear Jamboree.

I would not recommend doing "Ober Gatlinburg". While it looks very cool, it's very very boring and a good waste of money. We enjoyed the ride up and down but once we got up there we were ready to leave within minutes. We really regretted doing that.

I hope you have a lovely trip. We hope to go back someday.

 

[dapookie09]

T Nails
3152 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863-3342 9 (this is the main parkway, it's in a random little shopping center)
(865) 908-2789

Crazy cheap (mani/pedi together was about $25), really clean, people were friendly...

Also if you guys want a crazy fun day out kinda thing...tubing. It's cheap and a lot of fun, and you can make it really tame or a bit more wild. We spent about 1/2 day there, and really only left that early cause we had too much other fun stuff to do

We went here, and it includes all day rafting + a lunch at their sitdown restaurant (BBQ sandwich plus a drink) for $14 total: http://www.riverragetubing.com/
(Lower Rapids= floating like a princess Upper Rapids-=crazy and only for big kids/adults!)

 

[SheenaXena21]

I live about an hour and a half away, so I go every few months. You can go to www.mypigeonforge.com and prin off some coupons.

A few weeks ago, my family and I stayed at one of the cleanest hotels I've stayed at, Park Towers Inn (I think), but there's a website... so you could google it.

You can go into just about anywhere in Pigeon Forge (restaurants or hotels) and pick up coupons and coupon books. They do help.

I wouldn't recommend parking in Gatlinburg. It was ridiculous (IMHO) to pay $8 just to park and walk around. I remember a few years ago it being $3. I'd take the trolley. It'll save you some $$$.

Also, like other PP said, Cades Cove is awesome. It seems like it takes forever to get there, and it does , but so worth it. Beautiful. Also, I recommend goin to the Chimneys picnic area. You take the Gatlinburg Bypass, and it takes about 10 minutes from Gatlinburg to get there. It's a nice place to park and have a picnic or grill out. They have outdoor grills there for you to cook hamburgers/hot dogs (take your own charcoal).

The new Titanic museum is open. I've not personally been there, but it's AWESOME to see. There's the Titanic right off the road, as soon as you enter PF, very neat to see!!!

Dollywood is always great! It's no Disney, but it's fun for the day. Splash Country is also open.

Have fun!!!

 

[minniebeth]

I wouldn't recommend parking in Gatlinburg. It was ridiculous (IMHO) to pay $8 just to park and walk around. I remember a few years ago it being $3. I'd take the trolley. It'll save you some $$$.

This is a great tip and one we wish we had known before going this past spring break. Definately use the trolley to save money and major walking when there are no spots to be had!

 

[neatokimmo]

Many beverages are included with this mug including slushies.

When we were there last month, the slushie mug was different than the coke mug?

 

[powellrj]

We were at Dollywood over spring break and I got a Gold season pass. It had free parking and a discount on all purchases so it paid for itself. I got my mug at one of the restaurants and it was cheaper than buying it other places, plus I also got my pass discount. I was able to get both slushies and soft drinks with mine. We also got a refillable popcorn bucket. It was the perfect size for us to share during the shows and we refilled it several times during the day.

I will admit I was wondering just how exciting southern gospel music could be and why would I want to spend my vacation watching it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't the music per say, I would say it was just a really fun show.

We had gotten gift certificates when resturant.com had an 80% off sale. I wouldn't do it again. I wasn't really impressed with the places offered and wouldn't eat at any of them again.

I don't remember the name of the grocery store on the main road, but if you ask at the register, they will give you a discount card and it saves a good deal on groceries. We had a condo and would eat breakfast in the room most mornings and liked to have snacks in the evening when we got back.

Get the coupon books in every shop and restaurant. We saved a great deal on things like putt put and go carts.

 

[neatokimmo]

I was able to get both slushies and soft drinks with mine.

Interesting! The man at the refill station must have told us wrong. I am going to start refilling with slushies

The grocery store on the main strip is Food City. Their ads are online if anyone wants to plan out their grocery run.

 

[maleficentmom]

hey,neatokimmo! Recently read the mssg. you left me ages ago...lol...guess we are both Gray girls?.....You are right Food City is awesome,always good prices and service......We love to stay at least 1 night at the Inn at Christmas Place,imho no place down there can compare.Pools are nice and breakfast is awesome,Santa is there! We did Titanic recently w/a family pass ticket offered on their site and saved us a bunch.I've heard Miracle is awesome from lots of people, and we like Black Bear Jamboree,although we prefer the Christmas show.We stay a lot a little mom and pop place in Sevierville called River View Inn,but usually in winter as the pool is small(but uncrowded) rooms for $30,and clean....but they have really nice jacuzzi rooms with comfy king beds for like 65 through the week. Bennetts BBQ has awesome breakfast bar and good lunch,15% off w/ coupon.And No Way Jose's is our favorite! Coupon books everywhere,if your hotel doesn't have any stop at another and check

 

[Bell30012]

It's only about 3.5 hours to Pigeon Forge for us so we go at least a couple times a year. A couple of years ago we discovered something about hotels in Sevierville, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The later the night goes the cheaper the hotel rates.

We've stayed in the Clarion, Hampton Inn, Best Western Greenbriar all for under $40 a night. We've stayed in the National Parks Resort Lodge for $30! I wouldn't try going without a reservation on a popular weekend but we have checked rates at 5:00 PM and found them at $65 or higher then returned at 8:00 PM to get the same room for $40.

 

[Disney_1derland]

do a search for half off deals pigeon forge and right now there are deals at 4 of the different shows there, one of which is the magic show at wonderworks. These deals change often and I've seen wonderworks tickets there, as well as several of the amusement type places.

We are wanting to get up there to try the Magiquest place. Kinda Harry Potter-esque type amusement place. Looks like fun!

 

[mom2d&b]

Love this thread. We just decided this morning to take a family vac next week to Pigeon Forge. Both DH and I are currently unemployeed and the kids get out of school Thursday. We figured we should make the most of our unemployment as once we get jobs we will not have vacation time for many months. We have deceived on what to do when in Pigeon Forge but now we need to figure out where to stay and book the room

 

[pixieprincessmom]

Also check out the info for the synchronized fireflies in the national park. It is starting on June 5 and I think it runs for 2 weeks. We are going to miss it by 2 days.

 

[TinkerbelleAbbysMom]

Forgive me if someone has posted these, two things...not enough time to read through it all. But you really should plan a picnic basket and at least half a day to do Cades Cove. It's simply breathtaking. Our ladies group from church goes every fall and two years go we saw over 100 dear, an eagle and a momma bear and her 2 cubs. We also saw a lone bear on the side of the road! My GP lived in Knoxville while I was growing up and we spent so much time there. My DH and I were going to get married there but his BF ended up not being ordained. That's how much it means to me!
Also you ought to eat at The Old Mill or The Mill (not sure what it's called exactly). But the food is great and you get tons, starting with a great corn chowder!
Oh and if you are looking for the Belle Island stuff, don't get your hopes up. When we were there last, it was to have been completed in summer of 09 and my guess is due to the economy, it tanked. It's a shame, b/c there are some beautiful buildings that did get built and they are just sitting there.
Have fun!!

 

[mom2d&b]

I am so excited for our upcomming trip to to Pigeon Forge. Today I am just starting my planning. Can anyone tell me how far Lookout Montain is from Pigeon Forge? What about Lynchburg? I am thinking we may try to stop by Lookout Mountain and the Jack Daniels Distillary on our way back home. Just not sure how far of a drive they both are.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

We have been coming to Gatlinburg/peigion forge for the past 9 years and we went to cades' cove for the first time today and it was absolutly AMAZING!!! We saw a bunch of deer and turkey and 5 bear CRAZY!!! My cousin took us and he said he comes all the time bike riding b/c they only live about 30 mins away and he might see 1 bear every 5 or 6 times he comes.

 

[Bell30012]

My daughter was five the first time we visited Cades Cove. She checked each home for light switches, plugs and air conditioning.

 

[DiRTyBuNNy]

I'm a local to the area (live about a half hour away) so if there is anythng y'all need me to look into for you just let me know and I'll try to oblige.

--DB

 

[dispor]

I'm a local to the area (live about a half hour away) so if there is anythng y'all need me to look into for you just let me know and I'll try to oblige.

--DB

Thanks for the offer! I've got a question for you...

We'd like to see the fireflies. The Clarion is one of the closest hotels to the Sugarlands Visitor Center. However, the person who answered the phone said that it is still too far to walk to - it would be about two miles from the hotel to the Visitors Center.

Our other option is to stay at another hotel about 2 miles away on the parkway (so about 4 miles total from the visitors center???)

I guess my question is - just how bad IS the traffic on the parkway, say at around 6 - 7 p.m. I keep hearing horror stories.... How long will it take to drive 4 miles???

Thanks!!!