Gatlinburg Vacation - What did you enjoy?

[siren0119]

I was browsing some stuff on Expedia - has anyone done or heard anything about the Paula Deen Lumberjack show and adventure park?

 

[JaxDad]

I was browsing some stuff on Expedia - has anyone done or heard anything about the Paula Deen Lumberjack show and adventure park?

We went to Lumberjack Feud several years ago--it did not have Paula Deen's name on it then. It was fun. It had all the lumberjack competitions plus dogs leaping out over water and some good music and comedy bits. It was nice because it had both dinner and non-dinner options.

 

[spiders]

I used to live in Knoxville and I used to go down to the area once or twice a month. The whole area has a lot of to offer depending on what you're looking for. If you hate tourist traps then stay out of Pigeon Forge...like all of it. Plug in different routes to get you to Gatlinburg.

Gatlinburg itself is wonderful to walk up and down the strip.

The real reason we went, though was to get to the park. The drive to Cherokee is beautiful.

Also, if you want to go to Dollywood then Dollywood is actually pretty decent for what it is.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I was browsing some stuff on Expedia - has anyone done or heard anything about the Paula Deen Lumberjack show and adventure park?

When there's a show going on, you can watch the show. It's not too bad a show either. When there isn't, you get to do some of the stuff. You can do log roll. They put you in a harness so you don't tumble onto the log and hurt yourself. They have a zip line to rail coaster. You can also do several obstacle type things. Sorry. You can't do chain sawing competition. Too dangerous.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Our trip to Gatlinburg was one of our favorite trips. We love National Parks but it was so nice to have so many commercial attractions right outside the park. Other then the obvious of hiking and driving around the parks, these are some of the things we did.... Moonshine tastings, horseback riding, Hill Billy mini golf, alpine slide, a zoo. There is a decent outlet mall and the shopping complex in Pigeon Forge (can't remember name) that has a fountain show. I can't remember what else we did but it was fun just wandering the main strip in Gatlinburg. So many great restaurants too.

 

[xipotec]

We kinda stayed away from town, its very touristy and overpriced. If you know that going in and desire that kind of place your have a blast. Most small beach towns are the same now, t-shirt shops and places selling cheap Chinese junk you can but at a dollar store.

We had a much better time in the suurounding communities , hiking, and touring the natural beauty. We also found the smaller “Mom and Pop” places much more enjoyable.

My advice is venture into the small towns surrounding that area.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Following as we're planning our first trip to Gaitlinburg/Dollywood this summer!

We're thinking about going in the fall, so I'm here to soak up information as well.

 

[Hisgirl]

This is all great info! We have finally rented a gorgeous house with a fabulous view and my DH and i are planning to actually go up for a weekend this winter to sorta get the lay of the land. We'll have five grandkids with us this summer. Not so interested in hiking, but love touristy stuff. It's so easy! Everything you need for fun is in place and you just show up.

I plan to get a lot of brochures when we go this winter and I'll sort through reviews and have a folder with the well-reviewed fun choices so once all nine of us are in place, we can look at all the options without being overwhelmed at the 100s of choices. (can you tell I'm a planner??)

I think a show would be fun, so I'll have to read reviews on those. One of our grands is mildly on the spectrum and he isn't very patient so the more action the better.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

The best thing about vacations to that area are you can do what you want. You can do absolutely none of the touristy stuff or a ton of it. Lots of hiking and waterfalls in the national park with trails for nearly every skill level or difficulty. They even have car nature trails. You can do the cheesy shows and dinner shows if you like. The food isn't the greatest but hey. When in Rome.... I suggest just doing one of them. They tend to be similar. They do have some Kountry Kookin or you can go to other restaurants. Chains are starting to move in though and I think that's a bad thing. They have outlet shopping. They have mini golf, go-carts, zip lines and the like. Bungee jumping is going out of style though so not much of that. There is Dollywood and Splash country. They also have the hotel with an indoor water park in sevierville.
I prefer to stay over in Gatlinburg because it has more of an Alpine feel to it than does Pigeon Forge. Also if I drive down to Pigeon forge, parking is widely available. Not so much in Gatlinburg where most of the strip can be walked. Gatlinburg has the ski lift with the suspension bridge on top as well as Ober and an amusement park on the side of a hill. They now have wine trails and the like and shine trails. Both are relatively new, but are fun to do. Unfortunately many of the stops are just tasting and don't have production tours. The wine is mostly sweet necessitated by the climate. Most of your napa valley grapes would rot down there. There are also local shops and the like in addition to the outlets in Pigeon Forge. One can stay in a hotel or a cabin if one likes as close too the noise or as far away from it as one wants. Is it Disney. No. Are there better national parks? Yes. But all in all there is lots to do both touresty things and nature.

 

[siren0119]

When there's a show going on, you can watch the show. It's not too bad a show either. When there isn't, you get to do some of the stuff. You can do log roll. They put you in a harness so you don't tumble onto the log and hurt yourself. They have a zip line to rail coaster. You can also do several obstacle type things. Sorry. You can't do chain sawing competition. Too dangerous.

My husband will be disappointed....me, not so much

 

[MGMmjl]

This is kind of old news, but I must have missed it when it was released last year. It looks like The Island in Pigeon Forge will be getting a "Soarin'"-esque flying theater attraction. The first article mentioned that it would be opening in early 2020, but it looks like it has been pushed back to March 2021. It will be interesting to see what kind of reviews it gets once it opens.

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/n...forge/51-8321a6ac-a6d9-49de-88e1-340b09c2f472
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-...-the-Tennessee-Flying-Theater-Co-venture.html

 

[mom2grace]

Eat breakfast at the Pancake Pantry.

 

[can'tgetenufofwdw]

Definitely get breakfast at Crockets in Gatlinburg

 

[Ericcartmanfan23]

I went to the Ripley’s Aquarium there.

 

[MGMmjl]

Eat breakfast at the Pancake Pantry.

That is a tradition for us on our last day in Gatlinburg!

 

[MIGrandma]

We love that area, going back again in March for 10 days. Looking forward to the sky bridge, Anakeetna, drives and hikes in the Smokies, the Island, maybe a show or two, shopping, sitting in the rocking chairs outside of Ol’ Smoky Moonshine and listening to the live music, and our favorite restaurants- the Apple Barn, the Old Mill, Huck Finns, Corkys BBQ, Bennett’s BBQ, the Alamo and probably try a few new ones as well.

 

[YoYoAurora]

We played tourist in Gatlinburg in September and had a blast! I have family in the area, so we don't usually do the shows or other attractions. This time, we did. The Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Show in Pigeon Forge was loads of fun, and surprisingly, the food was good. It wasn't 4 star, but better than some of the chain restaurants in town. We scored free tickets to Wonderworks, also in Pigeon Forge and loved it.

Cades Cove is a must see. Don't forget to stop at the cable mill. We also love the Roaring Forks Motor Nature Trail in Gatlinburg. Just follow Nature Trail up the mountain and enjoy. Stop at the pull outs for more nature and some gorgeous views.

I love people watching in Gatlinburg. The moonshine and whiskey tastings, for the adults, are fun, but be careful. Those little cups of liquid joy can add up quickly and you might get a buzz when you're not planning on one. Or maybe I'm just a lightweight.

The outlet mall has some decent shopping. That's not why I'm there, but I have friends who take weekend trips to Pigeon Forge just to shop.

Corkys BBQ is awesome! If you like brisket, you'll be a very happy camper. The Old Mill is good too, and the mill is great for taking photos.

Have fun! If I think of more things to do, I'll post again. Frankly, there are so many things to do that I don't think you'll get bored. Even the grand kids will be happy.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Here are a few suggestions!
1. For a backroads tour, Pink Jeep Tours... Did that at Sedona, it was amazing. Now they do the Smokys. Highly recommend based on that.
2. Anything Dolly is good and worthwhile.
3. The mountains... get up early, and take a picnic up to the Chimney Tops, in the mountains on a huge rushing creek. That is a favorite!

I second Corky's, and Cades Cove. Maybe they still hold auto traffic one or two mornings a week, and bikers can do the loop??? First half is easy and beautiful... Second half is way more uphill and demanding! Wish I could do the first half and have somebody pick me up at the hostoric village area!

Haven't ever been to the lumberjack show. But when on our Alaskan cruise, heard that many of the lumberjacks in the area went up to Alaska, like Ketchican?, when the show changed to more of the entertainment stuff.

Enjoy!!!