Gatlinburg

[Johnny Cupcakes]

(05-28-2015, 05:42 PM)BengalHawk62 Wrote: Why do you say stay away from the Ripley's?  I'm just wondering because that was one of the 'bigger' things we were going to do. 

Ripley's Believe It Or Not & Haunted Museum were some of the more bogus tourist attractions I've ever been to....anywhere.  They're overpriced and time consuming with very low entertainment value, even for children.  They're run down and the things inside are mostly pictures tacked to a wall.  Very little interactivity and you can see the best things from right outside of the joint....put there to lure you in.  I'm not in the minority on saying this either.  Look them up on travel websites and you'll see similar reviews.

The aquarium is pretty badass though, and my son loved it. 

So things that I did actually like:

Ober Gatlinburg
Hillbilly Golf (best mini golf in history)
Pigeon Forge Alpine Coaster
The Wax Museum
Shopping, Drinking, and Eating on the Gatlinburg strip

The best thing in the area though, is BY FAR, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  If you go there without checking it out, you're blowing it.

[BFritz21]

Was only there once in sixth grade for the Junior Pro National Championships in basketball, but we definitely had fun on go karts and playing putt-putt.

[Benton]

(05-28-2015, 04:56 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: If you're referring to the one over the mountains in North Carolina, that place has gone downhill.  We were just down there last October, and we went through the park only to be really disappointed.

ah, well darn. Didn't go the last time I was here, which was 11ish years ago.

(05-28-2015, 04:56 PM)fredtoast Wrote: If your kids like caves there are the Forbidden Caverns near Sevierville and the Tuckaleeche Caverns in Townsend.

The Lost Sea is a couple of hours away, but it is by far the coolest cave/cavern in the area.

looked them up, sounds interesting. Thanks!

(05-28-2015, 05:42 PM)BengalHawk62 Wrote: Why do you say stay away from the Ripley's?  I'm just wondering because that was one of the 'bigger' things we were going to do. 

its been a long time since I did them, but for the money the ripleys didn't seem worth it, outside the aquarium.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(05-28-2015, 05:00 PM)Johnny Cupcakes Wrote: Mt. Leconte or Chimney Tops in GSMNP.  They're both amazing hikes.  Loconte is a bit of a longer hike, but super worth it, and Chimney Tops has a nice rock climb to the summit for some stellar views.

As for the cities around the park: Pigeon Forge is ok. It's got some cool go karts, but other than that, it's kinda boring. Gatlinburg is quite a bit better than PF, in my opinion.  Eat at Bubba Gumps....and stay away from all of the Ripley's "museums"....biggest waste of time and money in Tennessee.

Bubba Gumps?  Nah, Crawdaddy's......

[CINwillWIN]

Cooter's was pretty cool, Can take pictures of you and the family sitting in the General Lee.