Please note: We received free and/or discounted tickets to many of the attractions we attended. All opinions expressed are our own.
Does our Pigeon Forge vacation really have to end?
We were having so much fun in Tennessee that we really didn’t want our vacation to end. My husband and I got married (almost) 18 years ago at a small church called the Sugarland Wedding Chapel on the main strip (Parkway) in Gatlinburg, TN. We try to go back to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area as often as we can (our whole family loves the area!) This year we decided to take our children to the church where it all started…
We were thrilled to see that the church was still standing, however I wish I would have called ahead of time to see if we could have gone inside to take a peek around. Unfortunately, the doors were locked when we arrived. Maybe next time!
We visited some pretty awesome attractions in Gatlinburg!
Our first attraction was to the Ripley’s Aquarium of The Smokies in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. TripAdvisor lists the Ripley’s Aquarium as one of the Top 5 Aquariums in the USA & World! That’s pretty impressive, however if you were to visit the aquarium for yourself, you can see why!
This wasn’t our first time to the aquarium, however it was just as much (if not more) fun than the past visits. Check out our full review of the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies.
Next up was the Ripley’s Guinness World Records in Gatlinburg. This is another attraction that we have visited in the past, however since adding the 20 NEW Interactive Games to test your skills, it’s even better than past visits! Our boys had so much fun challenging themselves and each other as we walked through the gallery. Trying to break a world record is so much fun—-especially for our little competitive crew!
Check out our full review of the Ripley’s Guinness World Record Gallery.
Another super fun attraction in Gatlinburg is the Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror Maze! Find your way through the maze and then shop the Ripley’s Candy Factory as you exit. What a great treat!
Check out our full review of the Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror Maze.
We have never been to a 3D movie theater, so when we heard that there was a Ripley’s Moving 5D Theater in Gatlinburg, we were excited to check it out! This is a new attraction, and we will definitely be going back!
Check out our full review of the Ripley’s 5D Moving theater.
The Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium is pretty neat! My boys love weird—and they were thrilled to check out all that this attraction had to offer.
Check out our full review of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium.
If you are into mini-golf, you have to check out the Ripley’s Davy Crockett Mini-Golf course in Gatlinburg! We really felt like this was a great bonding experience for our entire family! Even our 16 year old was laughing!
Check out our full review of Ripley’s Davy Crockett Mini-Golf.
If you’ve ever been to Pigeon Forge, I’m sure you’ve seen the upside down house. This is Wonder Works. There are over 100 interactive exhibits at Wonder Works. Our family has been there at least 3 times and our children can’t wait to visit again in the future!
Check out our full review of Wonder Works.
You can never get too many games of mini-golf in. We stopped off at the Ripley’s Old MacDonald’s Farm Mini-Golf while we were in Pigeon Forge. This golf course is top notch and it is right next to the Tanger Outlet mall, so you can enjoy a little shopping before you challenge one another in a fun game of golf.
Check out our full review of Ripley’s Old MacDonald’s Farm Mini Golf.
The Hollywood Wax Museum in Pigeon Forge is a MUST for our family vacation from now on! I was impressed at how real the wax figures looked and even more impressed at how much my children (from ages 6-16) enjoyed their time at the museum!
Check out our full review of the Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center.
What is a vacation without a little magic? Darren Romeo’s Magic Beyond Belief show in Pigeon Forge is an amazing show! There were illusions, comedy, music and more! I even got to take part in the show! You’ll have to read my full review for pictures and more details.
Check out our full review of Darren Romeo’s Magic Beyond Belief.
If you want a night full of laughs then you MUST stop by the Comedy Barn for a fun filled (clean) family comedy show! All 5 of our boys were laughing the entire time! We even bought the DVD so we could take it home and re-watch the show.
Check out our full review of The Comedy Barn show in Pigeon Forge.
Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud is not only an awesome show, but the food is delicious! You won’t leave with an empty belly, however it may a little tired from laughing so much! I helped out in this show as well, so you’ll have to stop by and read the review and see the photos!
Check out our full review of Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud.
And last but not least—-we can NOT leave out our favorite restaurant in Pigeon Forge…Mama’s Farmhouse! We actually ate at Mama’s Farmhouse more than once because the food is just so good and so filling!
We had so much fun in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee! We are already planning our next vacation!
Have you been to any of these attractions?
I seriously want to take my family on a visit! Great post!!!!!
Thanks!!! You’d have so much fun!
What a FUN time! I would love to visit Wonderworks and I have been to a Ripleys it was amazing! They always have the coolest buildings too!
Pigeon Forge is such a great place! We’ve taken several family trips there, and there is SO MUCH to do. We love it.
We’ve heard a lot of great things about Pigeon Forge but we haven’t made it down there, yet. It’s on our list, though. I’m bookmarking this.
I would not want this trip to end either. I have always wanted to go see the Ripley’s Guinness World Records.
Wow! Looks like so much to do in Pigeon Forge! WHY have I never even heard of this place? I would love to check it out – the upside down house is so cool!!
Ohh, such fun! I’ve never been to TN but it’s on my list. I need a road trip! My kids would be in heaven too.
I’ve never been to Tennessee, looks like a blast. Ripley’s is one of our favorites here in Texas.
I’ve never been there, but I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about Pigeon Forge. I would love to go one day.
Oh my goodness what an amazing sounding place to visit, I totally want to go myself now! No wonder you don’t want to leave.
My family lives out there yet I have never been to visit. I would love to see all it has to offer in person.
We’ve only really been to Tennessee while driving through it to get to Florida along Interstate 75. I’d like to go sometime to just explore the state itself sometime for a family getaway.
That looks like so much fun. This is one place I would really love to go. I think it would be a nice vacation for our family.
We love to visit Pigeon Forge! We are planning on taking a trip there over the summer!
This sounds like a fun trip. I haven’t ever been to Pigeon Forge and it sounds like a great place to visit. You shared a ton of fun activities too.
The wax museum is cool. I have been to the one in Arlington, Tx.
This trip was packed with so much fun! My family would have had a great time at the Ripley’s Aquarium and the Wonder Works house.The AHtfield and McCoy Dinner Feud would have been a great experience to have, too!
My kiddos would love many of these places! Why have I never heard of this!? I am going to add this to places we would like to go!!!
I have heard so much about Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge lately! It looks like it has everything a family could want in a vacation spot!
We have never been to Tennessee but that is on our bucket list. Thanks for featuring this, I look forward when we can visit.
I would love to visit Tennessee in the near future. That was museum would be on my must visit list!
One of the best tours I have been on in a while. Our tour guide knew her stuff! She explained the battle and answered any of our questions. She made history come to life.
We’ve been to Gatlinburg before and had a blast. We haven’t got the chance to check Pigeon Forge though. We just drove through it because we didn’t have the time. Glad you all had fun!
This looks like an amazing place to visit! Thank you for sharing, because now I can add this to my “places to travel” list.
My husband and I have been wanting to visit Pigeon Forge for a few years now, but we haven’t had a chance to visit yet. Maybe someday soon! 🙂
It’s been 25 years since I have visited Pigeon Forge! I am so impressed with how it has evolved. Nice pictures and thanks for the info: I think it’s time for another visit!
What a fun vacation! I have never been to Pigeon Forge, but it looks like a really fun place to visit. I would love to bring my family here.
I’ve never been to Pigeon Forge, but wow I looks like fun! I know my kids would LOVE to visit.
Our boys love going to Pigeon Forge! They are already talking about when we go back!
We spent 4 days there this summer and came away REALLY impressed by it. Was a shame when the wildfires hit the area, but it looks like it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
We did notice some damage from the wildfires, but all of our favorite attractions seemed to be fine. I’m sad that the chairlift and things at higher elevations were hit though.
We used to live in East Tennessee and have been to Pigeon Forge many times. It seems every time anyone came to visit that was where they wanted to go. So much to do. Can’t wait to go back with our girls, they’ve never been. SO many fun things to do.
We always talk about how nice it would be if we lived closer!
Cool things to see in Tennessee haha
There are so many fun things to do in that area. We love visiting Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.