Florida trip got taken off the books for taking the family for Spring Break.
Wife/13/11/7 (all girls) now considering Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, since we're looking for something new and different
Any hot sports takes on it?
Dollywood fo the kids that love rides
A day of hiking in GSNP, weather permitting
One day to just goof off and get suckered into tourist traps
Anything to do/not to do while there?

We did it last year.
The pirate show was great.
Dollywood was really great.
Anakista was ok.

Cades cove in the gsmnp totally sucked. Way too crowded. Searching for parking at every stop. No animals cause there were so many people and cars. The drive there was pretty.
The aquarium was nice but crowded.

The traffic in PF & Gaitlinburg is crazy. Plan accordingly

March can be cold, wet snowy and foggy.

The Titanic Museum was really cool.

ColoradoMooseHerd said:

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If you want to go to Pigeon Forge to see it once and check it out, I get it. But don't think I would ever go back. Way too touristy and crowded, everything just felt like a tourist trap.

But we did check it off the list and laugh about it, but would not go back.

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I'm expecting as much, and yes, it's more of a scratch off the list of places we've been type trip.

We've run through a number of ideas and are running out of time/options on anything else, frankly.

I lobbied for a drive out to Big Bend. I lost that vote.
We ARE a bit limited on physical activities, since my middle one is disabled and tires quickly from exertion.

ColoradoMooseHerd said:

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If you want to go to Pigeon Forge to see it once and check it out, I get it. But don't think I would ever go back. Way too touristy and crowded, everything just felt like a tourist trap.

But we did check it off the list and laugh about it, but would not go back.

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This. Will never go back. Went for a wedding. When a place has 5+ go kart and putt putt places, steer clear.

Same, we enjoyed our trip to the area a couple of October's ago.
--Go hiking in the Great Smokies!
Kids enjoyed it.
Dollywood was great.
Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, we spent 3 hours in each and was done.

we went to that area fall break 2024, but we had no interest in pigeon forge. We did horseback riding twice (once in KY, once in TN), mammoth cave for a day and GSMNP for a day.
Stayed in cool themed cabins out in the middle of nowhere in haysville, NC and also franklin KY.

Wanted to do the Biltmore and or sliding rock since I did those as a kid, but didn't pan out.

One other thing, when it gets dark there, it is dark. No street lights, no moon, nada. Slightly unnerving driving at night in the mountains. Maybe no biggie for yall mountain goats, but this gulf coast city boy likes a couple street lights once in a while.

The ziplines at Climbworks are outstanding

Similar experience to some of the others. We went to Gatlinburg. Huge disappointment. Tons of tourist shops with keychains, pocketknives, coffee mugs. I guess some are into that. Just not us. Maybe spend a half day there and then head to mountains.

The GSMNP is my favorite. I love the mountains and waterfalls and the trees.

Gatlinburg is what it is, and it isn't why I like it there.

Absolutely love the area, but not because of pigeon forge and Gatlinburg. The NP, the hiking, the parkways winding through the mountains are the real gem.

Now the aquarium, Dollywood, and anakeesta were fun, but I wouldn't have thought they were worth the travel just for those attractions. The food is solid though

As someone said on another thread, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are the final boss of the tourist trap video game. It was barely worth the experience to check it off the list of regions and places to visit, but even the GSNP was so crowded we couldn't park to find a trail to hike. We were there between Christmas and NYE, which was part of the problem and could have been predicted, but still it was nuts. I suspect Spring Break will be the same.

Of all the family trips we've taken, it was the only one I would go back and have not done. Three teen kids and my wife felt the same. We took it as confirmation of what we don't want to do again.

You can soften the experience by staying in a rental cabin outside Gatlinburg, like Pittman Center or similar. That most have hot tubs, pool tables, arcades, etc inside that are fun family entertainment. Also, you can cook some meals instead of waiting in line at a restaurant.

The Hollywood car museum in Gburg was great, as was the Speedworx exotic car tour. Wife and daughter loved the Aquarium.

ETA, the best bang for our buck was putt putt golf. There are some very fun courses and we enjoyed that a lot.

We stayed in the area for the football game in 2023. We didn't do much other than go to the game and hang out at the cabin. My buddy and I drove on to Pinehurst NC after that.

Two things I remember.

There is a place called Pawpaws Catfish Kitchen that was phenomenal. I ate my weight in catfish and hush puppies.

When we were driving to NC, we came across the Bush's Bean Factory. We didnt have time to stop but it looks like they have a visitor center, museum, and caf. It was a pretty impressive looking site even in the dark at 6am.

The next time we go, we will stay in a cabin in Townsend or on the NC side in the Nantahala Gorge.

Went to Gatlingurg many times growing up. This last Halloween, me and my wife went and stayed in Gatlinburg at the Gatlinburg Inn right on the strip next the the chair lift. A step back in time. Rocking chairs on the front porch that we spent hours watching people, reading, talking to other guests, etc. We went to Dollywood in the afternoon thinking we wouldn't have much to do. It was nice, no lines, and we wish we could have had a couple of more hours there to walk around, etc. We hiked a couple of days in the GSMNP. The hikes we went on weren't crowded at all, even though the tourist center was really crowded. Went to Ole Red in the evenings for live music. Went to the Comedy Barn show - corny at times, but we enjoyed it and would go again. Gatlinburg isn't for everyone, but we are already planning to go back. Oh, I personally would stay in Gatlinburg over Pigeon Forge. Have a great trip.