The top 5 (or a few more) Must Do's in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg

Must Do's in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg TN Area 

After spending 4 months in Sevier County TN, I have learned, discovered and explored some great and some not-so great things.

A little background for those who do not know:
We are a family of four, traveling the United States in our camper. My husband and even our kids (ages 17 and 18) pick up jobs in the areas where we plan to stay for awhile. We were only going to stay in Pigeon Forge for a month but when my husband, Paul and our daughter, Shelby picked up jobs at Dollywood, we couldn't resist staying for the season. It's been a fun experience for sure!

This is a tourist area; a huge tourist areas and some may even call it a tourist trap. I love to visit tourist areas and fall for those tourist traps but I also love to discover new things, odd things, off the beaten track things.

With less than 12 days left in this area, I want to share the things I've discovered and provide some tips and suggestions to anyone coming to the area.

The Must Do's, In my opinion. These are things that I think should not be missed and places where I've discovered some hidden gems; even as biased as they may sound. 

1.) Dollywood

Of course I would have this as number one on my list and not because Paul and Shelby worked there, because I spend a lot of time there and learned some awesome things. There is something for everyone at Dollywood. There are some pretty cool thrilling rides and while they are not huge on rides like Six Flags and they are far from Disney; it is worth spending some time at Dollywood when they are not crowded. Big Tip: Do not go when they are crowded, never fun!
Don't miss Dolly Parton's Chasing Rainbows Museum; it is easy to miss it and I am so glad I found it, just trust me, it is a must see in Dollywood!! Definitely do the shows; those are my favorite and always fun!
Each season has a different theme and I am only familiar with the Harvest Festival in October and WinterFest in November/December and I loved them both.


The best ways to avoid crowds: (there are always exceptions to these but this is what I found)

• Go during the week
• The slowest weeks while I was there: 

Week of September 10th, 2018 and during the week of September 17th, 2018 (weekdays only; weekends were busy because it was still warm) There are two car shows back to back in the end of September/beginning of October: I suggest to never travel to the area during these two weeks unless you are coming for the car shows. The parkway is a slow moving parking lot and everything is crazy busy. October stays pretty busy because people come to see the fall colors (which were late this year and didn't peak until the end of October). November is pretty slow, so any week except for Thanksgiving week are good to come visit; do not come during Thanksgiving Week unless you want to wait in lines for everything all around town. It is one of the busiest weeks. The weather starts getting colder in December and you never know if it's going to be extra cold, rainy or mild so when coming in December the weather is just unpredictable but the crowds are almost nonexistent after Thanksgiving week until the weekend before Christmas week.
The park closes after the first weekend in January and doesn't open back up until mid-March so the town becomes a ghost town.

2.) Anakeesta in Gatlinburg: 

You take a ski lift up and the area on top is just so nice and peaceful and one of the best things to do to get away from everything; the food up there is even good!

3.) A Dinner Show 

Right now there are three big ones: Dolly Parton Stampeded (they changed the name from Dixie Stampede and I didn't even know that until just the other day), Dolly Parton's Celebration and Hatfield and McCoy's. There will be a Pirate dinner show next spring. We went to them all and the food is all pretty much the same and I didn't care for the feud of Hatfield and McCoy so my favorite is still the all time favorite Dixie Stampede.  I don't see the need in doing them all but definitely do at least one of them.

4.) The Smoky Mountain Opry

 Don't waste your time on any other show in the area, believe me the Smoky Mountain Opry is hands down the best show in the area; I don't care what the others advertise they have nothing on the Opry; just go there, you won't be disappointed. I did see every show in the area and some multiple times. The Christmas show at the Opry was even better than the original show but both are enjoyable.

5.) The Great Smoky Mountains

Take a few hikes. You can't come to the area without driving up the mountain and catching the views, the waterfalls and the hikes; even short ones. There is no cell service so make sure you are not working and don't need to be connected; luckily I learned this on a weekend!


Bonus: You have to travel over the mountain a little

6.) Cherokee NC, Indian Village

The real Indian village, I didn't go to the museum and it may be nice but the real village is up the hill and down the road from the museum; don't miss it!

7.) Parrot Mountain

A nice surprise where you can get up close and personal to hundreds of parrots, so much fun! This one is not far from Dollywood.

Some tips and suggestions: 

• Try to visit when it is not so crowded! It gets crowded and when it's crowded, it is definitely not enjoyable; think Disney when crowded, to me that is just not fun at all and you spend most of your time in lines. 

• Dress in layers, wear good walking shoes and bring a poncho or your own rain gear. It gets hot in the summer and cold/rainy in the fall and winter. 

• Learn to take Veterans  instead of Parkway to get from one end of Pigeon Forge to the other. Also, Teaster Lane can be taken in conjunction with Veterans and you can end up in the middle of the parkway. Bottom line, try to avoid the Parkway unless you just want to sight see. 

• Allow extra time to get somewhere; you never know about the traffic. Using the trolley system can be helpful but also can be super slow when it's busy. There are no free places to park in Gatlinburg, you can park at the welcome center and for fifty cents can take the trolley into town; to me that was well worth it for Gatlinburg since everything is within walking distance. The trolley was never more than 15-20 minutes each time we did that. For pigeon forge, it was just easier to drive since everything is more spread out. 

Other places worth some time and some of my favorites 

• The Island: I loved the water show, the shopping and Paula Deen's restaurant was worth it at least once; one of those you have to try it thing. 

• Bush's Beans Place: completely free and very interesting. The cafe there has pretty good food 

• The Lost Sea in Sweetwater TN, this one is about an hour away but so worth it if time. You take a boat ride in the cave, so cool! 

• Just walking around Gatlinburg; there is way too much to touristy things there but I enjoyed the Ripley's museum: go when not crowded and take the time to read the things; some odd and interesting things there for sure. 

• Mountain Coaster: There are so many to choose from and we only did one specific one but I have a feeling that any of them would be great. They are really fun, a little scary but not too scary! 
  

I don't recommend the movie rides; they are jerky and annoying; the Jungle Boat Ride in Pigeon Forge may look cool but it was not very good at all. The wax museum is ok, I was glad I got in free and I definitely won't bother doing it again. Lots of photo props but that's about it; we did make the most of it. The World of Illusions and all of the little supposed to be exciting attractions in the area are best avoided. They are all ok but there are so many other things worth your time and money.

Food!!!

Since I love food and love to eat out and love to try local foods I must talk about the food in the area. 

Things I have learned about food in this area: 

Seafood: not the best place to find good seafood and that is understandable. Eastern Tennessee is pretty far from any ocean so good seafood is definitely hard to come by. There is also nothing like Mississippi catfish! I tried Huck Finn's in Pigeon Forge because the reviews are great and they say it has good catfish; nope, I was highly disappointed in their catfish, not even close to good Mississippi catfish. There's a seafood buffet that is pretty popular called Captain Jim's Seafood Buffet; I wasn't brave enough to try it. I felt like there was no way it would be any good even with good reviews. There are the basic chains, Red Lobster and Joe's Crab Shack so I feel like the "local" seafood places are probably on the same level. Definitely do not come to Eastern TN for the seafood. 

BBQ: There are some pretty good BBQ places around and I'm pretty picky on BBQ. I found a place near Nashville that was amazing and haven't found anything around this area quite like it but it's not bad either. A lot of places are touristy for sure and some of them really do have some good food, some not so good. 

Fried Chicken: If you want some good fried chicken, this is the town to get it. The best was Dolly Parton's Celebration dinner show and Paula Deen's restaurant, super juicy and overall some of the best fried chicken I've ever eaten. As for fast food, they have Bojangles which to me is far superior than Popeye's. They are missing Raising Cane's: there's only one in the state at the University in Knoxville but only open when the school is open and I never wanted to take that drive. I did crave it so will hit one up as soon as I get a chance. 

Some of my favorites: 

• Apple Barn: Sure it's most definitely touristy but the food is delicious. The apple fritters are super yummy and go to the smaller walk up counter for an apple dumpling: with ice cream on it, to die for! I don't like nor am able to eat super sweet things and it had just the right amount of sweetness. 

• Alamo Steakhouse: the best steaks, everything was top notch; definitely a place to return 

• Mel's Diner: the food is not bad, the breakfast is the best but the service is amazing; they are super fast and they are always busy but you can get in and out quickly. The Banana splits are the best around too; I went just for the banana split a few times. 

• Old Mill Restaurant: Another tourist restaurant but the food is really good like Apple Barn and well worth a trip. 

• Slice Pizza Bakery in Gatlinburg by the Space Needle: This place is attached to the arcade over there and I was hesitant about it but it had good reviews so I thought I would try and I was pleasantly surprised. The pizza slices are huge, massive huge and I haven't ever had true New York style pizza but its supposed to be true to that. I am not sure if it was but it was good and massive, did I mention how big those slices are? 

• Cielito Lindo Mexican Restaurant : A good Mexican place that looks that a hole in the wall but pretty good salsa and food. 

• China Town in Sevierville: There are not many Asian Restaurants around the area; there is the basic sushi, Japanese and Hibachi and I am sure the Hibachi restaurants are good, I just didn't get around to trying them but I did try China Town and was highly impressed. I don't care for buffets so this was perfect and everything was delicious. Like the Mexican restaurant, the outside didn't look appealing but the inside was super nice and authentic. 

• New Orleans Sandwich Company in Gatlinburg, TN: I was skeptical about this having had some awesome food from New Orleans but it was a nice surprise. They didn't have the right bread but it wasn't bad. I call it a hidden gem because it is tucked in and it was a nice taste of something close to Louisiana. Better than Huck Finn's catfish for sure!

• Chocolate Monkey: The best chocolate covered strawberries and caramel apples

• Cinnamon Bread at Dollywood: I know not a restaurant, but it's a must get; made fresh everyday, warm, ooey gooey wonderfulness 

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Workamping at Dollywood

Workamping at Dollywood

Although Dollywood does not actually have a workamping program, there are still many people who work for Dollywood while camping in the area. Some have started out temporary and ended up staying, some for even years.

Dollywood was not the original plan but when traveling and exploring sometimes you have to be willing to be flexible and make some last minute changes. Overall, as a family, we like to have everything planned out and to stick to a plan but we can accept changes when they are beneficial.

The original plan was to spend a month in Pigeon Forge TN and then go to Mufreesboro TN for Paul to work at Amazon. He had secured the job already. We went to visit the campground which was the only campground available and did not care for it. It was so far away from anything and at some point I am sure we will end up staying at some place far away from town at some point but once we saw what all Dollywood had to offer, we couldn't resist staying.

What Dollywood Offers:

Pay: for my 18 year old daughter they paid her $9.50 and hour; for Paul he was paid $10.50 and hour. She was guaranteed at least 15 hours a week and mostly worked about 25 hours a week. Paul he was able to work full time and even got in some overtime.
Medical facility on site, free flu shots and wide range of medical care with a doctor and two certified nurses on staff; it is about $15 a visit.
Many perks around town:

• Free admission to Dollywood for employee, spouse and dependents. If employee was single (like my daughter) she could get one guest in anytime.
• Free admission for employee, guest and dependents to most all attractions in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg; there are way too many to list but here are a few were were able to do for free:
• Hollywood Wax Museum
• Ripley's mini golf (and other mini golf's)
• The Track (go carts and such)
• Every attraction at the Island except for the escape room and food of course
• All of the Ripley's attractions in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg
• The Smoky Mountain Opry show
• Country Tonight Show
• The Comedy Barn show
• Dixie Stampede Dinner show at $7/person
• Celebration Dinner show at $7/person
• Hatfield and McCoy Dinner show at $15/person
• The Murder Mystery Dinner show and other dinner shows at about $10/person
• All other shows in town (if they weren't dinner shows they were free)
• The Titanic
• The Crime Museum
• The Jungle boat ride
• Goats on the Road mountain coaster
• Forbidden  Caverns
• Parrot Mountain
• The Lost Sea
• Ober Gatlinburg
• Ski Lifts in Gatlinburg
• The Aquarium
• Pretty much everything in Gatlinburg
• If we wanted to travel off these are some of the attractions that Dollywood employees, their spouse and dependents can get into free:
• The Ark in Hebron Kentucky
• Ruby Falls and Rock City in Chattanooga TN
• Any Six Flags park (and water parks)
• Stone Mountain GA
• Cedar Point in Ohio
• Kings Dominion in VA
• Several parks in Kentucky
• Silver Dollar City in Branson

So many others but we counted over 50 attractions just in the area and we did not even do them all.


What Dollywood does not pay for:

• Housing, which for workamping would be a campsite
• Food

We were able to stay at a local campground for $400/month and we had to pay for the electricity on top of that but the electricity was never more than $100/month. This is reasonable for the area. When we stayed for the month, we payed $1,000 for the campsite.
Paul would have made more money with Amazon and the housing covered but sometimes it is more about the experiences and not the money.
Staying in Pigeon Forge allowed our daughter, Shelby to get a job, a job that she really enjoyed working. She loved the people she worked with and it was a wonderful experience for her.


I did not work at Dollywood myself, the only time I will workamp is during the month of July and maybe some weekend work here or there at a campground. Since I do not have first hand experience, this review will be based on Paul and Shelby's experience and what I have learned from them.

Paul's experience:

He started off in the lighting crew: they were responsible for putting up the millions of Christmas lights all over the park. There were about 4 million of them and they really start in July; he came on in September and would work from 5 am until about 3 pm Monday-Thursday and was off Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Once the lights were all up and the park ready for the Christmas season, he moved over to characters and parades. They had him dressing up as Yukon Cornelius from Rudolf the Red-nose reindeer cartoon for part of the week and then dressed as an Elf for the rest of the week. As an elf he would help work the Snow Globe: kids and parents can come into the globe and take pictures and have their pictures taken. He liked dressing up as Yukon and enjoyed that; he did not enjoy being an elf. He tolerated it for a while but then talked them into moving him to something else. He was still Yukon for part of the week and then they moved him to parades the rest of the week. He would go in some days at 1 (when the park opened up at 2) or 10:30 am (when the park opened up at 11) and when he only did parades he would go in at 5 pm. He liked the consistency and schedule when he worked with lights so he said if he were to return and work with Dollywood again, he will only agree to do the lights and start earlier (July or August) and only stay through early November when the lights are finished. The lighting crew was laid back and they had plenty of breaks and worked a lot when people were not in the park. He definitely enjoyed that much better.

Shelby's experience:

Shelby struggled at first but luckily she had an understanding team lead that took her under her wing and helped make Shelby's experience much better. Her first week, she would get overwhelmed and meltdown at least once during the night but got much better with time. She did learn how to dip the ice cream, make sundaes, shakes, and hot chocolate and did a very good job with it. She ended up enjoying the people she worked with and always wanted to come in early or stay late and volunteer to work anytime they asked her to. Sometimes they would get so busy she would be exhausted when she got off and even on those busy days not get a break (which I didn't agree with). She wouldn't say anything about needing a break although I encouraged her to speak up about it.

They both agree that there is some disorganization when it comes to scheduling and making sure everyone has breaks but I think most of that comes down to being shorthanded, which they were very shorthanded the entire time they worked there.

Most places in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg were short staffed; there were help wanted signs everywhere! There are no shortage of jobs if you are willing to work them, mostly fast food and other type restaurants, retail shops and all of the attractions. Our 17 year old son, Josh picked him up a part time job at Wonderworks. He didn't care for it that much but managed to hang on to it to help save up some money. There was way too much people interaction for him.

The interesting thing, which I haven't noticed that much, but my sister noticed: When she came for a visit she noticed how much more both Shelby and Josh had opened up. All of the other times she was around them, they always stayed quiet and away from everyone. They both engaged with her and her kids and took charge with showing them around and actually talked! I never thought about it much before but when she mentioned it I could understand what she meant. In the short 6 months of traveling and workamping, the kids have experienced so many new things and have been forced somewhat out of their comfort zones to some extent. There is a quote that I love and I truly believe in: Growth and learning comes from mistakes and getting away from your comfort zone. (My paraphrase). These are the times we do learn and grow when we get away from the daily things and things we already know how to do and do best. It's so easy to want to stay in that zone and it's not always a bad thing to do so; some people are great leaders and do a great job staying in their comfort zones and still learn and grow but they do have to venture out some to get there. Shelby loves to stay in one place once she gets comfortable and part of me completely understands it and feels bad that we are dragging her to all of these places when she just wants to stay in one place. I hope that these new experiences will be beneficial to her in the long run.

Shelby and Josh do not have personal transportation. Shelby is unable to drive and I'm not sure that she will ever be able to. Josh can drive but is a long ways from owning a car and being able to live by himself; he still has two more years of high school left. Spending the 4 months in Pigeon Forge has allowed them to be more independent than if we were still in Mississippi. The trolley system in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg was a great way for them to get around and with them both working, they had their own money so it was easy to say, go catch a trolley and will see you later. Shelby even learned her way around with the Trolleys. The area is a relative safe place and since it is all tourist areas the trolleys go to, they never felt like they were in an unsafe environment. I am not sure if there is anywhere else where they have access to everything they want to go do so easily; Josh would even take the Trolley to and from work .Housing is pretty expensive though and limited around the tourist areas so it would be difficult for either of them to live independently in the area at this time.

Dollywood closes on Jan. 5th and does not open back up until sometime in March. For those who work year-around, they will get unemployment for that time they are closed. Shelby wants to come back in March but I am not sure if she will be able to. We are going to leave it open and will see what happens. I don't want to deprive her because she does like it so much; likes the people I should say. She would also have the opportunity to try and get trained in the bakery and possibly even be able to bake things, although I am not completely sure she would be able to but maybe with time she could. I am not sure what direction she will need to go in life since she has so many more challenges. She is still on the waiting list for supportive housing in Mississippi and she may be able to work some place there that will help accept her the way those at Dollywood have but again, am unsure at this time. Without a stable place to live there, it is a challenge to overcome. Right now, we are trying to encourage her that it is ok to not grow up so fast; to take her time and let some time pass before worrying about living independently. Only time will tell and I do hope she is able to find and accept the right fit for her. She is learning more about her challenges and is becoming more vocal to others about these things to help others try and understand her better. I know its discouraging at times, and most frustrating for her and do hope her experiences are beneficial in the long run.

Some Positive Things so far since we've been on the road: 

• Paul is happier. A former co-worker of his called him up the other day and got is voicemail. The first thing he said on the message was that his voicemail sounded so much more happier and relaxed. His voicemail when he was working was quick, get to the point, leave me alone you are bothering me, type voicemail. 
• The kids coming out of their shell some; they still are not going to go up to people and just start talking, they are experiencing new things and it is noticeable. 
• Thanksgiving at the campground: Was very thankful to see so many people come together; we really thought it was just going to be us for Thanksgiving. Then after that, my sister and her family came and our daughter Abby; so we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

Pigeon Forge gets hot and humid and super busy in the summer so I know I do not want to spend the summer here. There are so many other places to visit and we are looking forward to getting out west, the pacific northwest and possibly glacier national park.

The first six months on the road have been less traveling and more just workamping and staying in areas we are comfortable with; it is now time to expand, spread our wings and soar, explore areas further out; a new adventure awaits.

I update our plan with each blog because our plans seem to change slightly so it's best not to plan too far out.
This is what we know so far:
1.) Leaving TN and going home to MS for a while; how long, we are not sure yet. We will visit family and take care of some business while we are there but not sure how long we will want to stay there.
2.) Go to Texas after MS; spend some time in Abilene with our son, Aaron and my mother.
3.) Start heading west after that; probably towards Washington State or Glacier National Park for May but take our time getting there We are already picking out spots in New Mexico and Arizona, and we will see what happens.



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