02/08/2026
Typical places to see and visit in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge that we enjoyed were:
Titanic Museum: I can’t think of any millennial that wouldn’t be interested in checking out the Titanic! We you check in, you are given a card/boarding pass of an actual traveler on the Titanic, and an audio device that serves as a guide to the different parts of the museum. If you’re lucky, you will hear updates about your traveler as you wind your way through the different areas of the ship. I have to say, it does feel like you are on the boat in some of the areas. Test your endurance and see how long you can keep your hand in the icy water that those that didn’t make a lifeboat had to float in, test your skills and see if you could have steered away from that iceberg. And of course, find out if your traveler survived in the end. Jaxson was the only one out of the four of us that did. So much fun and educational that the teacher in me was just aching to come out!
WonderWorks: This place was just FUN! Rooms full of simulators and games to try and manipulate. Again it was very educational, without feeling educational. We loved the movement screen and Jaxson loved the huge Pin Impression board. We left here tired and excited to try more!
Buc-ee’s of Sevierville: You can’t come to the south without trying Buc-ee’s! All I can say is WOW!! This place is an experience in itself! To say this place is actually a gas station isn’t doing it any justice! We spent way too much time and way too much money here, but it was a blast, and we actually stopped here on the way home to grab breakfast and snacks for the drive!
The Bears of Downtown Gatlinburg and Shopping: Downtown Gatlinburg is full of so many cute shops and experiences, one of which are their many “Bears” hanging out for photo ops! The shops here are each different in their own way. And a thimble size sample of alcohol goes a long way when you try most of the flavors. FYI the blackberry hard cider is amazing!
Ripley’s Believe it or Not Smokey Mountains Aquarium: Blaine and I love tropical fish. It reminds us of snorkeling in the Bahamas on our honeymoon, which was my first time snorkeling! Let’s just say it was magical, and we try to recreate that moment every chance we get, which usually means we got to aquariums to find the amazing fish we saw that day. This aquarium is huge and has SO MANY different species of fish. Jaxson loved the touch pools and seeing the sharks and stingrays swim by.
Anakeesta: This is a great place for adults who want a chill day of shopping and beautiful landscape. It was fun, but Jaxson was kinda bored. Plus we went on a really hot day and there wasn’t that much shade walking around. One of the downsides was many of the things you could do here, cost extra from your initial entry fee. So we did more walking than anything. The view from the top was beautiful and we loved the music entertainment and the many comfy rocking chairs to enjoy from, but we were expecting more, just not our thing.
