pigeon forge - Stuff Parents Need

I wanted to share a few more attractions we visited during our recent stay in the Pigeon Forge area. If you missed the recaps of our visits to the Titanic attraction and to the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, be sure to go check them out. They were both incredible places to visit, even with kids!

As part of our trip, we were provided tickets to two family friendly attractions, the Dixie Stampede dinner show and Parrot Mountain and Gardens. While I think anyone would enjoy checking out both locations, I think they are particularly great for families with kids.

Dixie Stampede

This dinner show, which is owned by Ms. Dolly Parton, is so much more than a meal! Guests are allowed into a saloon an hour and a half before dinner actually begins, and can get yummy specialty drinks (like frozen slushes or fancy soda combinations…no alcohol here) and some popcorn. And you get to listen to a tremendous 3 piece band play songs that you are pretty much guaranteed to know, which makes it easy to sing along.

Darah was completely mesmerized by the banjo player (he serves as Dolly’s banjo player when she tours!). We weren’t supposed to take photos of the performers, but I snapped one of Darah in her trance!

After the pre-dinner show, we were ushered into the arena where the main event would take place. Everyone had assigned seating, so there was no actual “stampede” to get inside, which I appreciated. And once I saw the arena, I realized that there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. The tiers between rows are quite large so that views aren’t obstructed, and the performers in the show do a fantastic job of going all over the performance space so that everyone can get a good view. Once again, no photography was allowed once the show started, but here’s a shot I snapped before that time.

Throughout the show, we were served our delicious meal, which included a really yummy creamy vegetable soup (my personal favorite!), a whole rotisserie chicken (yes, a whole chicken per person!!!), a hickory smoked bbq pork loin, corn on the cob, a homemade biscuit and a herb-basted potato. For dessert we had an apple pastry that was quite yummy, and we also had unlimited Pepsi products, tea or coffee throughout the meal. To say it was a feast would be an understatement! And I appreciated that they offered doggie bags so that you could take home your leftovers.

I haven’t even told you about the show, yet. It is a very playful competition between the north and south, and includes some truly incredible trick riding on horses, great audience participation, and fun songs. It was REALLY GREAT entertainment, and our 4-year-old was on the edge of her seat the whole time! This experience, in my opinion, is really a must if you visit the Pigeon Forge area.

Parrot Mountain and Gardens

This is a very unique attraction, friends! Parrot Mountain and Gardens is basically a bird sanctuary. It is a must see for any bird enthusiasts, or even for anyone who wants a bit of a break from the hustle and bustle of most other Pigeon Forge attractions. This attraction is much more secluded in its location and its feel.

Parrot Mountain and Gardens is the largest bird park in the Southeast, and there you will find toucans, horn bills, magpies, and countless other birds. Additionally, you will see tens of thousands of flowers and plants. It is a really beautiful area, I have to say! We particularly enjoyed our stroll through the secret garden, where many different types of birds are flying freely.

There is an entire section of the park where you are invited to feed the birds. You can buy a handful of birdseed for just 25 cents! That was the best quarter I spent on the entire trip, friends!

I asked one of the attendants there which of the birds there was the friendliest with children, and he brought out this adorable bird, who is so docile that he will let you hold him like a baby!

I even tried to get Layah in on the bird petting fun, but she was content to just admire them.

Parrot Mountain and Gardens had so much for visitors to take in and enjoy. I thought it made for a very unique experience, and that it was just great for families with kids! Definitely worth taking a detour off the beaten path to see this place!

Have you ever been to either Dixie Stampede or Parrot Mountain and Gardens? And have you ever seen a parrot who would curl up like a baby??? 🙂

Special thank you to the Titanic Museum Attraction for hosting my family on our trip experience. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Just over a week ago my family paid a visit to Pigeon Forge, TN for the first time ever, and our very first stop on our trip was to check out the Titanic Museum Attraction. Are you familiar with it?

Pigeon Forge is a city that is pretty overloaded with attractions. Business after business on the main highway is trying everything they can to get your attention. But the Titanic Museum Attraction stands out from the crowd. That’s because it is a giant replica of the famous ship!

When we arrived we were greeted by ladies dressed as female crew members of the Titanic, who offered us each passenger cards. I assumed that the assignments were completely random, but as we waited in line and read our cards, we realized that they had been carefully selected based on our estimated age and gender. I had the card of a mother on board with two children, for example. And both of my girls had cards telling the stories of passengers who were very young. I thought that was particularly compelling, as it connected you more to a story of someone who was on the ship and who you, as a guest, could relate to in some way.

As we were about to enter the museum, one of our guides said that the museum hoped to pay respect to those who lost their lives on that fateful night, and the best way they could think to do that was to simply tell their stories.

While no photographs are allowed inside the museum, I can tell you this: it is FULL of amazing artifacts (over 4 million dollars worth!) and fascinating stories. For just an additional $2.50, you can purchase an audio tour, which I very highly recommend, to add additional interesting details to each room you visit. And there are guides throughout the 22,000 square foot exhibit who will also share very insightful stories with you. They are highly knowledgeable about the Titanic and its passengers, and they welcome your questions. I could tell that it was a real pleasure for them to be able to share and educate others!

There is also an audio tour for children, which I listened to here and there while going through the exhibits. I thought it was absolutely terrific, and I was really impressed that something like that existed for the younger ones. Museums can seem a little dull to kids, at times, but I noticed several things that this museum has done to make it fun and interesting for children. Just this year, in fact, they have unveiled a special gallery dedicated to the children who were on board. Additionally, there are some interactive experiences that will pique the interest of children, such as being able to sit in a row-boat much like the ones that were on the ship that night, or a room where you can feel the water temperature and air temperature as it was on the night of the crash (this was also my favorite room…highly experiential and really made you feel like you were there, in that place and at that moment…chills!). You even have the opportunity to touch a GIANT block of ice and to kids can try to steer the ship!

As part of the roughly 2 hour self-guided walk-through experience, you also get to walk down a full-scale replica of the grand staircase that was part of the Titanic. Even my 4-year-old picked up on just how grand it really was, and enjoyed being able to admire it AND walk on it!

While I think this attraction is a little tough for kids like Layah who are still young enough to be in strollers, I do think it is an excellent choice for families with kids who are just a little bit older (I’d say 5 and up). It combines entertainment with education in very clever ways. I was even impressed to learn that the museum is offering a very special package in November for homeschooling families. Talk about an awesome field trip!!!

I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to this museum. I have heard people who have visited multiple times comment that they learn and discover new things with every visit. The museum also aims to present something new almost every year. In 2014, they are going to have an exhibit focused on “Unsinkable Molly” Brown, an American passenger of the ship, and I think that is going to be extremely interesting, as there will be some rarely before seen pieces on display from Molly’s personal collections.