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 Our fall trip to Pigeon Forge was not complete until we made it to the Hoot N Holler Dinner Show that is located in Wonderworks. We had visited Wonderworks on a previous trip and missed the dinner show on that trip, so we knew it was a must this time!!!
The family was not disappointed!!! The staff quickly seated us at our table which was located along the front of the stage, which made us a little nervous as to whether or not we would be involved in the show. Nevertheless, we sat down and drinks were served as was a nice big bowl of salad and some bread. Not long afterwards, the show began which was nice as Jellybean and Peanut are not very patient at waiting!!!
Scrapps is the main character and the comical one in the show. He is basically trying to steal the show (with the help of the audience) from the other 4 cast members who are traveling dancers and singers. His jokes and antics begin from the moment you walk in the door. The show has lots of crowd interaction with numerous audience members, both adults and kids, being involved in various games and skits. There is also some great dancing and singing from the cast members. Much to our relief, we did not get chosen to go up on the stage, but we were close enough for the little divas to catch the eyes of the pretty female cast members and they threw a few winks their way!!
A mysterious box is frequently mentioned by Scrapps throughout the show. It is off to the side off the stage and is suspended from the ceiling. The contents are revealed at the end of the show. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so you will just have to see the show to find out!
The meal was not the typical dinner show meal that we had been accustomed to. It was Italian food and pretty good I might add!!! It included baked ziti, chicken parmesan, and stuffed shells that were served family style and dessert was strawberry shortcake with fresh whipped cream. This was a plus for our family as we love pasta!!!
After the show, you are invited to meet the cast members and can take pictures with them as well as get autographs. Jellybean and Peanut were running to meet them and felt very special in their picture with them.
“Hoot n Holler” definitely describes this show!!! This is one of our family favorites in Pigeon Forge. The environment is intimate, the show is hysterical, and the food is good!
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 Check out the lights!
Four million—really--blue and green and clear ones on trees and buildings. Welcome to Dollywood. (www.dollywood.com). Of course it is named for star Dolly Parton who grew up in a two room cabin not far from here, pigeon forge, TN—you can even see
a replica of the cabin where she grew up with 11 brothers and sisters and it seems one bed.
The amusement park—which draws as many as 3 million visitors a year—draws something like 300,000 people just for their Smoky Mountains Christmas, complete with shows that are every bit as good as Broadway and draws families back every year (getting an entire 2010 pass for an extra 425!)
I’ve been coming for as long as I can remember,” said Justin Greer, who had brought his wife, kids and extended family from Mississippi. “It’s about getting the most for your dollar.”
I met another family who was taking their first extended family vacation in a decade—trading a Pensacola beach condo for a mountain pigeon forge cabin—and another family who are moving back to Florida after a year in Tennessee. “I feel like I haven’t done half the things on my list,” said Tamara Chilver, who had four kids with her between the ages of four months and fifteen years.
All around us were families enjoying the Christmas shows—from Babes in Toyland with the amazing Beijing acrobats (including some pint sized ones) to the traditional Christmas in the Smokies that has been here for the past nineteen years, drawing crowds of 1,ooo or more several times a day.
This is an amusement park unlike any other. There are the requisite rides—from the mini rides to the steam engine to the coasters but there is also the craft area where you can see glass blowers and blacksmiths and wagon makers and you can visit a replica of the two room cabin where Dolly Parton grew up as one of 12 children. I like that his park is all natural—an aviary for rescued Bald Eagles, with natural streams meandering through down from the mountains, where they serve the most amazing cinnamon bread and where, despite the economy, families make it a family tradition.
Earlier, I stopped at Wonder Works (www.wonderworkstn.com), which is kind of like a science museum on steroids—everything from a simulated earthquake ride, to the chance to play virtual hockey, to lay down on a bed of nails. There are optical illusions the chance to virtually finger-paint on the wall, or fly to the moon—more than 120 hands on attractions. I like that you can pay one price and leave and come back later—even getting a deal (kids free) on the dinner Hoot N’Holler Show.
That’s the thing about Pigeon Forge. You can spend the day hiking in the nation’s most visited national park just a few miles away or at Dolly Wood or a place like Wonder Works, all the while making family traditions.
And you can stay in an amazing huge log house with everything from hot tub to foosball and Jacuzzi tubs and bedrooms galore (Eagles ridge Resort www.1err.com).
Maybe you want to try the next best thing. Have you ever rolled down a hill in a giant ball. Here’s your chance--do it wet or dry in an attraction imported from New Zealand--a Zorb (www.zorb.com/smoky). I admit I was too chicken to try—rolling head over heels down a mountain strapped inside a giant rubber ball didn’t seem like my kind of fun—but it has appeal for a lot of people.
I was happy to see so many at Dollywood reveling in the shows, the lights, the funnel cakes and cinnamon bread, with kids in tow. Sounds silly, but the spirit of Christmas is all around. You can’t help but smile. I can’t wait to visit again.
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 So Much for Weight Watchers. It seems since I got to Pigeon Forge, TN (www.mypigeonforge.com), I haven’t stopped eating—corn fritters made from corn meal milled at the historic Old Mill that is on the National Register of Historic Places--continuously operating for 170 years. I started the day at The Log Cabin with country ham and fresh biscuits. Fried Green Tomatoes and freshly baked bread were on the agenda for lunch at the Pottery Café where they not only use the fresh corn meal but also produce their own pottery. (Gorgeous by the way) And I’m not even mentioning the stores that sell funnel cakes, homemade taffy and pralines.
And then there was dinner at Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede. Of course this wasn’t just about dinner—though they served creamy vegetable soup, cheddar biscuits, succulent chicken, pork, corn, potato and apple turnovers to more than 1000 people—that’s right 1000 people and it was delicious. Did I mention you eat with your hands?
But while we ate, we were treated to a stellar show that ranged from trick riding to flying fairies, a live manger scene complete with camels and the three wise men, kids chasing chickens, a hilarious comedian named Skeeter, singing, racing…I could go on. There are only three in the country (www.dixiestampede.com) here, Myrtle Beach and Branson, Mo. It is clear why people make a stop here part of their Christmas tradition every year—even at more than $40 a ticket (roughly half for kids).
And even in this economy, they sometimes do five shows a day. Impressive! Up to 11,000 people laughing, clapping, stamping their feet and on occasion, volunteering to chase the chickens (kids) race on stick reindeer (couples) and play giant horseshoes (guys) and 30 costumed riders—red and green of course—racing and doing all variety of tricks in the big arena. It really is a good old fashioned time—with good eats, a chance to forget all of your troubles—and the world’s. At least 60 per cent of those who come have been here before. There is snow, music and magic—dancing toys and acrobatic jugglers flying to the ceiling. There’s also a video of Dolly Parton reminding all of us about what the season is about—to forget bickering and be at peace with one another. She’s a very popular figure here. “When she comes it’s a mad house,” says marketing manager Jim Bo Whaley.
But this isn’t the only show in town—far from it. We stop in where magician Terry Evanswood is wowing an audience with Magic Beyond Belief—Christmas themed, of course. He’s been here for 10 years. There’s dinner theater, Elvis impersonators and more. But you can also just cuddle up in a cabin in the woods with a fire—and a hot tub on the deck.
Where are the bathing suits?
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 Trivia question: What is the most visited National Park?
(Hint: It isn’t Yellowstone, Yosemite or the Grand Canyon) It’s Great Smoky National Park—more than 550,000 acres that straddle Tennessee and North Carolina that attracts more than 9 MILLION visitors a year.
It may be because the park is gorgeous, with more than 800 miles of hiking trails, including 70 miles of the Appalachian Trail. It may be because it is so easy to get to—within a day’s drive of half the US population east of the Mississippi River. It’s one of the few national parks that is free too.
There’s hiking and biking (along the Cades Cove Loop Road, fishing and horseback riding. Locals tell me they love hiking to the Le Conte Mountain Lodge –about five miles—where you can spend the night and have someone else cook for you –my kind of back country experience! Though there are plenty of places to back pack here too. Hike to a waterfall or a mountain peak with a panoramic view of the different forests. And because this park is so far south fall colors last into November.
Unfortunately, 80 per cent of those who visit have a "windshield experience," Leon Downey tells me as we tour the park. He’s the executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism (www.mypigeonforge.com) and an avid hiker who considers the park one of his favorite places—and that’s no small thing for a man who has traveled the world. Pigeon Forge, a town of just over 6,000 people is just six miles away and is considered a gateway toward the park.
Come in January for Wilderness Wildlife Week when free workshops, lectures and guided hikes are offered by volunteers. This is also a terrific place to learn a little—or a lot--about nature. There are more tree species than in northern Europe, some 1500 flowering plans and over 200 species of birds and 60 mammals (whenever there is a bear sighting, rangers call it a "bear jam" because traffic, especially in summer, gets so snarled). There is an excellent museum in the visitors’ center that shows kids what they might or might not see—deer and mink, river otter, skunks, brook and rainbow trout. Raccoons and red foxes, snapping turtles and wild turkeys (we passed some of those on the road!)
The Cherokee—who lived here first—described the mountains as shaconage, "blue, like smoke." All of the southern Appalachians were once Cherokee land but in the 1800s, the westward move of white settlers—along with fraudulent government treaties—ultimately forced the Cherokee on "The Trail of Tears" west. Some eventually found their way back and today, their descendants, The Eastern Band of Cherokee, now live on a reservation next to the park in North Carolina. Besides the wonders of nature here, this park is a good place to learn some history—including one of the country’s largest collections of log structures and buildings put up by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression, when as many as 1,000 workers at a time camped in the park. There are more than 100 historic buildings—cabins, barns, churches, schools and even four grist mills have been preserved. On some trails, you might see the remnants of stone walls and even fireplaces from cabins.
It’s also amazing that more than half of this park was massively logged--concern about the threat to the forests was what spurred Congress to establish the park in 1934. It’s amazing looking at all of the different trees that so much of this has grown since then.
Unlike other parks, this one was created from private lands--including 1200 farms. That’s why the people of Tennessee and North Carolina always have considered this "the people’s park" and vowed that it would always be free.
All the more reason for us to get out of the car and enjoy it!
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 The Living room is beautifully decked out for the holidays with greenery, wreaths and a tree in all its glory. On the mantel in my bedroom, Santa shares space with golden elk and garland festooned with bright red holiday balls and ribbon. Even the lamp is tied with a big red and gold holiday bow and there’s a poinsettia (albeit a silk one) in the bathroom.
And I didn’t have to do a thing. (I don’t have to take down the decorations either. That’s because I’m staying at The Inn at Christmas Place (www.InnatChristmasPlace.com) in Pigeon Forge, TN (www.mypigeonforge.com) which is about an hour’s drive from Knoxville and is considered the gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Did I mention the performances by Singing Santas and caroling bells—even a two-story glockenspiel!
Pigeon Forge (population 6,100) draws over 10 million visitors a year—an admirable 86 percent returning. They come for the homey atmosphere, the attractions—shows, restaurants (chicken and dumplings or chicken fried steak maybe?), mini golf (at least five courses!), Dollywood, and access to the National Park—the most visited in the country--and seasonal festivals.
Winterfest—celebrating its 20th anniversary—is especially popular with holiday themed shows all over town and displays of more than five million lights—400 light poles decorated with lit snowflakes, skiing bears and gingerbread men, the ten days of Christmas in 10 displays (I especially liked the six geese a laying), an Old Mill on a hill complete with river rushing by, a Blacksmith forging snowflakes, Santa on a Harley, a train…Mother Goose flying, and her tales spelled out in lights-the mouse going up the clock, Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall, the cow jumping over the moon.
No wonder there are nine trolley tours a night drawing something like 9,000 people over the season (which incidentally lasts until February). “It’s become a family tradition for a lot of people to come here to see the lights,” says Sue Carr, who grew up here and now works for the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. It’s also become a tradition for families to gather here for Thanksgiving in well-priced cabins and condos—often bringing special foods with them from Louisiana or Mississippi, notes our Trolley Guide Marvelle Sewell who has been leading these tours for 12 years since they started.
I’m proud that Pigeon Forge has partnered with TakingtheKids.com as a featured destination. It’s nice to see a place that families can afford to visit (easy to snare a one-bedroom cabin for well under $100 a night) can visit the most visited national park in the country—and one of the few that is free—and do a little shopping (outlet style) play mini golf, go to Dollywood and eat till they bust.
Let me tell you about our dinner at The Old Mill Restaurant on Little Pigeon River (www.old-mill.com). The name of this town, I learn, comes from all the passenger pigeons that fed on beech tree nuts that were found on the river banks. Forge was Isaac Love’s iron works built on the east bank of the river. The Old Mill—which still grinds flour—including all that is used at the restaurant—is next door. I can feel the pounds added to my hips just thinking about dinner: corn chowder and corn fritters—with corn meal milled right here, of course—Chicken and Dumplings, southern fried chicken, ham, country fried steak. Should I go on? All accompanied by mashed potatoes, green beans—as much as we can eat.
Is there room for desert? Pecan Pie and ice cream—perhaps the best I’ve ever eaten. We practically roll over to the trolly depot to join the throngs for the five mile tour through town of the Winterfest Lights.
Everyone is in a good mood—at the hotel too. One local suggests it’s because it’s Christmas and no one had to do any work putting up lights or decorations, wrapping presents, cooking and cleaning for guests.
I like that idea. Is it time for breakfast?
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