Our Tennessee Christmas in Gatlinburg
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At the beginning of 2019, we had no idea we were going to have a Tennessee Christmas. This great trip was a perfect conclusion to a memorable year.
As I’ve shared before here, here, and here (to name a few), the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund granted Mihret a wish this year. They flew us out to Florida where we got to do all sorts of amazing things while staying at the Give Kids The World Village (GKTW). When we left GKTW, we were given a farewell package, which had all kinds of neat stuff – including a World Passport provided by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. This passport provided complimentary admission to our entire family to a huge list of participating amusement parks and attractions.
Once we discovered that many of the attractions in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN, were included in this passport, we knew what we needed to do.
It was time for a Tennessee Christmas.
Long time readers know that this wasn’t our first Tennessee Christmas. We had several while we were in Tennessee’s fair eastern mountains for grad school. But visits to Tennessee since our return to Indiana have been few and far between. And they especially haven’t happened on Christmas.
Christy and I have a soft spot in our heart for Gatlinburg. We visited several times while we were dating. We’ve even brought the kids to Gatlinburg several times on drives home from Myrtle Beach or Florida or Johnson City. We love Gatlinburg. So as soon as Christy suggested a Tennessee Christmas, I was sold.
What we did in Gatlinburg
Our condo
We stayed in a condo through Air BnB. It was the perfect setup. It had a small kitchen. The kids crashed in the Living Room. They had a Christmas tree set up for us. And it was only a five minute walk to most of our destinations in Gatlinburg! Like I said, it was the perfect setup.
Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge
On the way in to Gatlinburg, we stopped in Pigeon Forge to visit our first attraction on the passport: the Titanic Museum. Now, I was never really the biggest fan of the film. Don’t get me wrong, it was an impressive piece of film making. But the star-crossed love story of Jack and Rose never really tugged at my heart strings. Especially since there was plenty of space for Rose to make room for Jack on that floating debris.
I kid. I kid.
That scene never really bothered me. In fact, I’m not really sure why I was never a fan of James Cameron’s Titanic. After visiting the Titanic Museum, maybe I should watch it again.
Growing up, we had a copy of the National Geographic Titanic issue. I don’t think you could call me obsessed with the disaster, but I did pore over that magazine from cover to cover.
The museum itself is pretty impressive. From its concept to construction to commission to collision and sinking*, the museum does a pretty fantastic job in immersing you in the Titanic’s story.
Christmas Eve
Pancake Pantry
Christmas Eve morning, we got up, got dressed, and walked the five minute(!) walk to our favorite breakfast spot in all of the Smoky Mountains: Pancake Pantry+. There’s always a line out the door when we visit. We were honestly surprised at how short the line was. We only had to wait around 30 minutes.
But the wait was oh so worth it…
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies
After our pancake brunch, I ran the leftovers up to our condo (did I mention it was only a five minute walk?), we crossed the street and spent the rest of the afternoon at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. We’ve had some pretty remarkable aquarium experiences in the past, so we weren’t sure how this one would measure up. I have to say that the aquarium lived up to the hype.
We got to touch animals. That’s always cool.
There’s penguins and eels and rays and all kinds of tropical fish. There’s also crabs that look like they’re from one of those shoot-em-up arcade games where you try to stop an alien invasion.
Our favorite area, however, was the Shark Tunnel. And the highlight of that experience was probably the saw nose shark. I’ll be honest, I thought that shark was just a figment of someone’s imagination and could only be seen in cartoons because it wasn’t real.
Boy, was I wrong. They’re real, alright.
It was a memorable experience and well worth the time spent.
Guinness World Records Adventure
After the Aquarium, we walked back to our condo for dinner. We decided we had enough energy for one more adventure that Christmas Eve evening. So we walked down to the main street and went to the Guinness World Records Adventure.
Full disclosure: I wasn’t too excited about going to this attraction. It just sounded like we were going to be walking through a museum of odd world records, and that was it. Boy, was I wrong. I think all five of us wished we had allowed more time for the Guinness World Records Adventure.
Yeah, there’s kind of a “hall of records” when you first enter the building, but that changes very quickly. The rest of your time on this adventure is spent trying to break world records on your own – and some actually count as official attempts.
Aiden chopping down virtual trees. 
Christy’s attempting a Ms. Pac-man World Record 
World’s largest afro. 
This robot can solve a Rubik’s cube! 
Have you heard about my ax-ident? For the record, I was faster than Aiden. 
Aly and Mihret playing Pac-Man.
Christmas Day
After unwrapping presents and a fancy breakfast of stuffed breakfast croissants (similar to this), we eventually moseyed on over to the Ober Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway. It took a little more than five minutes. More like 15. But it was a fun little walk.
The views were spectacular. And if we had time to ski or go snow tubing, the day would’ve been even more spectacular.
We enjoyed the views, ate some snacks, and the kids rode the carousel. We considered going ice skating, but I think everyone had kind of hit the end of their energy levels. So we rode the tram back down to Gatlinburg’s main street and started walking back to our condo.
As we walked back, I couldn’t help but look around at the diverse crowd, the fancy attractions, touristy restaurants, and cheaply priced souvenir shops. “Man, I love this place,” I said to myself. And nothing was more true at that moment.
Thank you, Gatlinburg, for a memorable Tennessee Christmas!
Endnotes
*Sorry. I couldn’t come up with a synonym for “sinking” that began with “C.” I’m an awful alliterationist.
+I just discovered that Pancake Pantry was established by a couple from Indiana, proving once again that Hoosiers know how to make pancakes.
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Tennessee looks like a wonderful touristic spot! The Titanic museum and the aquarium both look like things I’d enjoy. Sorry to hear you didn’t get to ski, I try to do so every winter season and it is my favorite thing. How long did you stay in Gatlinburg?
Ahh! This is very nice.You are beautiful .love.