It’s important to have both indoor and outdoor activities on the list for on a family vacation in case of bad weather. Light rains in the Pigeon Forge, TN area are common. The recent rains on our road trip led one TravelingMom to check out several cool indoor family adventures during her Smoky Mountain weekend. Here’s an honest list of the attractions we would visit again.
There is no shortage of things to do anywhere in Pigeon Forge, TN. But on our last trip, the rain moved in, leading us to seek out indoor family adventures. There are plenty to choose from in multiple eye-catching buildings. And the adventures on this list all happen to be close to each other. They are all very easy to find along the main drag.
We have visited several times and enjoyed attractions at our own expense, and some as a guest of various Pigeon Forge attractions with complimentary admission. Here is an honest list of the indoor family adventures we truly enjoyed and would do again.
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1. Flyaway Indoor Skydiving
To me, indoor skydiving was amazingly easy to try. After watching a safety video and going over hand signals with the instructor to learn how to communicate in the loud tunnel, I wasn’t nervous at all. I also wasn’t worried about my 9-year-old son trying it with me.
Even after signing a waiver, you are given the option to back out at any time if you are fearful or scared. We went full steam ahead and practiced how to fall properly. We also knew if we gave a thumbs down, it meant that we stop and make sure all is well before continuing. Kids as young as 5 can do this if they meet the weight requirement, but I would use caution there.
The Cost: $34 for your first flight and $22 after that. The flight time is around 3 minutes per person, which I felt was just the right amount for our first time. There are height and weight restrictions and you may buy a video of your flight for an extra fee. Check out our session below!
Our time at Flyaway Indoor Skydiving in Pigeon Forge was so outside of the box, and a big thumbs up. Plus I earned big cool points with my son afterwards!
2. The Tomb Egyptian Adventure
The Tomb Egyptian Adventure in Pigeon Forge is a neat, Indiana Jones-style escape game. I’ve done escape games before, but I was impressed with the colorful decor, music and effects here. My favorite part was the ceiling that lowered down on us as we worked down to the wire to solve a puzzle. (The ceiling lowers slowly and stops when time runs out, so there is no actual danger.) The tasks reminded me of the Goonies a few times.
We ran out of time and “died” in a few sections, but an attendant was with us in every room and it was fun working with another family to escape the tomb. My 4-year-old did cling to me a few times because the lights flicker in and out intermittently in a few rooms and the pharoah’s voice was a little jolting at first, but he enjoyed the adventure as well.
The Price: $13.99 for adults, and $10.99 for kids 5-12. No pictures or video allowed inside, but there are cute photo ops as you exit the game and outside the building.
3. MagiQuest
Full disclosure: wizards and wands and mythical forests are not my thing. However, my husband and sons dearly love this game. When you point your wand at multiple places in the Forest, Village and Dragon realms of MagiQuest, boxes of treasure open and characters come alive to point you to your next clue.
Each quest contains several tasks to complete to reach a higher level. You get to keep your wand and pick up where you left off on each visit. This is a special time that the boys have together and they get a lot of brain and body exercise hustling from room to room to finish their timed quests. And the medieval decor really is neat. I approve.
The Cost: $25.99 for first visit (90 min plus wand) $10.99 for returning Magi (60 min). MagiQuest also has a mirror maze, glow-in-the-dark miniature golf and a laser maze inside for additional package pricing.
4. The Titanic Museum Attraction
I’ve raved about the Titanic Museum Attraction before. We saw the big ship on the side of the road in Pigeon Forge and made it a point to stop. We were blown away by the sheer volume of artifacts and in-depth knowledge of everyone on board the RMS Titanic.
There is a dead-on replica of the grand staircase in the museum and several hands on activities for kids and adults. The staff is in full dress for the period and very knowledgeable about the RMS Titanic and the night it sank.
A big highlight: the ability to stand inside the Captain’s Bridge, touch an iceberg and put your hand in buckets of water kept at the same temperature of the water as the ship went down. You may also stand on decks of the ship at varying slopes that represented the timeline of how quickly the unsinkable ship went down.
Our kids started getting antsy at the 2 hour mark. We easily could have spent 4.
The Cost: Adults $28.50 Kids 5-12 $11.59 Family deal $71.38 (2 adults, 4 kids ages 5-18)
TravelingMom Tip: Coupon sites like Groupon regularly run coupon deals on admission here, so check first before buying tickets!
5. Hollywood Wax Museum
I had a blast at the Hollywood Wax Museum. While you are asked not to touch any of the wax figures, you can take lots of pictures with them, and many stations even include props to do so. For instance, there is a cape with Rocky Balboa and you can shoot hoops on the court with Michael Jordan. There is an empty Segway next to Paul Blart, a guitar next to Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, and there’s an empty chair next to Don Corleone.
One thing of note: my kids were too young at 9 and 4 to know who a lot of the figures were, but we enjoyed walking through the museum. They laughed when I posed with Beyonce. My husband and I took turns checking out the “scary room” of characters from horror movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th. The kids sat that one out because of the spooky music.
We bought the upgrade pass for a trip up to the observation deck and a mirror maze attraction, but I didn’t feel like it was worth it for us. I’d stick to the museum only. We would visit again because the figures change regularly and the photos are fun.
The Cost: Adults $22.99 Kids ages 4-11 $12.99
6. The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel
Yes I know the ferris wheel is definitely located outside, but I consider it somewhat “indoors” because the cabs are enclosed and air conditioned. It was a warm summer night as we made our way to The Island area of Pigeon Forge so the a/c was a welcome relief. It was also a great aerial view of the popular lighted fountains and attractions below. We could see for miles before we even reached the top.
We made 5 complete turns during our ride, the first and last of which were intermittent as people got on and off, but it wasn’t constant stoppage. It’s a must-do for the area and the Island is a nice walkable place for families, with a lot of chairs to sit by the fountains.
The cost: Adults $14.00 Kids 3-11 $9.00 (senior and military discounts available)
7. The Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud
Funny side note: I told the boys that we were going to a nice place for dinner so we shouldn’t talk about poop and farts and then we went to the Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud. It’s not overly full of toilet humor, but it’s definitely enough to hold your kids’ attention for the duration.
This is a southern humor dinner show so it’s important to expect that going in. But we also got to to hear a mix of current hits, gospel, and a stomp performance. We clapped and sang along to a lot of songs we know like Country Boy at Heart and Rocky Top. The show ends on a unifying, patriotic note. The crowd participation before and during the show is fun and the food is good.
Husband pro tip: the thick and creamy vegetable soup makes a great gravy for the mashed potatoes!
I’m careful to consider the business costs of an attraction like this before I criticize price. They pay a large cast of performers, food costs and personnel in a large facility.
But this show is a splurge. For our family of four, tickets cost $197 not including the meal gratuity. We would visit again, but we would save it for a special occasion only, catch the discounted 2 p.m. show or do it as a date night.
The Cost: (5 p.m. and 8 p.m. shows) Adults $56.95 Kids (age 3-11) $24.95
All listed attraction prices current as of June 2017.
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I too admire the diversity of Pigeon Forge. My focus in two visits has been special events featuring the arts, crafts, talents, music of the region. I very much appreciate your reporting of costs to help traveling families [plan accordingly.
4.5