Our Family Christmas Trip to Tennessee: Here's Everything We Did

"I'm dreaming of a Smoky Mountain Christmas!" -Dolly Parton

I second what she said! Our family just got back from spending a long weekend in Tennessee doing what they do best- having a Smoky Mountain Christmas.

This trip was one for the books and one I know we will remember for a long time. If you would like to hear about our trip, head on over to the Podcast- "Messy Motherhood" (find it wherever you listen to podcasts). There, you'll find a podcast episode with a full recap of our trip.

This post is also meant to provide you with a full recap of our trip, complete with links and other helpful resources. I'm going to take you along for the ride in chronological order so warm up some of your Dollywood Cinnamon Bread and grab a fresh cup of coffee because it's time to dive in!

DAY ONE- The Drive and Arrival

We left in the afternoon, shortly after lunch because we wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to get there and have dinner before heading to our stay for the night. We'd had so many amazing recommendations for food and one of the restaurants really stood out to us so we decided to do that for our first dinner.

Before getting into the car, we wanted to make it as festive as we could so we grabbed some Christmas tinsel garland, a string of lights, and some zipties to decorate the inside of our car. We also got "The Grinch" story for our boy's Toniebox and we put a holiday plushie from Target in each of our boy's carseats to add to the fun, festive atmosphere. We really wanted to get them excited for what we were calling "our Christmas mountain trip!"

PS: if you are taking roadtrips for the holidays and would like to include some festive and fun activities for your kids, I've got you covered. I created a collection of holiday activitIes (plushies included) and have that ready for you HERE.

Once we arrived in Tennessee and got off on our exit, we were blown away by how festive everything was! There were so many Christmas lights and decorations all over the place which really set our trip off to a good start.

We went to dinner at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant and Grill which was really tasty! We started off with the apple fritters and juice followed by the country fried steak, chicken pot pie, chicken and dumplings, and fried chicken sampler plate. Overall, we would rate this dinner a 6.5/10. The food was good and the atmosphere was fantastic, but I think that people had hyped it up so much and it kind of fell a little flat for what we were expecting.

After dinner, we drove around town because we had NO IDEA there was so much to do! We wanted to see all that the town had to offer so we could continue planning out our trip. We drove around for a little bit before deciding to head on to our stay for the night.

Our stay for the first two nights was at an Air B and B. It was a two bedroom, two bathroom condo that had been transformed into the most stylish space we'd ever stayed! Alex went in to check out the spot and when he came back to the car he looked and me to say, "Oh, you're going to be obsessed." Obsessed was an understatement! It was absolutely stunning and this is definitely a place we would book again. The beds were comfortable, the space was tidy, and they had a Bible set out for us to sign as a guestbook. In addition to the two bedrooms, they had a bunk space in the living room which immediately caught the boy's attention. They begged us to let them stay there and we just had to say yes! I'm linking the listing HERE in case you want to check it out.

Once we got settled and changed for the night, we went to bed because we knew we had a full day ahead the following day.

DAY TWO- Breakfast and Dollywood

We woke up early the next day and we were ready to go! We knew we had a fun and full day planned so we wanted to get started as early as we could. Ahead of time, we had looked into a bunch of different options for dinner and one of the best rated places we could find was called "The Sunliner Diner" which was a 50s themed silver diner.

As soon as we walked in, we smiled so big and knew we had picked the best spot in town. It was decorated for Christmas and had old 50s cars that you could sit in to eat.

I think our server knew it was our first time there because she generously led us to one of the tables inside of a car. The boys were freaking out because they were so excited and I have to admit- I was too!

We grabbed our menus- which was made to look like a newspaper- and started looking to see what we could get. Alex and I ordered some coffee followed by your classic breakfast foods of waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, and hash browns.

The food was regular diner food, but the atmosphere really pushed everything over the top and easily made it one of our favorite meals of the whole trip! If you're in the area and can go, we would recommend it!

After we were done with breakfast, we made our way to Dollywood. The park opened at 11am, but technically you can get into the park at 10:30. We wanted to maximize our time in the park so we got there around 10:15am so we could get parked and make our way to the gate. A huge tip I have for you comes to the parking- pay for general parking, but go park in Lot F. It's right next to the preferred lot and gets you super close to the gate. The walk back to your car will be slightly uphill, but it's manageable.

Getting into the park was super easy and right away, we went to have the boys height checked. After checking the boy's heights, they give you a special colored band and a brochure to show you the rides that each child is tall enough to do. From there, we were advised to go to the left instead of going towards the right. Apparently, a lot of people go to the right which means that the walk to the left is less crowded.

We started riding rides right away and I think one of the perks about going during a weekday was that we had lower crowds and virtually no wait times for rides. We were basically able to walk right on every ride and that was really nice. I will say that I was shocked about some of the rides that the boys were able to go on. They were big coasters, but our boys handled it well and had a great time!

After a few rides, we were starting to get hungry so we were in search of the tasting pass and the cinnamon bread- two things we were advised to try. Eventually, we found them both and I'm here to say- they were worth it! The cinnamon bread was incredible and the tasting pass allowed us to try a bunch of different foods for a small price. We got one tasting pass and split it all among our family which made for plenty of food for us all! Grabbing a snack and heading into a show quickly became our favorite thing to do and let me tell you- the shows are incredible! They range from 15-55 minutes long and they're worth seeing. We saw a handful of shows ranging from all different times and each one was truly so unique and special.

The Christmas lights were visable throughout the day and we knew they were going to be stunning at night. Dollywood uses over 6 million Christmas lights throughout the park and we were eager to see them all lit up. The best way to see the lights, in my opinion, would be to take the train right at dusk or after it gets dark. The train takes you through the park and on a small loop through the country. It was such a fun ride and something I would absolutely advise you to do! Another really incredible thing you don't want to miss would be the candlelight carolers at the chapel. They started around 5pm and continued throughout the evening. Their singing was impressive and it was one of the most speical events of the whole day.

Unfortunately, it started to rain and get kind of chilly around 7:30-8pm and we were getting drenched so we decided to head back to our place for a warm shower and fresh jammies.

Overall, Dollywood was a lot of fun and we would absolutely go back!

DAY THREE- Gatlinburg and Arrival to the Wilderness in the Smokies

The following day, we woke up and knew we needed to check out by 10am so we quickly started to gather up our things and pack up the car. We were heading to a new hotel for the rest of our stay and we were very excited.

The Wilderness in the Smokies is an indoor waterpark resort and this is where we stayed for the remainder of our trip. First thing that morning, we began getting text messages to welcome us to the lodge and give us a full breakdown of all the great specials or happenings going on at the lodge that day. This made us so excited to get there and get checked in!

Once we loaded up the car, we still had a good bit of time before we were able to check in so we decided to go through the Chick fil A drive thru for breakfast and make our way to Gatlinburg. Downtown Gatlinburg is about 20 minutes from Pigeon Forge and it was a beautiful drive to get there! Once we got parked, we started walking up and down the streets of Gatlinburg which was a cute little mountain town. The shops were pretty commercialized with a few local spots here or there and as you walked through some of the village areas, you really did feel like you were in a Hallmark Christmas Movie. The town was completely decorated and so festive. There were so many things to do and were pretty shocked by that. There's no way you could go and do all of the things in one trip, you have to weigh out your options and figure out what you're going to do and when.

For lunch, we were hoping for something a little more local and not a chain restaurant that we could get back home. Earlier that day, we had seen a huge line outside of the Pancake Pantry for breakfast so we decided to try that for lunch. Can confirm: the line made sense, it was delicous! We had soup and a sandwich while the boys shared a bear shaped pancake.

After that, we were ready to make our way back to Pigeon Forge because it was getting close to the time where we could check in for the hotel. On our way back into town, we grabbed a holiday coffee and went to walk around a few of the nice hotels in the area that were decorated for Christmas. The Inn at Christmas Place, Dream More, and Heart Song were the three hotels we went to and they were all stunningly beautiful with their Christmas decorations.

Finally! The time came when we were ready to get checked in at The Wilderness in the Smokies. Pulling up to the hotel was the coolest experience. You could see the waterpark from the large windows by the road and they, too, were decorated for Christmas. Walking into the lobby and seeing the big Christmas tree standing tall really made it feel like we were having Christmas in a cabin.

Check in was super easy and two big things really stood out to me. First of all, they gave us wrist bands that we could use to scan into the waterpark, use as a room key, and a wallet. We loved this feature and it really made things easier so we didn't have to carry around a room key or wallet when we were going to or from the waterpark. The second thing, was the homeschool learning packet that they provided for our kids. The Wilderness in the Smokies loves homeschool families and provides special rates or discounts for homeschool families, plus they'll give your kiddos a learning packet at check in as well. It was honestly such a breath of fresh air and something I don't think you see very often.

After getting checked in, it was time to find our room and this is the coolest part! We got to stay in a bunk suite and walking into the room, the boys immediately started giggling with excitement because they could see the cabin style bunk beds that were there waiting for them! The bunk bed had a twin bed on top and a queen bed on the bottom. Around a small half wall, was the space where Alex and I stayed which had a queen bed, small table with chairs, couch, and doorway to the balcony that overlooked the outdoor waterpark area.

We were all so excited to go explore the rest of the resort so we scarfed down our pizza dinner and got changed into our swimsuits as fast as we could.

Getting down to the waterpark was a breeze, but we learned on thing very quickly- this place is huge! One thing I really loved about The Wilderness in the Smokies was that your trip was totally customizable, you could make it whatever you wanted it to be! They had an arcade, pottery painting, bowling, laser tag, ice skating rink, drive thru outdoor light show, and so much more in addition to the massive indoor water park. My mind was BLOWN in the best way possible.

As we got to the entrance of the waterpark, we used our bands to scan our way in and walking through those doors was, in all honesty, a little overwhelming and overstimulating. There was water everywhere, the boys wanted to go play, and we didn't know where everything was or what to do. We'd never been to a waterpark like this before and in case you haven't either, my biggest piece of advice is to take a few minutes and allow yourself the chance to become familiar with your surroundings. We walked around the park with the kids and found where everything was and had immediate relief when we saw how many lifeguards were there. They were positioned all throughout the park, at the start and end of every slide or water entrance and I cannot tell you how relieved this made me feel.

We found some chairs and decided to stay there for a couple of hours on our first night. We bounced back and forth from the big water slides to the kaleidoscope kavern lazy river and it was a solid first night. We made our way back up to the room with two very sleep boys and after our shower, we snuggled up to watch a Christmas movie in bed before falling asleep.

DAY FOUR- Wilderness at the Smokies and Christmas Shopping

The next day we woke up and we were all ready to get back into the waterpark! It opened at 9am so we had just enough time to head down to the Deli for breakfast. We grabbed a bagel sandwich and some coffee which we were able to eat at one of the tables by the lobby. I loved that they served Starbucks coffee and we felt that this was a solid choice for breakfast. They had yogurt, fruit cups, avocado toast, bagels, muffins, and more!

We ended just as the waterpark was opening so I'm happy to say that the crowd levels were low as we walked in. We found our chairs and immediately we were off, having so much fun once again. The boys loved to run and play on the splash pad area. They had a few small waterslides that the boys absolutley loved to go on and when they were ready to do something else, we could take a family lap around the lazy river or go play water basketball at the indoor water basketball space. The boys also really loved to sit and watch the people try to body board.

We spent a couple of hours at the waterpark before we decided to head back up to the room so we could get showered and changed. We wanted to try a local restaurant for lunch and start some of our Christmas shopping at the outlets not too far down the road.

Lunch was at the Five Oaks Farm Kitchen Restaurant. This place came highly recommended and we wanted to give it a try. One thing I would definitely advise you to do is to check their online waitlist before making your way to the restaurant. We checked the waitlist before leaving the hotel and it was at an hour long wait, we put ourselves on the waitlist, and by the time we got there our table was ready! Lunch was great and it was one of the best meals we had the whole trip! Rated at an 8/10.

After lunch, we scooted across the street to the Tanger Outlets to hopefully make a dent in our Christmas shopping. The outlets were super busy and it was hard to find a parking spot at first, but eventually we got parked and made our way around the shopping center. We snagged a few good deals and then we were all itching to get back to the hotel! It was getting close to dinner time so we decided to go through the Chick fil A drive thru to grab a peppermint milkshake as we headed back to the hotel.

Before we went to the hotel, we decided to go across the stree to the drivethru light show that I had mentioned earlier. It was a really cool experience that took about 20-30 minutes to drive through. The lights were synced up to the music on a radio station and it was so much fun to sing the 12 days of Christmas while sipping on our peppermint milkshakes. There was no line when we initially got there, but as we were leaving, there was a huge line to get in and we can see why. It was definitely worth it!

We got back to the hotel and everyone knew what to do- get changed and let's get down to the waterpark! We spent the rest of our evening there and it was so much fun to ride the big water slides with Aspen and take family loops on the lazy river. We were there for quite awhile, having the best time, before it was time to go back up to shower and get ready for bed.

As we were making our way back to the room, we caught a craving for a late night snack so Alex went to grab some of the brisket nachos from the Firefly bar and grille off the lobby. He brought them back up to our room and we sat on the bed, freshly showered, eating nachos and watching the Holiday Baking Championship. It was a really great last night of our trip and we weren't ready to pack up the next morning.

DAY FIVE- Wilderness at the Smokies and Head Home

Like I said- we were not ready to check out or leave! We woke up that morning and we knew that check out was at 11am so we decided to go to the waterpark one more time before it was time to leave. We did the same thing as the day before and got the bagels with coffee from the Deli by the lobby so we could get to the waterpark right as they opened at 9am.

The crowd levels were the lowest we'd seen them the whole weekend and I think a lot of that was due to the fact that people were checking out and heading home. We were able to do all of the big water slides as many times as we wanted and navigate through the indoor waterpark with ease and minimal wait times. We had one last hoorah and I felt so much sadness as I saw Alex walking towards me, reminding me of the time and telling me it was time to go get cleaned up.

But we couldn't leave without one more final fun time! After we got cleaned up and put all of our stuff in the car, we went through the lobby to the outdoor area where they had the ice skating rink. Our boys had never been ice skating and we were so eager to take them so we got our skates and hit the ice! It was a really sweet and special way to end the trip.

From there, it was time to go. We got in the car and started making our way back home!

This truly was one of the best trips for our family and we had such an incredible long weekend getting to experience a Smoky Mountain Christmas. If you have any other questions, feel free to let me know and don't forget to listen to the Messy Motherhood Podcast episode where I cover all of this and more.

See ya next time!

SB