Travel advice needed: Smoky Mountains

Asheville, yes.
Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, no.

My wife swears we went to Dollywood when we were first married. I have blocked it from my memory because I don't remember that part of the trip.

 

Don't want to create a new thread. I'm helping my parents plan a trip to Lakeland, Fla. for spring training. They want to stay somewhere close to Lakeland,Fla. and Tampa isn't out of the question because they are going to do some extra sight seeing. Any suggestions?

 

I found the place where we stayed. http://www.chaletvillage.com/rentals/1449-Chateau-de-Fleurs/?page=1 I highly recommend the company. http://www.chaletvillage.com/ They were great and always ready to come out when you needed anything.

 

Depends on what they want to do and how much money they want to spend. There are plenty of hotels a few miles from Joker Marchant (Holiday Inn, HoJo, La Quinta), and plenty more in Winter Haven. Terrace Hotel downtown is a nice non-chain place, but it can fill up quickly for spring training. Tampa neighborhoods can get kind of dicey, so might want to stay closer inland if they're going to spend most of their time in Lakeland.

 

My family went over Thanksgiving. Avoid Gatlinburg, unless you like funnel cakes, cheap t-shirts and chainsaw-carved bears. There are a FEW neat things to see, but it's a HUGE tourist trap.

I'd stay around Asheville.

Oh, make sure you get a three BEDroom cabin. Not a two bedroom with a loft. Make sure the game room and the kitchen are two SEPARATE rooms. Many toss the pool table in the kitchen and use a topper to convert to a dinner table.

Ensure you get a hot tub, and make sure (since you're going during the middle of football season) the TV is large enough to see from the other side of room. Ensure there's enough seating for the entire family. We took nine people, and seating was a problem. One couch and recliner. We had to bring the futon downstairs.

 

Made several trips to Lakeland, and there's a Holiday Inn very close to the toll road. It was nice enough, and had an old folks lounge downstairs, which made for pretty good entertainment.

I'd certainly not try to stay in Tampa -- that's a pretty good drive. If they go to Tampa, make sure they avoid Ybor City. It was a serious waste of time for us; well, it just wasn't our kind of place, and I doubt it would be cool for someone's parents.

 

Pigeon Forge is Myrtle Beach, just without the ocean. Outlet stores everywhere (this IS NOT a good thing). go-kart rides. zillions of chain restaurants (one good one--the Old Mill Inn).
stay in asheville and do day trips into the Smokies park. Some of the best scenery....any season....in the eastern half of the country. two great things to do in your car--cades cove loop road and the motor nature trail near gatlinburg. it's sad how many people go to gatlinburg/pigeon forge and do all the kitschy stuff and never even wander into the park. downtown asheville has neat restaurants/bars and cool architecture. stop by the grove park inn to see the lobby and the view, but staying there is expensive.

 

If you go to Cades Cove, be very aware that once you get in, you can't get out until you complete the loop (save the two very lengthy exits). It's an 11-mile loop, and it took us more than three hours. There's only one restroom and a little general store about halfway through. People stop FOR-EVAR to look at deer and turkeys and shit. It's beautiful, but adding the hour drive to get there from the Gatlinburg side, it's a solid four and a half hours.

 

Yeah Tampa is further than they'd like to stay; but they had a bad experience once at a Holiday Inn in Florida and they have been paranoid ever since. Maybe I'll search for hotels in Winterhaven tomorrow. Any other cities out there? One of my college buddies who is going through the system right now is virtually no help. All he said was Lakeland is small.

 

If Tampa is farther than they'd like to stay, then they won't want to stay in Kissimmee. So barring that, they're stuck with Lakeland or Winter Haven. Don't let 'em stay in Plant City.

 

Yeah, Gatlinburg is kind of a dump, but if you like to people watch, you have to at least stroll through the main drag at least one day.

There's a bunch of shows in Pigeon Forge. We went to the Dixie Stampede. It was like $40 each, but the meal is included. Food's good, but you have to eat with your hands. It's also a horse show competition where riders do various stunts. Not the greatest show, but it's not bad, and it beats the hell out of whatever second-rate Mandrell sister is in town that week.

One other thing -- if you go when UT football is playing at home, there will be UT fans galore. I'd suggest approaching as many of them as possible next year and goading them into admitting they wish Phil Fulmer was still the coach.

 

You know why Volunteers fans wear Orange?


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So they can go to the game on Saturday, go hunting on Sunday, then get back to their jobs picking up trash on the highways on Monday.