3-Day Gatlinburg Educational Tour

3-Day Gatlinburg Educational Tour

Day 1 You'll See:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

  • Guinness Book of World Records Museum
  • Hollywood Wax Museum
  • Gatlinburg Sky Lift

Day 2 You'll See:

  • Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies
  • Ripley's Haunted Adventure
  • Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror, Maze and Candy Factory

Day 3 You'll See:

  • Ripley’s Moving Theater
  • Space Needle & Fun Center
  • Earthquake: The Ride

Day One

Guinness Book of World Records Museum - Here in the Guinness Book of World Records Museum the popular book of records comes to life through many fun displays, interactive games, trivia, themed galleries, and video. Inside these astounding walls, your group will find hundreds of exhibits of the famous records from the book itself, from sports records to space records and everything in between! There are many pieces of featured memorabilia from some of the famous record holders such as the King himself, Elvis, Michael Jordan, and the Beatles. Save plenty of time to visit the Odditorium, the only place in the city to find a 12-foot transformer, authentic vampire killing kit, and plenty of shrunken heads! This Guinness Museum addition is 12,500 square feet, containing three floors, 500 exhibits, and 16 different galleries! Before you go be sure to head over to the fun onsite gift shop, or to the secret warehouse containing the world’s smallest bicycle.

Hollywood Wax Museum - Welcome to Hollywood’s Wax Museum, the country's largest wax museum devoted strictly to celebrities. Located right off of Showplace Boulevard in the nearby city of Pigeon Forge, your group will uncover the opportunity to view sculpted replicas of film and TV stars, and also get the chance to strike a pose with them! This Smoky Mountain landmark is a full two-story building that embodies all that Dollywood is: a paradise of entertainment and attractions! Bump elbows with stars such as Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, or Natalie Portman before taking a photo with Elvis, John Wayne, or Marilyn Monroe. Make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes so you can see it all, and bring your camera with plenty of memory!

Gatlinburg Sky Lift - End your night with one of the absolute best views in Gatlinburg, atop the Smoky Mountains aboard the popular Gatlinburg Sky Lift.  This open-air chairlift ride to the top of the 1,800-foot overlook will provide your group with some of the absolute best views of the Smoky Mountains, this stop actually rated Gatlinburg’s number one scenic overlook. From the top, you will see spectacular views of lush forests and majestic mountains, the lift surrounded on three sides by the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The views from the top are truly amazing during the day, but if you come during the night they are even more unbelievable! See the gathering of dazzling lights in downtown Gatlinburg from the top of the mountain, the views were some of the most memorable views of the city you will get while here. Be sure to bring a jacket for the cool Tennessee night breeze, as well as binoculars and a camera for optimal viewing experiences!

Day Two

Ripley's Aquarium

Ripley's Aquarium

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies - Welcome to Ripley’s Aquarium, the state-of-the-art marine life education and research center located right off of River Road in Gatlinburg. This aquarium spotlights aquatic habitats from around the world, providing many hands-on exhibits including such things as Penguin Playhouse, Touch a Ray Bay, Gallery of the Seas, Shark Lagoon, Coral Reef, Ocean Realm, and Tropical Rainforest. See any daily live animal shows while here or head over to a fan favorite, The Shark Lagoon, in which you will see green moray eels, sand tiger sharks, tarpons, and green sea turtles all from the 340 foot long moving glide-path located in an underwater tunnel. Before you go head over to the Cargo Hold gift shop to pick up any fun marine-themed gifts or original penguin paintings or head to the Feeding Frenzy Eatery to grab a quick and delicious bite to eat overlooking the scenic Stingray Bay.

Ripley's Haunted Adventure - Ripley’s Haunted Adventure is also located right off of Parkway Avenue, the spot of the number one haunted house in Gatlinburg! This spooky entertainment venue features special effects, live costumed actors, and creepy animatronics to scare their guests! The house itself is a 10,000 square foot renovated mansion that actually used to be an old two-story local casket company. The 10-15 minute pitch black maze through the house will leave you a bit frazzled if you are afraid of the dark, but overall it isn’t too terrifying (they let kids as young as 6 enter). This house of many haunts is located downtown near the space needle and will provide your group with a good jolt of thrilling excitement. Don’t be afraid to be yourself while here, the owner always says "if you didn’t scream, you didn’t enjoy yourself!"

Ripley’s Marvelous Mirror, Maze and Candy Factory - End your day with some good old fashioned family entertainment here at Ripley’s Mirror Maze and Candy Factory. Inside this portion of Ripley's, you will find a large labyrinth of mirrors, providing infinite reflections and only one tricky way out. Here at this fun attraction thousands of guests have been lost, and then found again, with search parties sent out every half hour. Come face to face with yourself in this Gatlinburg city favorite full of LED lights and, as the title suggests, a marvelous maze of mirrors! Also inside, your group will find Ripley’s Candy Factory, with hundreds of candy favorites from old-time classics to the latest popular sweet treats. This cute little shop has a variety of candy that will please all the taste buds in your group, young or old!

Day Three

Ripley’s Moving Theater - Continue your fun Gatlinburg adventure with the Ripley’s Moving Theater, the only 5-D theater in the city, located right off of Parkway Ave. This theater allows you to experience the feeling of motion in seats that movie in a total of eight different directions while watching one of two short feature films. The digital effects and motion seats are state of the art and will make your group "bump, dip, and shake" through the Roadhoggers or Winter Wipeout on-screen adventures. The short, five to six-minute family-friendly animated films are a cheap and extremely fun way to spend your time in Gatlinburg, plus you can include this in your Ripley’s combo attraction package deal. After your thrilling and unique interactive motion picture experience head downtown to explore any of the nearby eateries or shops, a great way to immerse yourself into and fully experience local Gatlinburg culture!

Space Needle & Fun Center - Where can you go to get the very best views of the Great Smoky Mountains while in the middle of Gatlinburg? The Gatlinburg Space Needle and Fun Center, that’s where! This 407-foot tall observation tower was completed in 1969 and has since then attracted hundreds of thousands of guests, the 360-degree views of the mountains from the top worth the trip every single time! Enjoy the safe and comfortable glass elevators smooth ride along the 400 foot trip to the top, providing you and your group with unequaled panoramic views of the beauty that is Gatlinburg year round! After you’ve seen all you can head to the base fun center by the name of Arcadia, the 25,000 square foot two-story playground filled with the latest video and redemption games. There is also the attached Iris Theater with some of the most unique local shows, as well as the delicious Slice Pizza and Bakery when you finally work up an appetite.

Earthquake: The Ride - Experience one of Gatlinburg’s last great roadside attractions with this next stop, Earthquake: The Ride. On this heart-pounding and catastrophic live action ride you and your group will be boarding subway train no. 13 for the ride of your life, a high-tech adventure filled with special effects and tons of fun! On this short ride, you may experience sensory overload, all the various sights, sounds, motion, and real live destruction a lot to take in.  Once here strap in, hold on tight, and get ready for a crazy ride!  On the ride, your car will move out of the station just in time to see the sidewalks buckle and feel the ceilings cave in. The track will quickly disappear and sink into the ground, with sirens screaming all the while in the background. Once the walls collapse the flood of water rushes in, and you’ll swear you were right there afterward during this high tech adventure for all ages!


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