If you read A Helicopter Mom often, you’ve probably heard me talk about the kids tracking in and out of year-round school. While the schedule seems strange to many, we’ve come to love it and wouldn’t want to return to a traditional calendar school for our kids. While it may not work for some families, year-round school has helped our children thrive. They seem to retain everything they learned from before the last track out and always seem to have a break just when they need one.

#1 Rated “Fun & Games” Attraction on TripAdvisor Pigeon Forge Located on The Island in Pigeon Forge, The Escape Game is the Smokie’s #1 escape room and immersive adventure. As a premier provider of escape rooms, The Escape Game’s adventures play like Hollywood blockbusters with twists, turns, and jaw-dropping surprises around every corner. The Tomb Escape Game is open on weekdays from 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM and weekends from 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM. Where is the attraction located? The Tomb Escape Game is located in The Shops at Lumberjack Square: 2528 Parkway in Pigeon Forge, TN 37863.

I have to say though, that my favorite thing about year-round school is the time out of school. Instead of one extra-long summer break, our kids get extended spring, summer, fall, and winter breaks. They are usually in school for 9 weeks and then have a break of 3-5 weeks out of school.

For our family, that means we can travel.

Whether we’re headed to the beach or the mountains, to visit friends or family, or spending a few days at a theme park, we love to have family fun.

We’ve been to many places in the Southeast over the past few years and thought we’d seen pretty much everything.

Until last week.

Last week we had the most exciting family trip we’ve ever had. We packed up the car and headed for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. If you’re not too familiar with Pigeon Forge, you might think it sounds like a nice place to visit. Maybe spend a day or two there, check out a few local activities and eat at the area restaurants. That’s what we expected when we first started thinking about traveling to Pigeon Forge.

We were so wrong!

Fun Things to do in Pigeon Forge

I’ll be writing more about each of our activities in the next few weeks because I have SO much to say about them all. But for now, here’s the quick version of our family trip to Pigeon Forge, TN.

In just 5 days, our family did all of these things:

Horseback riding, Zorbing down the mountainside, indoor skydiving, Escape Game challenge, Wonderworks Kids’ Museum, Dollywood amusement park, The Island entertainment complex, 7D Dark Ride Adventure, Great Smoky Mountain Wheel, a ropes course with ziplining and 4-story freefall jump, and so much more.

It literally was the trip of a lifetime! We have never had so much fun and so many adventures on a single family trip before and will remember this trip for the rest of our lives.

Be sure to check out other fun things to do in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and stay tuned to hear more about the fun we had on our family trip!

Gratis considerations were available during this travel program. All opinions are our own.

In an area highlighted by natural beauty such as that offered by Great Smoky Mountains National Park, exchanging lodging in a hotel or motel for a cabin can offer the privacy and tranquility that are ideal for enjoying such scenery. The cities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge just north of the park celebrate their surroundings by offering dozens of cabin rentals.

Identification

Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is located on the northeastern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee, near the Tennessee-North Carolina border. The town of Pigeon Forge is just 7 miles north of Gatlinburg, connected by a scenic parkway. In addition to the Great Smoky Mountains, attractions in the area include Dollywood, the Titanic Museum and a WonderWorks, one of five 'Amusement Parks for the Mind' in the U.S.

Resorts

Resorts that offer cabin rentals also provide central amenities all guests can use. Although the cabins are private, there are opportunities to mingle with other guests if you choose. The shared amenities at Eagles Ridge Resort (eaglesridge.com) in Pigeon Forge, for example, include a swimming pool and clubhouse to complement the 150 cabins that range from single one-bedrooms to nine-bedroom chalets.

Luxury Cabins

A common theme for many cabin rental companies in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge is luxury. Luxury is not only about size, but also about extra amenities not found in most cabins. Gatlinburg Chalet Rentals (gatlinburgchalets) features cabins with up to seven bedrooms and amenities that include a sauna, hot tub, game room, fireplace and whirlpool bathtub.

Romantic Cabins

With its peaceful surroundings, the Great Smoky Mountains is a honeymooner’s paradise. Gatlinburg is known to some as “The Wedding Capital of the South,” so it is no surprise some cabin rental companies cater directly to the romance market. For example, Honeymoon Hills (honeymoonhills.co) in Gatlinburg has 30 private cabins geared toward romance that pair perfectly with the on-site wedding chapel. Each cabin has canopy beds and a heart-shaped red hot tub.

Pigeon Forge Escape Game Coupon

Family-Friendly Cabins

Family-friendly cabin rentals in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are large enough to accommodate four or more and also provide additional activity opportunities that can keep family members entertained during any downtime. Beyond the traditional TV, VCR and Internet service, other family- and kid-friendly amenities are game rooms with features like a pool table, as offered, for example, by Uncle Bud's Log Cabin Rentals' (unclebudslogcabinrentals.com) two-bedroom cabin named Bearadise.

Trapped Escape Game Pigeon Forge

About the Author

Marissa Poulson has been a freelance journalist since 2009. Her arts and entertainment reviews can be found in The Examiner. Poulson holds a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing from Arizona State University.

Photo Credits

• smoky mountains national park image by Jorge Moro from Fotolia.com

Escape Rooms Pigeon Forge Tn