Our TN Getaway

The past couple of months our family has been blessed with opportunities to visit numerous attractions close to our home. We were offered a few attractions that were all in Tennessee (Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg), so we took a few days off of school (and work - for my husband) to head that way. 

We had a rainy start to our getaway, however, we enjoyed visiting many Ripley's attractions (click on the link to see our review) in Galtinburg and eating Nathan's hotdogs on the strip.. yum! 

Our hotel was an adventure all it's own. We stayed at The Resort at Governor's Crossing. If you haven't been there you should check it out... It's a great hotel with affordable prices and the pools, water-slides and lazy river are so much fun! We loved playing in the water everyday! 

We enjoyed the other amenities they had to offer as well... 

While visiting TN we had to eat at a few of our favorite places... 

What is a trip without visiting the local Harley store.... and dreaming of our next ride. 

We also visited the Titanic Museum (it was amazing!) and played Ripley's Old McDonald's Farm Mini-Golf. 

Our family had all intentions on visiting the rest of the Ripley's attractions and a few more places we had been offered to visit... however.. there was an accident. While at the hotel... playing in the water... Mommy thought it would be a good idea to try the log roll along with the kids. Needless to say, I fell... onto the log... being in so much pain we decided to visit Ober Gatlinburg and head home for Mommy to visit the doctor. ((I bruised my ribs and developed pneumonia from not breathing well. A bad ending to a great mini vacation.)) The video below shows our oldest son, Aidan, crossing the log roll. He did great... if only Mommy would have been more careful. haha! 

We had a great time.... except the getting hurt and sick part. Hopefully we will be able to visit TN again soon and use the rest of our complimentary tickets. 

Ripley's Attractions - a Family Review

If you have ever been to Gatlinburg, TN then chances are you may have visited a Ripley's attraction. Ripley's offer many family fun adventures and our family was given the opportunity to experience them... including....

• Ripley's Aquarium Of The Smokies
• Guinness World Records
• Ripley's Believe It or Not
• Ripley's Moving Theater 5D
• Ripley's Haunted Adventure
• Ripley's Mirror Maze
• Davy Crockett Mini-Golf 
• and Ripley's Old McDonald's Farm Mini-Golf (it's located in Sevierville, TN)

With our family on a time crunch we had a choose which attractions we were going to visit on this trip. So we did the best thing... we let our sons choose. First up we visited Ripley's Mirror Maze - A fun house with over 100 mirrors and you have to find your way out! This was a fun adventure.... being lost in a world of mirrors.. 

Also, at this location is Ripley's Candy Factory with hundreds of candy... from the old-time classics to the newest treats and for a great price! 

Then we visited Guinness World Records - This building is full of unbelievable exhibits, themed galleries and over 20 interactive games and challenges. You can test your skills and attempt to break a world record. We loved it here. Going through the museum was interesting and we loved the interactive exhibits, games and challenges. This place was more than we expected it to be. It was hard to get our boys to leave... 

We also visited Ripley's Moving Theater 5D. We have visited this theater in the past and we loved it each and every time. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy the bumpy ride. We jumped aboard and went wild on a crazy monkey adventure with Monkey Madness and we braved the snow and ice to enjoy an adventure with Happy Feet. 

Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies has to be one our all time favorite aquarium. Since our boys were just babies we have brought them to this aquarium a few times a year. We have watched the aquarium grow and develop into what it is today. This aquarium is amazing. There are many places to discover.... Tropical Rainforest, Ocean Realm, Shark Lagoon, Coral Reef, Discovery Center, Stingray Bay, Penguin Playhouse and much more. The aquarium also offers many experiences such as Penguin Painting, Camps and Sleepovers. For Homeschoolers there are special educational programs along with educational experiences for numerous other schools and groups.  There are many reasons to visit and always something new to discover! 

You can see another trip we made to Ripley's Aquarium HERE. 

The last Ripley's attraction we were able to visit before our trip ended was Old McDonald's Farm Mini-Golf. Our family loves mini-golf and this course was extra special with the cows, sheep and more! A little added bonus our youngest son, Noah, made 4 - hole in ones and even won an extra game! We had a blast playing and posing for pictures along the way. After putt-putt we had fun in the arcade. 

Ripley's attractions are open 365 days a year (weather permitting). With Ripley's you can never go wrong.. their attractions are fun and exciting for the whole family. Be sure to visit one soon!!