Pigeon Forge and the Titanic Museum

Admittedly, I had been wanting to go to the Titanic Museum for a while after stumbling upon one of their TikTok lives and the person giving the (virtual) tour mentioning it was haunted. 

So… off to Pigeon Forge ReRe and I went!

First, we checked into our hotel which was a super cute place with a pool right off Dollywood Lane, only about 15 minutes from the museum.

I won’t mention the name of it because I accidentally broke like nine things and set off the smoke alarm from my 45-minute shower by not shutting the bathroom door and/or turning the fan on.

So you can save $3 by purchasing your tickets to the Titanic Museum—online, in advance.

Arrive a little bit before your ‘boarding time’ and you’ll receive a text when you’re ready to board. 

When you board the ‘ship’ you’ll receive your ticket and the actors will tell you about some of the history!

I was Selma in 3rd class.

Ok so you can’t take photos until you get to the second floor. The first floor mainly is information about 2nd and 3rd class accommodations and some facts about the animals on board the Titanic. Essentially—you’ll be super depressed by the time you get to the second floor, knowing the terrible events that transpired.

Luckily, there was an actor/guide that filled us in about the grand staircases architecture, which lifted our spirits.

Then I was on top of the world!

Well, on the second floor.

Ok so once you get to the second floor you’ll enter the quarters of an Astor, a man that came from the wealthiest family in America. The vibe was very much Biltmore-esque.

Next you’ll pass through some other neat and super creepy/sad/eerie exhibits.

My favorite part of the entire museum was the deck reproduction where you could touch 28 degree water. I said to ReRe “That’s not that cold…I could swim in that water.”

Later that night at the hotel I accidentally got in the shower with the water on the cold setting and shrieked in horror shouting “absolutely fucking not,” while hastily turning it to extra warm. 

Eventually you’ll come to the end of the tour where you can see if you lived or not. My character did! But also, my husband and half of my children died.

After the titanic museum we headed over to No Way Jose’s cantina to grab some Mexican food for dinner!

Our guac app and entrees were super delish and lifted our spirits after ReRe and I pondered over the tragedy and if (in fact) the ‘Curse of the Titanic’ was real.

Post dinner we headed over to the souvenir shop to get some t-shirts and I was in heaven! Most of the souvenir shops are off the Parkway, kind of by the Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride.

There’s nothing like a souvenir shop on vacation to excite my demented little brain.

Ok so the next day we packed up somes snacks and headed out toward Douglas Lake for a morning filled with swimming.

Put ‘Douglas Lake Campground’ in your GPS and it will take you to this *adorable* shop with swimsuits, beach towels, llama floats, sodas and all things lake-like.

Pick up another souvenir, then head up the hill to the lake and enjoy some fun- filled lake time where you can swim off any spirits that may have latched onto you from the Titanic Museum.

After the lake make sure to stop by this adorable little coffee shop for a coffee or whatever—you’re on vacation so treat yourself!

I had an Oat Milk Dirty Chai and it was the perfect afternoon pick me up.

Don’t forget to then head down to historic Sevierville. Take some cute photos with the Dolly Parton statue, and don’t miss “Jolene’s”—a super cute boutique.

Also—this dog! He was my favorite and used to carry his owners bank deposits to the bank, on his own.

What a little Narnia creature!

Make sure not to miss out on The Island.

We ubered over the second night of our trip and went to Timberwood Grill for dinner. The Black Bean Burger with a side of fries was super delicious. Bonus; they had local beer on draft.

Don’t miss out on more fun stuff like a picture with a giant bear in front of The Island Trading Post, and drinks at the bars.

I’d suggest Dude’s Daiquiris or the bar at Fins Bar and Grill. I’m more of a beer lady, and Fins had Voodoo Ranger, so we cooled off there for a bit and then headed back to the hotel where I (unintentionally) continued to wreak havoc.

Our last day of the trip we went for a dip in the hotel pool and then headed to Gatlinburg for lunch at Split Rail Eats.

ReRe and I both got vegan Philly Cheesesteaks sans cheese and sides of Cucumber Salad. Their cucumber salad was to die for, and the cheese-stakes were (also) delish.

Heading back to the Carolinas I mentioned to ReRe that Pigeon Forge had a really good energy. “It’s just good wholesome fun, like souvenirs, T-shirt shops, rides, and attractions that are dedicated solely to the deaths of hundreds of innocent and helpless people.” She was like “I know it really is a nice place.”

So we only spent three days in Pigeon Forge, but I feel like you could definitely spend a while. If we had had more time we were going to go on the dinosaur ride, spend more time in downtown Serverville (go to the cute brewery), and peruse Gatlinburg.

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Now, we went to PF back in July, hence the lake day (my blog was delayed because I was rear-ended at a high speed by a Galant and ended up with a head injury. Oh and (sadly) not a chivalrous gentleman type gallant, but rather a 2009 Mitsubishi). 

The good news is: with the brain damage you can look forward to even *more* bizarre blogs and content, moving forward.