Sunday we drove to Gatlinburg - just under 3 hours, we made one pit stop just before we got off the interstate. Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge is not on the interstate… you take a state highway about 15 miles south to Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg is after that. We drove straight to the parking for the airtram access to Ober Gatlinburg, parked (paid $5, that became a theme) and walked across the street to have lunch at Calhoun's, which was pretty good. Then walked back to catch the air tram to Ober Gatlinburg. The tram is basically a supersized gondola which takes you to the actual Ober Gatlinburg which is on the top of a mountain. Neat ride. When we got to Ober Gatlinburg… was not impressed. It's very, very dated. Most of the rides, you buy tickets, or you can buy an most-access pass (i.e. the pass doesn't cover some rides). One of the most talked about rides was this Mountain Coaster. We go pay to ride it ($15 per person) and then go in. Once we get in… we then see the line (you could not see it from where you pay). The line was long, slow, and HOT. After about 30 min in line, we estimate the wait is at least another 90 min (2 hours total). The kids decide to not do it, and we bug out, so basically a waste of $60. The kids did want to do these ice bumper cars - think bumper cars on ice - which they did and enjoyed. We then headed back down on the tram and went to the cabin. I'll write about the cabin at the end. There are other options for activities in Gatlinburg and if we had to do it over, we would have done something other than Ober Gatlinburg.

Sunday night, we did Dolly Parton's Stampede (formerly Dixie Stampede). Reservations in advance are highly recommended, so we had purchased in advance a package that included tickets to the Stampede as well as one day tickets to Dollywood. The main show starts at 830 (there was an earlier show option) and they recommended we get there by 715 as there is a pre-show. You enter the compound and go to the saloon, which is where the pre-show is, open seating. They had drinks and snacks for sale. There weren't many prices posted which was annoying, there is also no alcohol. After spending a small fortune on soft drinks, slushies, popcorn, and chex mix, the pre-show begins. It's a country music band and they were really, really, really good. Band is called Mountain Ruckus. When that ends, everyone is sent upstairs to the main show arena. The show is similar to Medieval Times… there is a show that involves horses and competitions, as well as some comedy. Lots of patriotic stuff too. You sit at long tables that surround the arena. Dinner is included in the show… and you eat with your hands! There was a soup, biscuit, whole roasted chicken, pork loin slice, potato, and dessert. Along with unlimited soft drinks or water. This was a really good show and I highly, highly recommend it.