Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

          Like many people we got suckered into a timeshare give away weekend with Capital Vacations. They get you by offering what sounds like a deal you can’t pass up and honestly you can get a really good deal for a vacation or two. We paid $300 for a 3-night stay in Pigeon Forge, TN and a 7-night cruise. The weekend in TN required that we sit through a timeshare presentation, which we did. Let me first say that these guys are very good salesmen and it is hard to say no to buying in. However, you can still leverage this for a nice weekend away.  The purchase committed us to a 120-minute presentation, but this ended up being almost 4 hours! They hold your gifts till the end, and it is hard to say no so you end up spending much longer talking to them than you ever planned. I will say that the Capital sales team was always professional and pleasant, we did decline to purchase a timeshare and there were no nasty hard selling tactics. We have sat through other presentations where the sales team was very pushy and rude. Plan on spending double the time they claim at the presentation. 

          We have owned timeshares before and found that it is not a good match for how we vacation and plan. After accounting for the annual maintenance fees it would not save us a significant amount annually. When you are talking to the salesperson always ask about annual maintenance fees and special assessments. Those costs will increase every year and will never stop, so any ‘savings’ must be offset by that cost. For us the math just doesn’t work out. Also consider the level of investment you would need to make in order to take advantage of the vacations you want. If you have kids you are probably traveling in peak season, that is not a cheap trip no matter what. We didn’t buy a timeshare but we did purchase a one-time allotment of points that must be used in 24 months (their discovery program). The difference here is that there are no maintenance fees and we get a couple years to try out their booking platform and a select list of resorts. We will have to talk with the sales team after a stay but there is no commitment to purchase (I will post about that once we book and stay somewhere). 

          Before booking remember you will still pay taxes for the hotel stay (average is $23 a night) and the cost to get there and back home. The biggest unplanned expense for our weekend was food. You will be in the middle of a tourist area so plan on double the normal cost for eating out. You will also spend on ‘things to do’. We were right by the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, so aside from crowds and a small parking fee it was a great no cost way to spend some time. 

Overall, the sucker purchase turned out well for us and the total cost for the 4 days was $363 for lodging, $175 gas, $471 food ($1,009); we could have eaten out much cheaper and the hotel was a fraction of the cost for an average stay. 

What we did in Pigeon Forge, TN: 

• Great Smokey Mountains National Park – this was a wonderful morning though very crowed. Plan to either be on a busy trail or drive another 45+ minutes to one of the quieter options. We chose to hike to Cataract Falls because it was close to Gatlinburg, an easy hike, and great for pictures. Of course, this means everyone else also picked it. The other options were another 45+ minutes into the park and would have been a less crowded option. Drive a little further for a better hike especially if you are wanting to avoid busy trails.   
• Hollywood Star Cars Museum – I could have passed on this but my husband is a big car guy and he loved it. It was just $17 each (buy your tickets on line to save a little) and an enjoyable hour for us. This museum is not very busy, so we did enjoy a break from the crowds. 
• Dolly Parton’s Stampede – this was well worth it for dinner and a show. Plenty of humor and a little north vs south competition, great for families! Beware that everyone is served the same thing so if you have picky eaters’ good luck (and maybe plan a fast food stop afterwards). Most likely even your pickiest eater will enjoy the show and not complain.
• Dick’s Last Resort – This was a fun and different dining experience. The restaurants’ theme is sarcasm and a little rude, but all for a good laugh. However, the food was overpriced for what we had. Overall, we had a lot of fun during lunch but left felling disappointed by the cost; quality matters especially if you are paying tourist level prices.
• Harpoon Harry’s Carb House – I can’t say enough good things about the food and service here!! We ate here twice over the weekend and will definitely go back! The service was perfect, attentive, good recommendations, and prompt. The food was fabulous! I had the fettucine alfredo and was not expecting much from a seafood place, but this was one of the best I have ever had. The seafood was perfect as well. This place is the worth the price. 
• Sugarland Distilling Company and Old Smokey Moonshine – we couldn’t visit and not try some of the local moonshine companies. There is a moonshine company just about every block, they make almost any flavor you can think of, and all have free samples. We tried two based on recommendations from our bartender at Harpoon Harry’s and we were not disappointed.  The tasting at Sugarland’s’ was 12 different flavors; Apple Pie, Peach, Punch, Lemonade, Sweet Tea, Chocolate, and Pumpkin to name just a few. All were delicious but don’t worry the taste is ¼ a shot so you will be happy enough to buy some (of course we did) but still safe to drive. 

10/27/2023-10/30/2023