I’ve shared with you a few of my favorite things from my vacation to Gatlinburg, and now I want to share my least favorite place visited while there - Ober Gatlinburg.
Don’t get me wrong, my kids would probably say it was one of the better places we visited, but it just was not my cup of tea.
To travel to Ober Gatlinburg you can either use the Aerial Tramway ($11.00 for a 2-day pass) or you can drive your vehicle on a VERY winding, steep climb road ($5 parking). We did both. I preferred to drive, as there was no standing in lines to ride the tram to and from.
Once you reach the top of the mountain, the attractions are plentiful:
- Alpine Slide
- Ice Skating (Indoors)
- Wildlife Encounters (Outdoors)
- Scenic Chairlift
- (2) Raft Water Slides
- Maze
- Carousel (Indoors)
- Chair Swing
- Kiddie Land (rides & play area)
- Mini Golf
- Arcade
- Souvenir Stores / Fudge Shop / Snack Bar
You could purchase a “Outdoor Activity” wristband for $22 for adults ~ $19 for ages 5 – 11, or you can purchase tickets for each individual ride. Since my kids were planning on riding everything, we bought the wristbands. They repeatedly rode the Alpine Slide, both Water Slides and the Scenic Chairlift. They golfed, beat the Maze in the 4 minute record time and of course had to hit the snack bar stand for some ice cream. Thankfully the lines were short, so the kids could sprint from one ride to the other. Even the parents got in on some of the rides (I even rode one waterslide which was NOT supposed to get me wet – but I got pretty soaked!).
Now you want to know what I didn’t like? I guess I didn’t like the atmosphere. Everything was OLD. Looked rickety and out of date. Everything needed to be painted, cleaned, etc.
What did I love about it? The VIEWS:
At the top of the scenic lift, a real Blue Grass band provides live entertainment. That was pretty cool.
Would I go back? Probably not. It was nice to experience it once, but I don’t think it offered enough for a repeat visit.
2 comments:
It looks beautiful. Bummer that it hasn't had better upkeep.
Believe it or not, we have never actually went up to Ober Gatlinburg. One reason we haven't, I had no idea you could drive up there. That tram is not my cup of tea and frankly I'm not much on sky lifts either. If I'm going to be way up high, I want to go fast! I've heard great things about the Alpine Slide and know Anika would love it. We might have to drive up there one day just to say we did. I imagine the views are amazing. We stayed in a condo once that was on top of the mountain like that and it was an awesome scene to wake too every morning!!
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