Every year we go camping in the Smoky Mountains. We always spend the time hiking, tubing, and enjoying the outdoors. We also always spend one day enjoying Gatlinburg. There is a lot to see and do in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and every year we usually try a few new things. Ripley’s Attractions Gatlinburg offers seven unique and fun experiences. We had done a few of them before but this year I found out about the combo passes! They let you enjoy the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies and other attractions for a reduced price. I would like to thank Ripley’s for providing me with combo tickets so I could share the attractions with you. All opinions expressed are my own.
Ripley’s Attractions Gatlinburg Combo Passes
Each combo pass comes with one Aquarium Pass + two or more passes to the other Gatlinburg Parkway Attractions at a reduced cost. The other Gatlinburg attractions include Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, Haunted Adventure, Moving Theater, Mirror Maze, Davy Crockett Mini Golf, Guinness World Records Attraction. You can learn more at ripleys.com and/or reserve your tickets
Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies
We love this aquarium! We have been a couple of other times and we always enjoy it. With 85,000 sq ft this aquarium has an impressive array of species and a huge variety of interactive exhibits.
The Ripleys Aquarium has parts where you can pet horseshoe crabs, stick your hand in water with little cleaning fish, and a huge tunnel that you can ride through to get a feel for what it is like to be surrounded by sea life. There are little tunnels that children enjoy using to pop up mid exhibit. There are beautiful exhibits and amazing exotic things to sea such as leafy sea dragons and scorpion fish. You’re bound to be impressed.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium
This is an impressive collection of amazing and unusual things. In fact it may be the only you’ll ever find shrunken heads, a 12ft tall Transformer sculpture made of scrap car parts, an elephant bird egg, a piece of the Berlin wall, and a two headed calf all in one place! There are also lots of hands-on interactive exhibits and there is over 12, 500 square feet to explore. I would give this a big thumbs up. My husband, myself, our 8 year old boy, and our 10 year daughter all enjoyed the odditorium.
Ripley’s Guinness World of Records
My daughter was so excited to go to the Guinness World or Record since she loves the book. This bring it to life through incredible displays, interactive games, trivia, and videos. Enjoy hundreds of unbelievable exhibits of Guinness World Records from amazing facts on sports, space, animals, food, human achievement and more. My daughter loved this and it kept us all entertained. It was a little more at reading at your own pace than I expected and I wasn’t sure if my eight year old would like it but he was interested the entire time.
Ripley’s Haunted Adventure
Scary is not my thing so I waited outside for this one. Ripley’s Haunted Adventure takes haunted houses to the next level. Live actors lurk behind every corner of this creepy renovated mansion with a mission to scare guests (who must be at least 6 years old to enter). My husband enjoys scary and my kids who are 8 and 10 insisted that they wanted to go. They all agreed- it was scary. My husband loved it but my kids- not so much. No worries, they were quickly distracted by the opportunity to try Ripley’s 5D Moving Theatre next door.
Ripley’s 5D Moving Theatre
You have to buckle up for this REAL-D 5D Moving Theater. The state of the art 5D cinema with digital effects and motion seats makes you feel like you are in the movie. You bump, dip, and shake your way through two adventures. I wasn’t feeling up to the ride so I waited outside again. They all enjoyed feeling like they were part of the movie and on a fun ride.
Ripley’s Mirror Maze
We did this for the first time a few years ago and it has been a repeat ever since. Surprisingly fun for the whole family! See who can find their way out of the labyrinth of mirrors and LED lights first. The only challenge in this one is getting to leave without buying all the candy.
Ripley’s Davy Crockett Mini Golf
With the Great Smoky Mountains as the backdrop, this fun-themed mini golf course is challenging and fun. There are a few different trails to chose from and kids will enjoy the Davy Crockett theme.
There you have it folks- some great family fun with Ripley’s in Gaitlinburg! Have you done any of the Ripley’s attractions before? Which ones are your favorites?
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Shelia S says
I love, love, love Gatlinburg! It is one of my favorite places. I wish I could go every year. My family has been to almost all the Ripley’s attractions. The Aquarium is my favorite.
I love Gatlinburg during the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a magical place.
Thanks for sharing so many great family activities in Gatlinburg.
Leslie S. says
I just got back from that area two days ago! We stayed in Sevierville, but spent a lot of time in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Eight days was not long enough to see and do it all, but we made a dent in the Ripley’s attractions. 🙂 We even made time to hike a little in Elkmont and see Laural Falls. A trip to the Smoky Mountains really is a GREAT vacation!