This was a fun outing for kids - it was just exceptionally hot when we went. Workers were all very…read morefriendly. You get pretty large cups of feed to feed a nice variety of animals. Going in with the deer is a fun experience - kinda overwhelming because they can get a little pushy. The pony ride was the highlight. You get to go around 3 times, and its parent-led, which was nice to have that experience with your kiddos. The animals seem so well taken care of here. Great experience, just know it doesn't have much more than an hour or so worth of time.

My two kids enjoyed the day (age 2 and 8). I recommend this place. There arA lot of games for young…read morekids plus animals for hours of fun.

I went with my family. My grandmother and mom ride a scooter and we were greeted in the parking…read morelot. Shar let us know the inclines were steep but they offered golf cart tours. She was our tour guide and she was incredible. She held our napping baby and sat with our 3yr old while we went in to feed the birds. She answered all of our questions and went above and beyond to care for us and make our visit special. If you visit ask for Sharlene! My 3yr old loved getting to hold the bird like a baby cupped in her hands. This was our first visit and definitely won't be our last. This is a must visit for your Smokey mountain vacation.

What an amazing majestic experience! The staff so kind hearted and takes time to talk to you and…read morekids. Shar a wonderful woman who has bonds with all bills showed us each birds talents and ticks. Which just added to the beautiful birds and landscape. Went on a hot day but very well shaded. My favorite thing on our whole trip. Definitely recommend!!!!!

Well I do have to address the issue with the cost as I see someone left a 2 star review because of…read morethe pricing. I definitely think that $21 a person is extreme especially since minimum wage is $7.50. So this is kind of a tourist trap. But they should definitely do something about the pricing. I understand that they have to feed the animals but a lot of people would look ar the price and leave. Was 3 of us and Ive been to others like this in Montana with Bears and another wildlife one.... but prices were better. So you park and pay and can buy a pail of feed for $5 then drive the property. You can go more than once if you want. The first 1/3 had no animals, so not sure where they were hiding or if there were any in that area. You take your time because some animals want to walk right in front of your car and wont move. One donkey was a smart cookie, he kept walking beside our car as we were moving slowly, then he went and stood in front of the vehicle, we slowly started backing up thinking he would move if we moved... he ran to the back of the vehicle.... lil twerp. Cute animals.... cows, zebra, buffalo and donkies were all hanging out in the same area.

I had sticker shock at $21 per person, not a per car price. I'm glad I went though. We got the 3…read morebuckets of food for $12. They were nice sized buckets so I didn't feel gouged. The animals were very "friendly" and would put their heads into the car window to get food if you let them and weren't quick enough to feed them. I was practically nose to nose with a bison, fed an ostrich, and my daughter loved the young zebra. Staff were pleasant. I had to get a car wash afterwards, but it was worth it.

Let me say that I'm absolutely amazed with all the beautiful and spacious enclosures for all the…read moreanimals in the zoo. The zoo is huge, so they had the ability to give animals lots of space! The black bear had his own little mountain nook (we didn't get to see him, though he was probably hiding from all the heat that day). We saw a baby gorilla playing with his mommy, that was worth flying from Boston to Knoxville just to see those eyes. There is a Turtle Trail were you get to go inside with the turtles and have them climb on your feet and feed them and scratch their backs...how cool is that! The budgies were pretty cool, you get to go in the enclosure with them and feed them seeds on a stick. Gorgeous, amazing creatures!! The green and blue ones are from The wild and the white ones with blue back are the bred ones in captivity. The otters for sure stole the show, they just played and played in the water, my son was psyched to see them !! The red panda was jumping all over and wanted to get in with the rest of the sleeping pandas on the bamboo trees...what gorgeous animals. And the Rhinos!!! Massive massive animals. First time I've seen rhinos and I'm in love with these very scary huge animals. You should see the enclosure that they had for them. It was very generous, full of mud and massive rocks. OK, I could go on and on about all the animals in there, but the most important thing that I wanted to say is that the sponsors of this zoo respect animals, they don't put them in a tiny enclosure and call it good, they actually spent a lot of effort on matching the natural habitat that these animals lived in, and they gave them room to roam! Also per their campaigns and posters within in zoo, they are trying to save endangered and critically vulnerable species from extinction. They do a lot of work and awareness about the lifestyle of the animals, especially that the staff is super friendly with lots of youths working there and learning about these beautiful animals and transferring this knowledge To visitors. Also, how thoughtful are they to include fun stuff for kids like a huge sandbox, slides, tunnels, climbing rocks, a beautiful merry go round with all the decorated animals, a water park for the kids to jump in fountains (wish I knew I would have brought my kid a swim suit)... my kid had a blast anyway!! They built a whole massive treehouse with a rope bridge so that you could see the gibbons and red pandas up in the trees. Massive enclosures, statues, canopies, overlooks....they thought about everything!! Not only did my kid have fun, my husband and I had tons of fun too. So did my mom! What a wonderful day. I will definitely donate money to this establishment that really cares about the conservation of animals and treats them with respect.. thank you Zoo Knoxville staff abc sponsors. All the love to your work. Keep spreading awareness.

I finally visited today for the first time with a girlfriend, and we easily spent four hours…read morewalking around and seeing the different animals. Some of my favorites included: the red pandas, gibbons, great apes, otters and tigers. The zoo was especially busy today because of Spring Break week, but the great thing was that we never felt crowded or claustrophobic. There were places to purchase food like Beastro's Cuisine and Safari Smoke House, but we brought snacks and beverages to hold us over for our visit. I highly recommend the Knoxville Zoo for anyone looking for something fun to do when visiting our scruffy little town. Know before you go: 1) Tickets are $26.95 per adult, $21.95 for kids ages 3-12, seniors, and college students. Free for active military/veterans and children (2 & under). 2) A $2 ticket fee is added to all in person ticket sales. Save time and money, by getting your ticket online. 3) Parking is available in upper and lower lots. Handicap parking is available as well. All parking is $5, or free for membership holders. 4) Everyday they have animal encounters at different times where you can personally meet the animal ambassador and caretakers and get to chat with them. My favorite was the red panda encounter which is at 3pm everyday. 5) They do have a greatly curated gift shop with something for everyone including magnets, hats, clothing merch, and stuffed animals.

Great Smokey Mountains National Park is bigger than we expected! So much to take in and we only had…read moreso much time. We did go to the visitor center and get a map. It was a good visitor center and had some cool merch and friendly rangers with good advice. We hiked a bit, saw many mushrooms, squirrels, birds and snakes. We did not see bears but we heard there are there. Highly recommend and can't hardly wait to check it out again with more time.

So incredibly beautiful. So many dang bears…read more Or so I've been told. Fortunately for me, a person who is very much afraid of bears and wants nothing to do with them, I did not see any bears during my visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But they're there! Lurking ... somewhere ... in the forest, I'm sure. I visited during the spring, when the bears were waking up from their long slumber, and I'm sure they were just waiting, with growling tummies, to eat someone. Because of the bears, I didn't travel too far away from the visitor center area of Newfound Gap. But there are trails and other things to see that are beautiful if you like hiking and whatnot. As for me, I was satisfied staying close to where there was more concrete and cars than nature. (I know! I'm kind of dumb sometimes.) Newfound Gap straddles both Tennessee and North Carolina, so you can be in two states at once -- literally, you can have one foot in Tennessee and the other in North Carolina! There's also a cool rock structure that you can climb to the top of called the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, where you'll get great views of the mountains. They really do look smoky! They ain't lyin'. The Newfound Gap area of the Smoky Mountains also has a trailhead for the Appalachian Trail, plus restrooms. I saw backpackers who definitely looked like they had been on the the Appalachian Trail for a while. I've since learned that although this is not the largest national park, it's the most visited, and I believe it! There were quite a lot of people at the Newfound Gap area. That said, I visited a few other places around the park where there were zero people, so you might have to change locations, depending on how many people you want to share your park experience with.

This was on our short list for our trip, based on our visit decades ago, and it did not disappoint…read more This time we came with our own kids, and they just had a blast. The aquarium sea life itself is great with all the favorites: a big shark tank, the electric eel, the dragon fish, the ray touch tank, the octopus. It also has that Ripley's goofy charm, a big climbing playground in the middle for the kids, a mermaid show, and even a penguin march through the middle of the exhibits. You can buy food and drinks (including local beers) in between the exhibits. The city parking garage is right behind the location and the trolley drops off right beside the front door. If you have kids, you'll want to spend some time here.

If you've ever wondered what it feels like to be a salmon swimming upstream during peak season,…read morejust visit Ripley's Aquarium on a busy day. I didn't take many pictures because I was trying to live in the moment--and also because I was too busy dodging people who apparently trained for this event at the "Cutting in Line Olympics (my kid came up with that analogy.) This place was packed. I mean Black Friday at the Best Buy packed. Half the time I couldn't even see the tanks because someone's unk decided the best viewing angle was directly in front of my face. Patience was not the theme of the day. Luckily for him I'm not only patient but handsome. But then... the shark tunnel appeared like a gift from the aquarium gods. We hopped onto a slow-moving convey like a lazy river at a Vegas hotel, for people who don't want to walk. Honestly, I wish the entire building worked this way. Zero chaos. Zero pushing. Just vibes and sharks gliding over your head like "Come on in the waters fine" The stingrays were another highlight--majestic, chill, and many different sizes. Crowds aside,(but not really) those two moments made the visit worth it. If you go, bring patience, comfortable shoes, and maybe a bullhorn to get people's attention. But once you hit the sharks, it will be smooth sailing. FYI I will never go again but it was pretty cool in general..

First time coming here and we were all a little nervous, but the staff was beyond friendly and very…read morehelpful. Clint was our guide and he was absolutely amazing, he made us feel safe and comfortable and most importantly confident. I highly recommended visiting.

My daughter and I visited Big Rock Dude Ranch during our trip to the Smoky Mountains because…read morehorseback riding was one of the experiences we were most looking forward to. Unfortunately, the experience was incredibly frustrating. There was little to no clear signage explaining where to check in or how the process worked. We waited at the "Riding Stables" counter, and when we finally spoke to an employee, we were simply told to stand by the stop sign at the stable. We waited there for nearly an hour before learning we were supposed to have purchased tickets first. No one at the counter mentioned that, even though we specifically told them we were there to ride and didn't know what to do. When I went back to buy tickets, I was told both riders had to be present, so I had to run back for my daughter, only to lose our place in line (we were next up). We were then told rides were assigned based on ticket purchase time, meaning we'd have to start all over again. Since we had a flight to catch, we had no choice but to leave without riding. We could've used that lost time for a nice breakfast and one last hike. To make matters worse, when I explained what had happened, the employee dismissed our concerns and said she was "just in charge of pictures and that we would probably still make our flight" even after starting the whole wait process over. Better signage, clearer instructions, and staff who take ownership of customer issues would have prevented this entire experience. The lady at the main ticket counter wasn't helpful either. Very disappointing.

Great ATV time. First time riding went as a walk in. All prices and fees are listed if you actually…read moreread the forms you sign. It is clearly listed that if you flip the atv you will be charged. Just went 2 of us on individual atvs. Our tour guide showed me how to operate the atv and constantly turned around to check on me. I made a joke about wanting to get a little muddy and he made that happen for me . You go around the track twice which is nice. Scenic view at one point but all in all worth it.

I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel others should be aware of my experience…read more We reserved a UTV for myself and my two younger sons, while my 13-year-old rode an ATV. Before riding, I completed all required waivers and disclosures. I encourage anyone considering this activity to read every line carefully. What stood out to me afterward is that nowhere in the reservation process or waiver did it state that simply tipping an ATV results in an automatic $150 fee. The only notice we saw was a sign near the vehicle staging area--after we had already paid. I was initially hesitant about allowing my 13-year-old to ride independently because he has limited ATV experience. The trails aren't extreme, but they are technical enough that prior riding experience would be very beneficial. The only instruction we received before heading out covered the farm rules--ride sober, maintain distance between vehicles, and other basic operational rules. There was no instruction or guidance on how to actually operate or navigate the ATV, how to handle uneven terrain, or how to avoid situations that could cause it to tip. Interestingly, I was specifically warned by the manager to keep my UTV centered on the trail or it could tip. That same warning was not given to my son riding the ATV. Unfortunately, he drifted slightly onto the embankment, and the ATV slowly tipped onto its side. Thankfully, he wasn't injured at all--just embarrassed. It was a relatively minor incident, and had he known to lean his body weight into the embankment, it likely could have been avoided. My son was extremely upset because he immediately realized we had likely incurred the $150 flip fee. The tour guide reassured him by patting him on the back and saying, "Don't worry, this thing is fine." He explained to me that the mandatory $150 fee covered the oil change and filter replacement after an ATV tips onto its side and that the fee was not flexible, but thankfully the ATV itself appeared to be fine. Imagine my surprise when I later received not only the $150 flip fee but an additional $108.25 charge for handlebar replacement. The following day, I returned respectfully and simply asked to see a photo of the damage or the damaged handlebars themselves. I wasn't asking for an argument--I just wanted documentation supporting the additional charge. I was initially told I might be able to see the ATV. After the front manager stepped away to speak with the manager in the back, she returned and informed me that they could no longer show me photos or the damage because the ATV had already been sent to the mechanic. The timing of that response was difficult to ignore. My disappointment isn't that accidents happen or that businesses need to recover repair costs. I fully understand that equipment can be damaged and customers should be responsible when appropriate. My disappointment is with the lack of transparency. If an automatic flip fee exists, it should be clearly disclosed before payment. If additional damage charges are assessed, customers should be provided evidence of that damage when requested. The entire experience left me feeling that the process lacked transparency, and undermined my confidence in the fairness of the charges. I hope the business will consider making its policies more visible upfront and documenting any additional damage charges so future customers don't leave feeling the same way I did.

I visited Ober Mountain in early January of this year and spent 2 days enjoyng activities…read more The first day consisted of participating in the fun pass, which gave us a list of activites we could do on the mountain like going to the zoo, ice skating, ice bumper cars, scenic lifts, etc. As an adult, the pass felt a little underwhelming but I can imagine a kid enjoying their time with this pass. I would recommend that you find a groupon/deal to get it at a cheaper rate rather than the usual $50/ticket they offer it for because I genuinely do not think it is worth the $50. I would definitely NOT recommend the fun pass for adults, but would for children (at the discounted price). Our second day on the mountain, we went snowboarding and that was a very fun time for my group and I. Ober has snow machines, so it is not real snow and instead is icy, artificial snow. I can imagine during the colder season, it may be softer and covered much more. I went in early January for reference. The employees are very nice with helping you strap in boots and understanding how to strap into board as well. I decided to do a lesson, which I would recommend for anyone who has not snowboarded before. Although I enjoyed my time, I do agree that it is fairly pricy, considering the size of the mountain compared to other resorts I have seen. I understand the weather determines which lifts are avaliable but the "snow" was ice, no where near snow texture. I think a day of snowboarding would cost roughly $150+ here for day pass and gear rental. My downsides for Ober are the price, the fun pass, and the snow.

We visited Ober Mountain and had a really fun and memorable experience as a family. We had already…read morepurchased our Fun Pass tickets, and redeeming/printing them at the kiosks was quick and easy. One of the highlights was riding the Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway up and down the mountain--it was truly an experience in itself with amazing views. Once at the top, there was plenty to do. The kids loved the carousel and rode it multiple times every time we passed by. We also enjoyed the ice bumper cars, the wildlife habitat, and visiting Gatlinburg SkyLift Park. One of the most magical moments of the day was when it started snowing during our SkyLift ride--it was absolutely beautiful and something we won't forget. It was definitely very cold, but the scenery made it completely worth it. Unfortunately, the mountain coasters were closed due to the rain turning into snow, but there were still plenty of other activities to enjoy. The only thing I wish we had gotten to do was ice skating--the line and wait time were just too long before we had to leave. Overall, it was a very fun experience that everyone in our family enjoyed. We would definitely visit again!We visited Ober Mountain and had a really fun and memorable experience as a family. We had already purchased our Adventure Pass tickets, and redeeming/printing them at the kiosks was quick and easy. One of the highlights was riding the Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway up and down the mountain--it was truly an experience in itself with amazing views. Once at the top, there was plenty to do. The kids loved the carousel and rode it multiple times every time we passed by. We also enjoyed the ice bumper cars, the wildlife habitat, and visiting Gatlinburg SkyLift Park. One of the most magical moments of the day was when it started snowing during our SkyLift ride--it was absolutely beautiful and something we won't forget. It was definitely very cold, but the scenery made it completely worth it. Unfortunately, the mountain coasters were closed due to the rain turning into snow, but there were still plenty of other activities to enjoy. The only thing I wish we had gotten to do was ice skating--the line and wait time were just too long before we had to leave. Overall, it was a very fun experience that everyone in our family enjoyed. We would definitely visit again!