Gatlinburg, Tennessee – trip report part 8 – More Ripley’s Attractions

Returning to the October 2018 trip to Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains, after finishing Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, we continued with our tour through Gatlinburg.

The weather was fantastic, the streets were getting busy, and our stomachs were getting hungry for some lunch.  We made our way down the street and dined at a national fast food establishment.  It wasn’t anything special, but it did its job of being inexpensive as well as satisfying our appetite.  Once we were finished, we kept walking down the street until reaching the Ober Gatlinburg tram station.  This was our turnaround point, so after checking out the building we crossed the street and began our long walk back towards the north side of town.

We still had two more attractions to visit as part of our Ripley’s multi-attraction ticket.  Up ahead we spotted the building for Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, so we decided to try it out.  My wife and I love haunted houses, and each year we always visit Netherworld here in metro Atlanta.  I remember seeing the website for Ripley’s Haunted Adventure before we left for the trip, and it sounded promising.

RIPLEY’S HAUNTED ADVENTURE

We approached the ticket window and scanned our attraction tickets to enter the attraction.  Then we walked down a short path that ultimately led to a waiting area for an inclined tram.  The theming in this area was decent and it helped build the suspense for a spooky trip through the ghost house.

Anyway, another family was also waiting for the tram.  It arrived, we all boarded it, and then the tram made its way up a short inclined railway.  At the top the door opened and we were greeted by a worker.  The worker gave us all “assault rifles” so we could “shoot” the zombies and other creatures waiting for us ahead.  Don’t worry, it was all simulated.  The rifles only fired a laser and they made shooting sound effects.  The speaker on the rifle also kept playing cliched military phrases such as “Good to go!”

Whatever.

After being equipped with our weapons and given a quick set of instructions, our small group entered the haunted house.  What followed was about four or five minutes of wandering through dark hallways and “shooting” at the occasional scary prop.  Along the way there was a live-actor who tried to scare and taunt me by saying that he was going to run me over with his early 1990s P.O.S. car.  I asked if he could use a more recent model to hit me, but he said, “No.”  Oh well.

Our group quickly reached the end of the haunted house and everybody seemed to be in one piece.  A worker collected our rifles and we rode an elevator back down to the street.  When the elevator stopped, a secret window in the back of the car popped open and there were a few animatronic zombies.  Then the real doors at the front opened and we were allowed to leave.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON RIPLEY’S HAUNTED ADVENTURE

Is Ripley’s Haunted Adventure worth your time?

Maybe if you’re heavily intoxicated and are looking for a quick way to have cheap laughs with your idiot friends, or if you have young kids, then this attraction might be for you.  But for everybody else, I’d say skip it.

I think my biggest problem with Ripley’s Haunted Adventure is that it simply wasn’t even close to being frightening or thrilling.  The outside of the building and line queue do a fine job of setting the mood, but the actual experience was a severe letdown.  How bad is it that the best part of the haunted house is the damn elevator ride back down to the street?  The zombies that you saw on the elevator weren’t scary, but they were a lot better than the other sights inside the haunted house.

If you truly desire to experience Ripley’s Haunted Adventure, try to find a coupon or some kind of deal to get a lower price.  This attraction is definitely not worth its full price.

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS ADVENTURE

With one more Ripley’s attraction ticket to use, and not wanting to save and use it on a future trip (it’s going to be a while before we return to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge again), we decided to go see the Guinness World Records Adventure.  Guinness has also been a part of Gatlinburg’s attractions for many years.  We also like visiting museums, so why not give it a shot?

We were wrong.  Big time.

The entrance area for Guinness was interesting and the attraction looked promising.  Apparently it had been updated recently (like the Believe It or Not! Odditorium down the street) and the whole experience was brand new.  A worker handed us each a special card for use inside the attraction.  We then scanned our tickets, went through the turnstyle, and entered Guinness World Records Adventure.

Upon entering the attraction, we’re greeted to a brief introduction to the modern era of world records.  We’re no longer talking about records such as the world’s tallest man, the fattest twins, the smallest cat, the loudest noise, the biggest turd, etc.  Well, maybe not that last one so much.  Instead, we quickly realized that instead of learning about the “traditional” records, this attraction was focusing on modern and completely obscure and uninteresting records, such as the number of wins in a fixed “sport” such as WWE wrestling.

This is where my photos end.  I quickly realized that this experience was going to be a huge waste, so I put away my camera and tried to salvage our experience in this attraction.

After being welcomed into this new world of Guinness world records, you then register the special card with your name and other basic information.  You’re then supposed to use the card at each of the attractions to track your activities.  If you actually do extremely well and set a new record, then it’ll be officially documented in the museum.

After taking a few minutes to register your card, you then enter the heart of the Guinness World Records Adventure — all of the interactive exhibits.  Crammed in a series of rooms are a series of exhibits designed for you to play and have fun and try your hand at setting a new world record.  It’s easy to compare it to being inside of a large arcade, complete with bright lights, loud noises, and kids running around without supervision.  There are video games, there are physical challenges, and there’s even a room where you can see if you can set a world record for screaming the loudest.

That’s the Guinness World Records Adventure in a nutshell.  The building is quite small and it’s a short walk through all of it.  The exit leaves you out back and you get to literally walk past garbage, dumpsters and mouse traps while walking back to the main street in Gatlinburg.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS ADVENTURE

It sucks.

Unless you have middle school-aged kids, this attraction is most likely a complete waste of your time.  It’s basically an arcade with a few other exhibits disguised as “world record attempts.”  Will you actually set a new world record while inside of this attraction?  Most likely not.  But here it’s all about the fun of trying to reach that impossible goal.

That’s fine as long as you’re there for that exact element.  If you’re not, then no joy.

You don’t have to be a fan of the Titanic Museum to enjoy the experience of the museum.

Nor do you have to be interested in crime and punishment to enjoy Alcatraz East.

But here at Guinness World Records Adventure, if you have no interest in actually playing games and competing for new records, then this place has literally nothing for you.  It’s a complete waste of time.

Needless to say, my wife and I were severely disappointed with this place.  Not only was it very small, but it was completely focused on the incredibly obscure records that nobody cares about versus the traditional and, for us, more interesting ones.  Plus it was an arcade, and not a very good one at that.

Do not go here unless you’re drunk and out with your buddies, or if you’re visiting with little kids, and that’s only if you have kids who are easily entertained by simple things.  If you’re looking for anything more complicated, or even a museum for that matter, then skip this attraction entirely.

THE REST OF GATLINBURG

After finishing the Guinness World Records Adventure and vowing to never even consider returning, we continued strolling and enjoying the rest of our day in Gatlinburg.  The weather was sunny and warm, and it was becoming crowded with more and more visitors.  As much as I dislike going to places when it’s crowded, it was great seeing that Gatlinburg was still a popular place to visit, and there are more and more restaurants, shops and attractions being added to the town.

Like it was stated earlier, if you’re going to make a day of it in Gatlinburg, it’s best to arrive early and park at one of several parking decks.  We like to park on the north side of town near the aquarium.  This makes it easy to walk both sides of the street and see everything that we want.

As far as the Ripley’s attractions go, the clear winner is Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies.  If you’re going to see one major attraction, the aquarium is well worth your time.  After that, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium is okay at best, and the Haunted Adventure along with Guinness World Records Adventure are both a waste of time and money.  Stick with the aquarium and then go visit something else.

These days, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has plenty of fun experiences from one end of the town to the other.  You can find a wide variety of restaurants, attractions, and interesting stores that’ll help keep you amused all day long.  The town has always been a favorite place for my family to visit for the past thirty years, and it’s great to still see it going strong today.

After returning to our car in the parking deck, we made the quick and easy drive back to our hotel in Pigeon Forge.  This was the last night of our visit.  We had dinner, went swimming in the outdoor pool and hot tub one last time, and then returned to the room to begin packing our clothes and other gear.  It was going to be a very early morning the next day for our mandatory timeshare sales pitch back in Gatlinburg.