Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountain region hosts diverse activities that surprise and delight travelers. From magical theme parks like Anakeesta in Gatlinburg to scenic drives and hiking trails in the national park, the Smokies create vacation memories worth savoring — and quite literally when it comes to Pigeon Forge dinner theaters.
Catching a dinner show in the area means good laughs, powerful storytelling, entertaining competitions and fun for the whole family, all while enjoying a tasty Southern supper. Browse the top dinner shows in Pigeon Forge, alongside tips from a local expert, to help you choose a unique dining experience with an indelible taste of this go-to Appalachian destination.
Best Overall: Dolly Parton’s Stampede Dinner Attraction
Price: From $69.99 Duration: 90 minutes Location:3849 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
The range of acts at Dolly Parton’s Stampede makes it an all-around great show. From arena-style seating, you’ll enjoy friendly competition with fellow attendees on the opposite side of the venue — egged on by your show’s host. Select guests even get to enter the arena for family fun and games: Kids chase chickens across a finish line, adults swing toilet seats like horseshoes, and one lucky individual gets shuffled around in a barrel as part of a magic trick.
Aside from the lighthearted activities, the show brings spectacular pyrotechnics, horse riding stunts, aerial acrobatics and animal appearances, including buffaloes and longhorns. Dolly fans will also enjoy original songs from the artist played during the performance. The entertainment is paired with a four-course feast of creamy vegetable soup, a homemade biscuit, a whole rotisserie chicken, hickory-smoked pork loin, corn on the cob, a baked potato and an apple turnover; for a drink, choose from unlimited soda, tea or coffee.
Local tip: Have a Dollywood season pass? If so, make sure to take advantage of the deals and discounts it provides at other Pigeon Forge attractions, including Dolly Parton’s Stampede. You can get a few dollars off adult tickets when you show your season pass.
View & Book Tickets:Show website
Best for Adults: Paula Deen’s Lumberjack Feud Supper Show
Price: From $49.99 for adults Duration: 90 minutes Location: 2530 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
In summer 2023, the popular Paula Deen’s Lumberjack Feud joined the ranks of Pigeon Forge’s dinner shows by adding a camp-style meal to the experience: a barbecue sandwich, coleslaw, baked beans, a cookie and a drink. As Pigeon Forge’s only outdoor dinner show, Paula Deen’s Lumberjack Feud takes place rain or shine in climate-controlled grandstands. Audience members pick which family in the feud to root for (Team Dawson or Team McGraw), and then watch the show’s competing lumberjacks undertake ax throwing, log sports and other physical challenges. In addition to splitting wood, the event promises “side-splitting” comedy.
You’ll also have an option to combine your supper show ticket with access to the Lumberjack Feud Adventure Park. This adjacent theme park includes an 80-foot freefall jump, a high ropes course, logger-related sports and a zip line rollercoaster.
Local tip: If you’re looking for another unique show in the area that adults will enjoy, consider checking out The Listening Room. Based on its sister location in Nashville, the venue hosts musicians who sing and tell the stories behind their music. While it’s not a true dinner show — meaning your meal is not included with your ticket — audience members are encouraged to order from the restaurant’s full menu and bar during the performance.
View & Book Tickets:Viator | GetYourGuide | Show website
Best for Families: Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show
Price: From $69.99 Duration: 90 minutes Location:2713 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
Sea lions and tropical birds may not be what you first associate with the Smokies, but at the Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show, you’ll see these creatures and more. Set in arena-style seating with full-sized pirate ships, the show follows the family-friendly stories of infamous pirate Blackbeard and his quartermaster, Calico Jack, leading the Crimson and Sapphire crews through adventures. You can expect to see high dives into deep water, acrobatic mermaids and performances reminiscent of Cirque du Soleil.
Center seats provide an excellent view. Sit in the lower levels, however, if you and the kiddos don’t mind getting a little wet as part of the experience. Along with the entertainment, guests are served a four-course meal. Some of the feast’s highlights include swashbucklin’ sugar-cured ham, cracklin’ pan-fried chicken, a buccaneer biscuit and a specialty dessert.
Local tip: The Pirates Voyage theater sits along the Pigeon Forge Riverwalk Greenway — a paved 4-mile path that follows the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River. The walkway runs from Patriot Park at its southern end (near popular restaurant The Old Mill) up to Old City Park. About halfway along the path, close to the theater, it passes The Island, a go-to spot for rides, shopping, lodging and dining. If you’d like to get some steps in, explore other stops in town and avoid post-show traffic, you’ll find free parking at both ends of the greenway and at The Island for an easy stroll to the theater.
View & Book Tickets:Show website
Best Comedy: Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud
Price: From $66.99 Duration: 90 minutes Location:119 Music Road, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
The Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud promises feudin’, feastin’ and family fun, as it plays off the historical rivalry between two families. The show centers on a hillbilly theme, complete with a flying contraption deemed the “billycopter,” as well as “divin’ hillbillies and divin’ dogs” in an onstage swimming hole. Your dinner servers remain in character as part of the show — offering up fresh roadkill opossum as an entree, for example — and may even surprise you at some point by taking a dive into the pool. In addition, you can expect lots of singing and dancing and plenty of jokes. This dinner show is all about its playful environment.
Rectangular tables with checkered tablecloths form rows of amphitheater seating where you can enjoy your meal and laughs with your party. This production differs from other dinner shows in the area where you sit in single-file rows to dine. The dinner show is also unique in that it offers an all-you-can-eat Southern-style meal, with favorites such as feudin’ fried chicken, pulled-to-pieces pork barbecue, smashed mashed taters and coleslaw.
Local tip: If you’re looking for laughs but don’t need the full dinner service, check out Pigeon Forge’s Comedy Barn Theater for clean humor that’s suitable for the whole family. Additionally, if you’re visiting Pigeon Forge during the holidays, note that the Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud becomes the Christmas Disaster Dinner Feud for a seasonal spin on the same antics.
View & Book Tickets:Show website
Best Murder Mystery: Great Smoky Mountain Murder Mystery Dinner Show
Price: From $53.84 for adults Duration: 2 to 3 hours Location:2682 Teaster Lane, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863
This interactive whodunit theater offers four different shows: Moonshine Murders, Who Shot the Sheriff, Marriage Can Be Murder and Killer Prom. Attendees can arrive a half-hour before the show’s start time to fill out a clue packet while enjoying beverages and the meal’s first soup course. After the show’s first act, entrees are served, and then the second act begins. Guests then receive dessert before the third and final act reveals the story’s murderer. The show takes place throughout the intimate dining room, making every seat a perfect choice.
The theater’s menu offers special dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meal options. Otherwise, every meal comes with a choice of three soups, country fried chicken, white pepper gravy, mashed potatoes, country-style green beans, a dinner roll and a choice of three cheesecake flavors. Soda, coffee and iced tea are included with the meal; beer and wine coolers are available for an additional cost.
Local tip: The Great Smoky Mountain Murder Mystery Dinner Show is located on Teaster Lane across from Pigeon Forge’s Mountain Mile shopping, dining and entertainment development. Stop by before or after your show for a moonshine tasting at Junction 35 Spirits or a honey tasting at Savannah Bee Company.
View & Book Tickets:Show website
Why Trust U.S. News Travel
Korrin Bishop, a contributor for the Travel section at U.S. News & World Report, called the Pigeon Forge area home for multiple years and set about exploring its many dining and entertainment attractions using a massive spreadsheet she created of adventure to-dos in the region. She continues to regularly visit the Smokies as a vacation destination. To curate this list, she used her own experience attending the shows and consulted with fellow locals and travelers about their takeaways, including some former dinner show performers. She also leveraged her research expertise and general knowledge of East Tennessee travel.
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— The Top Restaurants in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg
— The Top Things to Do in Tennessee
— The Top Lakes to Visit in Tennessee
— The Top Shows in Branson, Missouri
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The 5 Best Pigeon Forge Dinner Shows + Tips From a Local originally appeared on usnews.com
