On Saturday my family was given complimentary tickets to enjoy the Titanic Pigeon Forge museum. I was under no obligation to post a positive review of our experience and all the thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.
It’s hard to believe the Titanic is coming up on its 100 year anniversary. It’s a humbling reminder of how each generation believes they are “unstoppable, unsinkable, and completely under control.”
Though I first went through the exhibit with my kids back in November, we arrived late due to traffic and did not get to truly enjoy it then. So when the opportunity came up again, I jumped at the chance to bring the hubby along too and spend as much time as we needed. Boy, am I glad we did!
One of the big differences was the addition of the audio tours that look like a remote control. I like that they have two versions: one for adults and one for kids. Both my 7 and 4 year olds were able to figure out the audio tours easily, but the 2 year old just batted it around. I switched back and forth between the adult and kid versions. I was impressed how they made the kid versions a little more fun without dumbing down the information.
This time we were also able to focus on the characters assigned to each of us to follow. My kids got a laugh out of one being Archibald Butt, and we spent extra time looking at the only photographs taken of Titanic at sea since that was another one of our characters, Father Francis Browne. The quality of these photos seemed almost too good to be true. What an interesting twist of fate that he wanted to stay on board to New York but was ordered off the Titanic by his superior before he crossed the Atlantic.
Another tidbit the kids liked was that 10 dogs were on board and 3 survived. Yes, 1517 people died but 3 dogs made it. I guess they were lucky lap dogs that get smuggled under life vests. My favorite part was the real-life size replica of the grand staircase. Amongst the gorgeous wood carving and gold leaf details was the latest and greatest in flooring–even more expensive than marble at the time–laminate!
Yet again, the kids favorite stop was the Tot-Tanic room with various degrees of the deck pitching as it sank, a life boat, and the ice berg game. I was convinced you couldn’t avoid hitting the iceberg since hundreds of thousands of people had played and hit it. However, one kid managed to miss it. I think the key is not turning the steering wheel too hard to the left.
As with all excursions with kids, nothing goes exactly as planned. I would recommend bringing an extra layer because some rooms are quite cold–hello, iceberg! Also our daughter lost a shoe and ran smack into a mirror at full speed. But I was so impressed with how the staff attended to her needs quickly with tissues and an ice pack. We never did find her shoe. I suspect she threw it into the first class cabin exhibit. So if you see something off-period on display, let me know! 
Note: They don’t allow still or video cameras inside the museum. These were all provided by the museum. Click here to see a video: Titanic Pigeon Forge
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