You have to go here for the nostalgic aspect!
I love the low-tech "magic" of the mermaid show. It is actual people dressed as mermaids swimming under the water, occasionally taking air from hoses. You view it through a big aquarium window. It is neat to see the real marine life swim by at random, like the turtles.
Even if you don't get a chance to go to the water park next door, it's still fun!

The scenery is beautiful but I wanted to put in that for the mule rides there is a weight limit (220 pounds). One of my relatives exceeded this weight limit so none of us went on the mule ride. We were disappointed about it, and I wish we had known in advance so as not to get our hopes up or have to deal with my poor relative feeling like a bum because of it! Also you have to be older than age 7.

What an amazing experience to get to climb around inside a real battleship from WWII! When we went there weren't a lot of other tourists. Most of the areas are just empty: empty bunk beds, empty engine room...but I was totally caught off guard when I rounded a corner and there were some randomly placed mannequins dressed in Navy clothes! Scared me to death!
Next to the ship, we were able to go inside a submarine (that takes about 4 seconds: climb in, look about you, and climb out. Really nowhere to walk.) and also see a museum of airplanes.

This is a great amusement park and Pigeon Forge is a fun place to go; I particularly enjoyed the veritable shrine to Dolly Parton within the amusement park that displays a replica of the run down one-room cabin where she grew up with a gaggle of siblings as a poor mountain girl.
However, teenagers will think that this park is beneath them, and lots of eye rolling and sighs will ensue. Or maybe they just don't want to go with their parents.

My husband knows alot about the civil war battles, but I really don't. We drove through the park and got out and walked around on our own.
I would have gotten more out of it if I had some reading material, or an audio tour would have been nice.
The scenery is beautiful and there are a few things to read at the sites, but I wanted more!