by Cheryl Eldridge and wire reports
This week, the Wilderness at the Smokies resort combines the magic of the holiday season with the warm summertime fun of its indoor waterpark for a festive yuletide experience that can’t be found anywhere else.
Special holiday happenings at Wilderness at the Smokies begin on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27, and include favorites that resort guests have come to look forward to every Christmas season and new family fun in Santa’s Workshop that everyone will enjoy.
My co-worker Cynthia and her grandkids highly recommend this place, whether it’s summer, spring, winter or fall.
This year’s holiday features include:
• Swimming with Santa – Each Saturday evening, kids of all ages staying at the resort can enjoy a late evening swim with Santa. This unique experience offers a holiday experience unlike anything else,
and Santa’s helpers will be on hand to take photos to capture the memories.
Saturday nights also feature a special storytelling session in Santa’s Workshop after Mr. Claus has left to go splash and swim in the indoor waterpark. Some of Santa’s elves specializing in telling holiday tales will entertain both young and old with their interactive adventures in storyland.
Yuletide carolers will serenade guests upon their arrival to Wilderness at the Smokies every Friday and Saturday, as well as on other select days in the holiday season beginning on Thanksgiving Day.
Santa’s Weekend Wilderness Workshop features a variety of craft activities for children and a cookie decorating station that will tempt everyone’s taste buds. Kids will love creating their own special plate to leave treats for Santa on Christmas Eve, and other activities include crafts, ornaments and festive photo frames that children can keep or give as a gift to someone on their Christmas list. Activities are being offered that will appeal to everyone from toddlers to tweens and older kids.
Wilderness at the Smokies is also a perfect place for children to write their special letters to Santa. The resort staff will make sure that all the special messages get to Old St. Nick so wishes can be made known.
• NEW in 2014: A delicious holiday feast is planned at the Thirsty Miner restaurant, complete with a new yuletide menu that will make Grandma proud to start a new tradition. The feast includes favorites like turkey, ham, baked, mashed and sweet potatoes, corn pudding, an assortment of fresh vegetables, and two kinds of dressing, and special menu items including pot roast, popcorn shrimp, spaghetti, ravioli. A special kid’s corner will offer food choices children will enjoy, and apple, pumpkin and pecan pies will round out a delicious meal.
And that’s just the extra holiday fun and activities planned for Wilderness at the Smokies; the resort’s indoor waterpark and the Adventure Forest family activity area both are open every day of the year and offer unique family fun throughout the holidays that are unique to Wilderness at the Smokies. Even if the weather turns winterlike outside during November and December, Wilderness at the Smokies makes holiday vacations weatherproof in its Wild Waterdome indoor waterpark, where it’s always a mid-summer temperature of 84 degrees. Attractions in the waterpark include several thrilling water slides, a giant wave pool, the Smokies Surf Rider, a special toddler area and a play structure with a 750-gallon bucket dump. In Adventure Forest, guests can enjoy lots of dry fun including mini-bowling, a climbing wall, laser tag, black light mini-golf, a mega arcade and much more.
Warm holiday happiness and the warmth of summer fun at the Wilderness at the Smokies indoor waterpark will combine to make special holiday memories for the resort’s visitors, and a special New Year’s Eve celebration in the indoor waterpark is also planned for a one-of-a-kind way to ring in the New Year.
Wilderness at the Smokies offers gift cards for the 2015 season to that person on your gift list who is hard to buy for or who already has everything. Gift cards in any denomination are available by calling toll-free 877-325-WILD (9453) or visiting the resort’s website at www.WildenessAtTheSmokies.com.
I can’t wait to take part in these great activities and more.
