Astra Lumina — Attraction in Gatlinburg

Horrible! DO NOT expect to do much up the mountain if you are disabled very much at all! I'm disabled, and the view at the top is beautiful, BUT... there are MANY hills and steps to walk, the treetop canopy has about 10-15 steps going down to it, and either u walk it normal or you don't go at all, and it's very long. They sold me tickets to the Astra Lumina show, knowing I'm disabled WITH a walker. We get there to go down, and NOBODY SAID ONE TIME PRIOR TO THAT THAT I WON'T BE ABLE TO USE MY WALKER! (even the lady at the ticket stand who SAW MY WALKER) We get to the entrance and see a sign about strollers, etc, not being allowed. He says you can take it down to the welcome center. After going down a painfully steep hill, I asked the girl there WHY nobody said I couldn't use it. She apologized and radioed up that I wanted a refund. My mobility is VERY limited! I get to the top with my friend, literally pushing against my back to help me walk back up. (I brought my friend who flew in from Germany to what, in my opinion was a waste of money) When we finally get back up, the man starts arguing with me over giving me a refund. He said, "So did you go😡 I said no, I can't walk it. His reply was, "I told you you could go to the welcome spot." 😡 I commenced to tell him, "HOW CAN I WALK IT IF I USE A WALKER TO WALK AND I'M NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE IT ON THE LONG TRAIL?" He literally said 'well yeah' then got mad when I told him they radioed up already to give me a refund! He very hesitantly put it back on my card, I HOPE! SO, IF you're disabled much and have strollers with people that can't walk or can't walk much, get ready to just get a view of the mountains, spend money, and leave. (Unless you can carry them, and I wouldn't be shocked if they would find a reason you couldn't do that on the trail either, in my opinion). I always wanted to go here and waited to bring my friend. I have never been more disappointed in my life at a place that has been the LEAST handicap accessible place that I have EVER been to! The best part was the view, and the super nice lady that was driving bus 5 in the evening. She rocked!!! I wasted disability money for this. (Yes, I know there are hills, but the number of things you CAN'T ride, climb, or walk if using assistance is horrible). NOTE: IF you buy thru Tripster, you MUST go thru the ticket line (even tho you already have them), which took well over an hour bc they too are short staffed (not the employees fault of course). I normally don't give horrible reviews, but this was ridiculous. I could've saved a fortune by just getting a hotel with a mountain view. My entire body is killing me now bc of all the walking, having to sit down constantly with basically no shade and the terrain. Great for healthy, athletic, willing people who can walk all terrain. NOT (in my opinion) good for disabled or limited mobility people at all. When getting tickets there and they see you are disabled they should make it very clear what you WON'T be able to do once you're at the top! (Reading the fine print of what can and can't be done isn't easy for people with limited vision or memory. The employees need to pitch in and tell us how it really...

It was a nice experience and overall something I'm glad I did. However at the price point it is I would not go again on any subsequent Anakeesta visits. If you are the type of person who doesn't enjoy watching light shows then I would spend your $15 on some yummy eats instead. Ordering tickets for this experience with an annual pass was a logistical nightmare. You cannot order them online if you want the 20% discount. You must order them over the phone or at the Astra Lumina ticket booth when you get there. I chose to order them over the phone so that would be guaranteed tickets. Rose was amazing to talk to and I enjoyed my conversation with her as I was ordering the tickets but their system routinely messed up the transaction and ultimately after several back and forth emails and phone calls I was told I would get a complimentary ticket due to the nearly hour it took to get it figured out. The error seemed entirely due to the system and not human error.

Here is where I am a little bit upset. When I showed up at the ticket booth to get my complimentary ticket as instructed via email, the ticket agent had no idea what I was talking about and was quite rude and I feel like at first she did not believe me. She didn't ask any follow-up questions and just referred me to the ticket booth at the bottom of the mountain. She said that the tickets, if any, would be at the ticket booth at the bottom of the mountain which does not make sense as I was talking about astra lumina tickets and I was at the astra lumina ticket counter. Quite obviously I would not want to ride the ski lift all the way down the mountain when I'm already at the Astra Lumina ticket counter. I pressed her a bit more, mentioned Rose's name, and pulled up my email and she said Rose was simply in the call center and not her boss. I am not sure what this has to do with anything by the way lol. Finally when the friend I was with pressed her as well she asked for my order number and finally agreed to start looking into it and phoned her boss. After she looked into it she was able to figure out what happened and get me in, even though it was a paid ticket and I never received the complimentary ticket that I was told I would get.

After getting home I checked again and now the system has charged me for three tickets instead of the two I was originally trying to purchase and instead of the one I thought it would end up having to buy (since I was told the 2nd would be a comp). Again this is system issues and not human error but at the same time a ticket purchasing system with an annual pass discount feature is not a complicated piece of software in 2023 and this should really just not be happening. I will work with Rose to get my specific issue adjusted but just be advised that if you are purchasing tickets with a annual pass discount that it may be a bigger headache than...

After the unexpectedly long line and wait times to get to Anakeesta, my group was highly disappointed in the whole experience. First off we did purchase our tickets in advance. I called several times to ensure we knew exactly what to do. when we got in line, and this is when it started. We had an extra add-on person and purchase their Anakeesta ticket and Astra Lumina ticket and was told that they could go in with our party even though his time was one slot time different. When we went to enter Astra Lumina we were told we could not go in at the specific time 3 times. and finally someone at the front desk said that we were all allowed to go in together as one party so that was a little bit frustrating also. As far as the light walk it was very loud! it was NOT peaceful or serene. I felt quite stressful throughout the whole Trail . There were several parts of the path that were pretty and well lit other parts of the Starlight show was a bit chaotic and like a rave and full of strobe lights. We bought $13 hot dogs 12 - 13.00 for slices of pizzas. Everything was overpriced. :( The gem mining area is 12 dollars for a very small bag, 32$ for a 5 lb bag. Again my complaint is that this should have also been included in the ticket price for general admission. There could be several improvements on the way people value their planning timing and experience for their money. And with all that they charged there should be a quicker way up and down that mountain. If you plan to do this I would plan to use the chair lifts. You do move quicker on the chair lifts. the chondolas, i count maybe 8 to 10 of these. The Treehouse experience was a highlight for the young ones!! ✨️ the views were pretty,( but you can drive up the any mountain and catch views for free.) leaving Anakeesta was a highlight for the rest of us! We did not get to do the zip line and we did not get to do the roller coaster ! Because that was also an additional price. Overall I feel like the whole part and the hoopla of anakeesta is very overrated and overpriced. Everything on top of that mountain should be included in your price ticket not added extras / penalties. And let's talk about the lack of bathrooms that are up there. The place is very festive and decorated very nicely, but again, I guess that's the only thing that was included in this Anakeesta price. I feel like moving forward they could do better I just don't know what could be improved dramatically that would change the experience that I had overall because I feel as I will never go there again never ever ever ever ever going back :( 😞 Recap for some of you that like this place that is fine for me the Highlight was leaving feet on the ground and walking back to my car five blocks up the...