The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel — Attraction in Pigeon Forge

A Stunning Experience – Even for Someone Afraid of Heights!

I’ll be the first to admit—I’m not a fan of heights. So when I saw the towering 200-foot Great Smoky Mountain Wheel at The Island in Pigeon Forge, I hesitated. But I’m so glad I pushed past my nerves and gave it a try. What an incredible experience!

From the moment I stepped into the climate-controlled, all-glass gondola, I felt surprisingly safe and secure. The ride was smooth, the seating was comfortable, and the fully enclosed cabin offered breathtaking 360-degree views of the Smoky Mountains without feeling exposed. It was more relaxing than I ever expected, and not once did I feel uneasy, even at the very top.

The ride itself was the perfect length—long enough to soak in the sights and snap a few memorable photos, but not so long that I felt overwhelmed. And at night, the light show on the wheel is truly magical—an added bonus if you ride after dark!

The Island is such a fun place to spend the day, with shopping, restaurants, and entertainment all in one place. The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel was definitely a highlight and worth every penny. Whether you’re traveling with friends, family, or even solo, don’t miss this iconic ride—even if you're afraid of heights like me. It just might...

I’ll give two stars because the ride was nice, but service was awful. My wife got a free third party ticket from the folks we renting our cabin from, and when we tried to redeem it at the ride it took them awhile to figure out that we needed to redeem it at guest services first. That’s fine, I’m not irritated by that.

I was irritated by the “supervisor”. This dude slurred his words every time he tried to tell us to go to guest services to the point where neither my wife or myself understood what he was saying. He was also talking a million miles an hour, which didn’t help. He might as well have been speaking another language. We had to ask him “what did you say?” about 5 times, and he got more condescending each time. We couldn’t understand him because he apparently doesn’t know how to articulate or pronounce his words. One of the oddest experiences I’ve ever had. Can’t remember the name on his name tag but he was the only male worker I could see, was a supervisor, and I believe he...

We’ve been on the big wheel many of times over the last few years, and never had issues until today!

Our family group got on the wheel today 4/2/24 One group went in one cabin while the remaining went in cabin #32. The AC was not working it was blowing out HOT air. We called our family members in the other cabin and theirs were working perfectly. We suffered quite a bit with very hot stuffy air! As we got off the wheel I tried to tell the staff about the experience but he was useless ! There were no apologies, or care he walked off to the next customer . I went to the ticket center and explained what happened the guy just sat looking at me then said “okay”?. At this point I was fuming. Whatever happened to customer service? You all better be glad my grand son or any one else didn’t pass out from the heat in that cabin! Iam dissatisfied and will continue to voice my concerns on social media. The sorry guy at the ticket booth just handed me a coupon to...