Biblical Times Dinner Theater — Hotel in Pigeon Forge

To the reader: I apologize for the long read. TLDR: Don't go.

To the business: I hope you will pray for wisdom before you read this.

This was sadly the absolute worst part of our vacation. We were so excited to come see it we arrived an hour and a half early and waited in the parking lot.

I have purple hair. And a couple facial piercings. I don't think I should have to say that. But I want to give context. I am a Christian. Not a nominal Christian. A Bible believing, Christ following Christian.

We had tempered expectations for this show since I think it's the only one in town Dolly doesn't own. But we didn't set the bar low enough.

We were not greeted at the door. We looked around the gift shop and aside from some handmade crosses, we were completely underwhelmed. I planned to get one on the way out to support Christian artists as one myself.

We were not acknowledged at this ticket counter at all. And by this point, I'm starting to feel pretty messed up. I know the gentleman is in the phone booking 2 for December 20th and the 2 females are trying to help a party of 20 find their tickets. But generally eye contact, or some kind of acknowledgement is made.

We were probably the youngest people at the show. They called us by row to be seated.

We took our seats and after some time, the wait staff came to serve drinks. It was not an overly friendly exchange. One worker noticed that we didn't have Silverware so she asked the other for 2 straws.

All of the other patrons had Silverware. Which we thought was very weird. But we assumed they ran out before us since we were the last seats.

And as the food was being served, we were walked passed multiple times as trays of food were passed out. By this point, my anxiety is in full bloom. I felt terrible. Neglected. Singled out. Almost bullied. Then thought "judgy". Man I hate to say that about a Christian establishment for obvious reasons.

Finally, they actually took the food carts out of the theatre. I'm not one to stand up for myself. And I had a complete breakdown sitting in my seat. So my husband decided we were leaving. I was an absolute mess and I was hysterical.

When we got to the car, my husband went inside to use the bathroom. He was stopped by two employees who asked if everything was OK. So he told them that it was not and explained what happened. The woman was apologetic and explained that she marked no food on the wrong seats. The male was very unapologetic and very shrug attitude about it. They offered to send us home with to-go plates.

Considering how awful they made us feel, and how early we left, I'm terribly disappointed that we were not offered a refund. Honest mistake or not, this business made me feel terrible. And considering it was their fault, I would expect them to make it right. $136 is not something everyone has to spend when they are picking and choosing what they can afford on their vacation. This took away precious time from our trip, ruined our evening, and we couldn't even recoup the cost to put it towards another attraction.

We didn't accept the meals by the way. And I would with a very heavy heart never recommend this establishment. Especially not to younger patrons or customers with an alternative look. Hopefully the staff can learn from this experience.

But from what we seen of the show, it left a lot to be desired. Sound is off from one vocalist to another. Talent is mediocre. And the half hearted attempt at clean comedy fell totally flat.

Also, watching a recording of someone singing a worship song was not my idea of a live dinner show. From the time the show started, to the time we left was 30 minutes. Out of a 2.5 hour show.

Save yourself some heartache and go to Pirates. It's the same price. Family friendly. Engaging. And no one makes you feel unworthy.

Added photos to show they weren't...

I am writing this review to save money for the other people looking to book this show. This was by far the worst experience I have ever had in Pigeon forge. The only reason for 1 star is because you have to give a star to be able to write a review.

We checked the website before going to the theater and it said there were only 15 seats available for our time of showing on June 26th at 5:30. This is very misleading and untrue. There were hundreds of seats available in the theater. This was a ploy to try to get people to buy tickets at the last minute for a show.

We were seated in a seat with what looked to be a tv tray hooked to the seat with the cup holder down under our arm pit. The server came by with tea pitchers under her arms and said more than once to put the cup in the cup holder because if we spilled the drink, it would roll down at least 5 rows and she did not feel like doing a lot of mopping.

A comedian came out to start the show and she did not have quality material. There were very few laughs in the crowd, and it was tense for her to get a laugh. This act needs to be cut completely.

They started the show with a professional singer on a recording from you tube appearing on the large screen. This was the best song of the night.

The food came, and it had been plated for some time. My baked beans were dried on my plate. None of the food was warm. The food quality did not come up to any dinner show we had ever been too. The biscuit was dry and cold. The potatoes were dry. The chicken was dry. The cobbler was straight out of a container that had been bought. Not hot at all. Could not eat it. Food was terrible.

We thought we were going to a spiritual experience. This was not the case at all. After receiving the food, the music started with smoke on the stage. The singers came out with gold outfits and changed between every other song. There was more focus on what they were wearing rather than their performance. The songs were from days gone by. Older songs.

We left after the food came and did not stay. We did not want to waste the rest of our night in Pigeon Forge with a show that was not quality and food that was past the warmed-up stage. We had 4 in our party and our tickets were over $230. If we could have gotten our money back, we would have.

The reason for my post is not to be rude but to tell the truth about what we experienced and to save you from spending your money on something that is a waste of time and very unprofessional. This show does not compare to any other of the quality shows in Pigeon Forge. The food does not compared to the other shows.

The handwriting is on the wall in this theater. This show will be a thing of the past very soon and the singers and staff at the theater know...

I think good, honest people are running this theater with a missional attitude. I really enjoyed the music, as I am a worship leader at my own church. I do have some recommendations:

For the visitor: this is a good show for kids. Simple, Biblical, and clean. The food is good, in a humble way. Ever been to a church potluck? This is a small operation, and I enjoyed the meal. If you have never read the Bible, you may struggle to understand ALL the references, but the story is still laid out where it can be understood. Again, this is a small operation, so please don't expect IMAX graphics or production quality...yet.

For the staff: thank you for what you're doing! First, the music was good. Y'all have vocal talent. From a production standpoint, I would encourage you to add a minute level of reverb to the vocals, and also find out a way to compress the audio so that the volume level isn't going crazy up and down with each singer. Second, I loved the music, but growing up a Lutheran means I didn't know half the songs! I think it would be an excellent idea to have lyrics somewhere on screen for others that would like to join in worship.

Now for the hard part. My wife and I were disappointed with the show itself. The overuse of green screen and CG made it difficult to take the story seriously. Additionally, it would be beneficial to learn how to say the words written on the wall correctly. On a more minor note, Hebrews would not dare speak the name of God (Jehovah as you say), and would most likely call Him Adonai or another name less sacred (The Lord, Elohim, etc). Last, I would recommend two things: (1) pick your audience. Either experienced Christians who know what you're about, or new Christians, to whom you'll be sharing a new side of His Story about. (2) pick a simpler translation than KJV. Even the modernization towards the NKJV would help so much for those who aren't used to Bible-speak, or people who don't speak English as a first language.

A little bit of professional critique will go a long way to improve this theater show. Maybe seek it out from local churches. I pray you all prosper in all your missional work, and I thank you for the opportunity to meet before we see each other again one day in Heaven. God...