Paula Deen's Lumberjack Feud Supper Show — Hotel in Pigeon Forge

Paula Deen should be ashamed to have her name associated with this poor excuse of a dinner show. My family has attended numerous versions of these dinner shows all around the country, including ALL of the other dinner shows in the Pigeon Forge TN area, and NONE have been as disappointing as this show. Everything associated with this experience was unorganized and highly disappointing to our entire group. First, no one could help us find “will call” to pick up our tickets. Once we finally found it and received our tickets, nothing was mentioned about how we were to receive the food and drink that is included as part of the dinner show. We saw a long line of people so we assumed that line was the line to enter the show, however, it was the line for self-serve drinks, which we had to wait in line, in the scorching near 100 degree heat, only then to find out that we had to stand in another line, in the direct sun again, to be given our plastic box dinner. When we inquired as to where we go to eat our dinner show plastic box lunch, we were told to find an empty picnic table somewhere, again still out in the hot humid near 100 degree weather. The plastic box dinner show meal prepared by Paula Deen was a dry pork barbecue sandwich on a soggy bun and also included dried-out Mac-n-Cheese, a few baked beans, hard roll and (the best part of the meal) about two bites of fruit cobbler. Sadly, our small portions of cobbler didn’t have enough fruit in it to distinguish exactly what kind of fruit cobbler it was. I guessed peach, my wife thought it could be apple, and the remainder of our group was so disappointed with the food being served outside in the extreme heat, on dirty picnic tables, that were swarming with flies, that they didn’t even want to sample their two bites of cobbler. Once we finished our meal, no one told us where to go for the show, and the few employees that were there, were too busy chatting amongst themselves, or checking their phones, to direct us to the show venue. When we entered the area for the show, there was no assigned seating, just an outdoor arena, with hard long bleacher type seats. There were a few fans over the bleacher seats, but they barely moved the hot stagnant air around. I really felt sorry for the performers that were out in the direct sun, working extremely hard to try and entertain a hot and extremely disappointed audience. At least half of the audience, including our entire group, left at the first intermission. Paula Deen desperately needs to re-evaluate this entire nightmare of a dinner show, and either revamp the entire experience, with the help of Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede or Pirate’s Voyage entertainment team, or completely get out of the dinner...

Don't hate for this review, but with them being so similar, I have to compare.

Lumberjack Feud (LJF) has great staff, decent food, and a very entertaining show. It's honestly whole family friendly from my toddler who was ecstatic about being able to be loud, noisy, jump around, get pumped. He got so worked up, he fell asleep on the 15 minute car ride home, which never happens. The lumberjacks had individual personality, they were lively, the show was filled with lame corney jokes that you couldn't help but laugh at because it was just fun. I can't not tell you again that the staff were also amazing, kind, helpful, clear and consise with information, all smiling faces. Good staff makes outings like this with my family great because I don't have to worry about feeling like an annoyance.

The food is also friendly for small and old humans alike, soft enough to eat without/minimal teeth.

My problems come in with the food and how it's served. Paula Deen is a chef I have watched on TV since I was little, and the best she can manage for a dinner theater, with her name and reputation on, is a plastic take out container of luke warm food on bleachers or picnic tables? I expected good pulled pork, not dry pork pieces. An apple cobbler that isn't doughy and underdone. Baked beans with some flavor. Here's where the comparison comes in. The Dolly Parton Pirates dinner show is served in courses, at a bench table, with food so freshly cooked, you have to wait a few minutes for it to cool. Chicken quarters, with tomato bisque, delicious rolls and baked potatoes. Dolly Parton isn't a chef or well known for food. I guess I just expected more from the food coming from a TV food personality. The food we were served at the LJF was edible, but not worth the ticket price and having to stop at Krystal's on the way home because it wasn't filling either. It's definitely more of a preheated snack show than dinner entertainment. You know it's bad when the plastic container is hotter than the food it contains. It was just disappointing. While a toddler can eat it, mine didn't. He loves pulled pork, wouldn't touch it, loves apples, took one bite of the cobbler and noped it right there. It's listed as Mac n cheese, but it honestly tasted like cheap Velveeta, and it's white cheddar, they don't mention that part.

All in all the show is great, but don't go expecting good food. I ate mine because I was hungry, not because I enjoyed it, and that is a big problem for me when other dinner theater shows can actually get dinner right without spending any more money on...

Paula Deen's Lumberjack Fued consists of two parts: the stage show and the adventure park. The stage show is like what you'd see on ESPN. Super skilled lumberjacks/athletes competing in 13 different including standing block chop, where the lumberjack stands on top of a log laid on its side and chops towards their own feet; springboard chop, where they jam a board into a cut, climb on top, and then chop the top of the tree off; hot saw competition (which was incredibly loud): speed climbing; log rolling, where two competitors try to roll each other off a floating log; boom run, where competitors run across floating logs; axe throwing; cutting through logs with chainsaws and crosscut saws; and probably a few other events I've forgotten about. After each event, members of the crowd scream and cheer to receive lumberjack cookies, which are cuts from the logs signed by the lumberjacks and jills. The show was so fun and impressive. These men and women are true athletes. The show is cheesy and the two families pretend they have a rivaly, but impressive nonetheless. The adventure park was fun, but much less impressive and not worth the price. The adventure park has 5 attractions: the flying ox, a "first of its kind" zip-coaster, which is a mix of zipline and roller coaster; a two-level ropes course; an 80-foot "free fall" jump (don't worry, you're strapped in); log roll; boom run; and speed climbing. Husband and I showed up Monday around 1pm and the place was empty except for the two of us and the employees. First we signed a waiver and then got fitted for our safety harnesses. We went straight to the flying ox. I was very nervous but it ended up bring pretty fun. We went around a second time and it was so windy I got stuck in the track and an employee had to come out after me and push me to get me going again. After that we did the speed climb, then the free-fall, and then the boom run and log roll. You're strapped in for every event so you can't really fall. They have you switch to water socks for the log roll and boom run, so the only thing that really gets wet is your feet. I was pretty nervous at the top of the speed climb, you lean back to lower yourself back down. The free fall is similar: you stand at the edge of the platform and lean back. I had a good time, yelped in fear a few times, and skinned my ankle during the log roll. I would give the show 5 stars and the adventure...