Welcome back to our final Day Trips and Destination series, centered around our family's recent trip to Wilderness at the Smokies Resort and Waterpark Hotel! We so enjoyed taking a little trip up to TN, and having the opportunity to learn a bit more about beautiful Seviereville, located not too far from Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. 

If you haven't been following our previous Wilderness at the Smokies posts, here, you can find Part 1 & Part 2 of this feature. Though our trip wasn't a long trip, we really had a fabulous time at the beautiful Wilderness at teh Smokies Resort and Waterpark Hotel. Our second night spent in our hotel room was wonderful. I slept so well that I almost didn't want to get up the next morning, but we had a little bit of packing up to do. Our check-out time was 11:00 am, and even though we needed to be checkout out of our room by that time, we were invited to stay and play in the water parks for the rest of the day. We knew we couldn't stay all day, but we planned to stay until early afternoon, and get a few hours of fun in before we had to hit the road to head home.

First things first- I grabbed a hot cup of Starbucks coffee from the lobby cafe before anyone else was up that morning! Coffee is a must, and this brew was delicious!

After everyone was awake, we had a bite of breakfast in our room, and spent a few minutes packing up, and getting everything ready to check out. We wanted to do the express check out, which Wilderness at the Smokies makes super easy for their guests. All we needed to do was take our belongings to the car, and once we were sure we had everything, leave our room keys by the phone in the hotel room. There was no waiting in line at the front desk involved to check out, which was awesome!

The boys packed up the car, and then we headed down the hallway, back to the water park, to enjoy a few hours of play time.

Check out the adorable bear outside of the white water rafting tour office!

We walked back through the Adventure Forest to get to the indoor water park...

Here we go- one last time in the water park!

We really didn't talk a whole lot about having to leave in front of B. We wanted him to fully enjoy our last few hours at Wilderness at the Smokies, so we just sort of made a plan that we would need to start getting cleaned up around 2 pm, and leave around 2:30.

We found a life jacket for B, got him suited up, and then we all got into the water to splash and play!

B had so much fun swimming, playing in the inner tubes, and riding the waves with Sacha in the giant Great Wave pool!

Spinning round and round was also lots of fun.

I wanted to enjoy the sun that was pouring into the indoor water park from the glass panels on the ceiling. I love that you can catch some sun, and tan indoors year round at Wilderness at the Smokies! B wanted to be indoors, and I was fine with that, because we'd still be getting some warmth from the sun... plus, it's always toasty warm in there!

I took a little time out for myself, just to lie back and relax in one of the comfy lounge chairs, while the boys continued swimming and playing in the water. Ahh... this is the life!

B, exploring and swimming in the Great Wave pool...

...and having so, so much fun with daddy!

Eventually, going on 1 pm, we got a little hungry, so we sent Sacha over to the snack bar, to see what he might be able to find. B and I waited patiently in the lounge chairs. There were tables and chairs all over the indoor water park, but most of them were taken by larger familes. We decided it was best not to risk losing our lounge chairs while we hunted for a free table, so we stayed put.

Hangin' with my favorite little dude...

Sacha brought back some yummy snacks from Grizzly's Grill- a pretzel, corndog, and hotdog. Yum!

B thought the pretzel was totally yummy!

After we ate and let our tummies settle, we headed back into the water for another hour or so of splashing and swimming! B really didn't want to leave the Great Wave pool, and we didn't mind. There were a lot of people in it, but it could have been worse. The park was not very crowded, and it felt nice to be there during a week day, as opposed to a weekend.

Way back in the wave pool. 

Headed back to the lounge chairs to say hi to mommy...

Splashing fun...

Having too much fun to leave to go home!

We absolutely did not want to leave. We had so much fun at the water park, and could have spent all day there, but we did need to get back out on the road and start the 4.5 hour drive back home. We grabbed our bags and headed to the changing rooms. There were showers located in the changing rooms, so we rinsed off in our bathing suits, and then changed into dry clothes for the ride home.

One last picture of the Wild WaterDome on our way out of the park...

...and one last photo of the Adventure Forest, which looked like so much fun!

One of the shops, located near the Wild WaterDome, which had lots of swim essentials for sale.

We headed down the hallway, and since we promised B a piece of candy from the cafe on the way out, we popped into some of the little lobby shops. We really hadn't had much of a chance to check them out, because we were spending all of our time in the water!

Check out these adorable flip flop chocolates!

Ooo- Chocolate covered potato chips!

B couldn't decide which piece of chocolate he wanted- a cow, a flip flop, a sea shell, a dinosaur, a race car...

So many choices!

And there were baked goods, too! Mmm- cupcakes!

When we finally selected our chocolates, we bagged those up, and then walked into a couple of the other shops, on our way out. We didn't really need anything, but it was fun to see all of the different things offered in the shop. There were lots of neat little toys, t-shirts, hats, and jewelry, too! Lots of nice gift items or mementos.

One of the pretty shops off of the lobby...

Nice selection of women's apparel...

...and lots of hats! I love hats, can you tell?

Before we left the hotel, we enjoyed sitting outside for a few minutes, while we enjoyed our chocolates. The grounds at Wilderness at the Smokies were so, so pretty, and well kept. I truly did not want to leave to go home. I could have stayed there all week long, and fully enjoyed myself with my wonderful family.

B chose the chocolate race car, and couldn't wait to get his hands on it!

Mmm! So yummy!

Sad to leave, but thankful for the opportunity to stay and play at Wilderness at the Smokies, and be together, as a family.

We don't often go on trips, just the three of us. When we travel, it tends to be with other family members, on long trips. It was so nice for the three of us to be able to get away for a few days. Even though we weren't super far from home, it felt like we were world away, up in the beautiful Great Smokey Mountains of TN. Our trip to Wilderness at the Smokies was amazing. The staff was friendly, the hotel and the parks were very clean, and anything and everything you could possibly need or want was available round the clock- including room service with a full menu! We truly had a wonderful time, and we can't wait to go back to Wilderness at the Smokies for another visit!

One last photo on our way out... goodbye Wilderness at the Smokies!

We decided to drive through Pigron Forge and Gatlinburg on our way out. I almost wished we could stay another night, just so we could explore more of the surrounding areas. Maybe next time!

Want to Visit Wilderness at the Smokies?

Want more info about Wilderness at the Smokies, or ready to book your own trip? Head on over to Wilderness at the Smokies and take a look around their website! It's filled with beautiful photos, and lots of info on how to plan a trip for your family. You can also connect with Wilderness at the Smokies through Facebook and Twitter, and check out their YouTube channel, too!