Family Friendly Blount

At the last minute, we decided to try Wilderness at the Smokies, a year-round waterpark resort in Sevierville.

Even though we were only about 45 minutes from our house in Maryville, we could have been thousands of miles away because it was as much of a great vacation as any beach or overpriced theme park.

The resort’s two outdoor waterparks were closed for the season but the indoor, 7-acre Wild WaterDome was all the fun our sons, ages 4 and 6, could want.

There are two water playground areas, one designed for preschoolers, toddlers and infants with swings, small slides, a teetor-tot, and plenty of splashy things to keep them entertained. The other is a larger play area with all kinds of spraying, splashing, and water-dumping manipulatives, as well as two small water slides.

The best part of these two areas: ample seating. My husband and I relaxed with our toes in the pool and actually had a conversation.

It was paradise.

Our older son wanted to try a bigger waterslide so he and I snuck away from dad and brother. His height (over 42”) qualified him for two of the five slides. The others had a 48” requirement and for the two he tried, an adult had to be him.

If I am going to do a waterslide, I prefer it be on a raft and luckily, all of their slides have rafts. I didn’t have water up my nose, a swim top around my neck or an ‘atomic wedgie.’

The whole family ventured to the wave pool where we threw life jackets on the boys and sat them in a two-person float. The boys loved the thrill of riding the waves.

We didn’t make it to the Surf Rider, a popular attraction where older kids, teens and adults can surf or boogie-board a six-foot wave. After witnessing a few wipeouts, my son and I decided it wasn’t for us.

I was impressed with the resorts attention to details. Large towels and children’s life jackets are provided so no pool bag is needed. Signs with instructions and tips are everywhere. A massive clock can be seen from all points.

Typically, I spend a great deal of time at public pools looking the other way or waving away hairballs, but not here. This is how clean the waterpark was: my germophobic husband walked around barefoot.

According to Rick Laney, spokesman for Wilderness at the Smokies, the resort’s “army of housekeeping staff” takes great care in cleanliness. “With anything we do, we do it over and above,” he said.

This philosophy carries over to the park’s safety standards. Lifeguards are attentive and they’re everywhere. Laney said they are Ellis certified, which is what he describes as the most comprehensive and most difficult level of water safety training.

Also, the water itself is highly maintained. An underground, computerized system monitors chlorine levels so kids don’t get sick.

The waterpark is only open to overnight guests of the resort. Laney said this policy helps maintain crowd control.

Honestly, when the resort first opened, this was the reason we didn’t give it a try since we live less than an hour away. However, for my boys, sleeping overnight in the bunk bed of our suite made it feel more like a vacation than just another day trip.

Wilderness at the Smokies the southeast’s largest indoor/outdoor waterpark. This past June, Southern Living Magazine named it as one of the Top 10 pools in the country. It was the only family-oriented hotel on the list and the only one that doesn’t have a five-star resort price tag.

A standard room for four can be found as low as $149 with promotions; suites that accommodate 8 to 10 are about $300 and two-bedroom suites for up to 15 run approximately $400. The resort reminds me of Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Lodge with natural accents and a woodsy atmosphere that compliments the Great Smoky Mountain views.

Laney said when you take into account that every guest in the room gets access to the waterpark at no additional charge, it is competitive with the cost of booking a room and paying separately for tickets to an attraction. In fact, Laney said guests can access the waterpark from opening to close on the days of check-in and check-out. Lockers and showers are available in the park’s restrooms.

In terms of per person costs, you can pile kids into these rooms. The resort has suites that can hold up to 22, with some configurations that offer an adjoining room full of bunk beds, which is a popular overnight birthday party destination.

In our one-bedroom suite, we had a queen-size Murphy bed, 2 sofa beds, a queen bed and a bunk bed. We also had a fully-stocked, full-size kitchen, which is great for keeping food costs down.

After learning this, I realized we forgot two things at home: snacks and a babysitter.

There are six restaurants on-site. We went to the poolside snack bar and ordered a large cheese pizza, four drinks and two fruit cups for just under $30. The boys enjoyed eating a few bites and jumping back in the water. The sit-down restaurants offer ‘kids eat free,’ (for ages 11 and under), which we took advantage of for breakfast at The Thirsty Miner, a restaurant overlooking the indoor waterpark. The buffet offered every kind of breakfast food imaginable so everyone in my picky family enjoyed it. The bill for the four of us, with drinks and tip was about $35.

The resort has three properties: The River Lodge (attached to the indoor waterpark), Stone Hill Lodge (a free shuttle ride away from the indoor waterpark) and a Wyndam Timeshare property. You don’t have to be a timeshare owner or look at a timeshare to stay there.

Laney recommends booking early and checking the website often for special pricing promotions. “We almost always have some kind of promotion or special package at a reduced rate.” Laney said the resort is open 365-days a year and their busiest times are summer and holidays.

The property offers several gift shops, convenience stories, a pottery studio, mini-golf and a 36-hole championship golf course.

Lane Harper, a 15-year-old from Hartwell, Ga., who came with his parents, two siblings and two friends, said they had been there for four days and other than venturing out for go-carts, preferred sticking around the resort.

Laney said the Wilderness will announce a major expansion. Since opening, they have continued to add attractions. He said owners of the resort, “want to give people a reason to come back.”

Having an affordable vacation just 45-minutes away that alleviated my Disney-envy is reason enough for us to return.

For more information, visit www.wildernessatthesmokies.com or call 877-325-9453.