WonderWorks

Why go: An upside down building on Music Road holds more than one hundred hands-on exhibits, a four story glow-in-the-dark ropes course, and a blacklit laser tag maze on one ticket.

About WonderWorks

WonderWorks calls itself an amusement park for the mind, and the upside down building is the first sign that this is not a conventional museum. Inside are more than 100 hands-on exhibits spread across better than 42,000 square feet, organized into six themed WonderZones.

The zones cover Extreme Weather, Physical Challenge, Light and Sound, Space Discovery, the Imagination Lab, and the Wonder Art Gallery. Almost everything asks you to do something rather than read a placard, and the science sits inside the doing rather than on the signage next to it.

Three larger attractions share the same footprint as the exhibit floor: an indoor ropes course, a laser tag arena, and a motion theater. Between them and the zones, WonderWorks is built to hold a family for most of an afternoon rather than the hour a single attraction usually takes.

Getting to WonderWorks

WonderWorks stands on Music Road just off the Parkway, and directions stop mattering once you are close, because it is the building that looks like it landed on its roof. Parking is free in the lot directly in front of the entrance. The Music Road corridor sits within a short drive of the Teaster Lane cluster and the north end of the Parkway, so it slots easily into a day that includes either.

Why Choose WonderWorks

Plenty of Pigeon Forge attractions are one and done inside an hour. WonderWorks is built as a half day, and the admission ticket reaches well past the exhibit floor.

• The ropes course and laser tag are included. Both come with general admission rather than being sold as add-ons, which is unusual for attractions of that scale.
• Six distinct zones instead of one hall. The floor is broken into themed areas, so a group can split up, work at different speeds, and still cover the same ground.
• It genuinely works as a rainy day plan. The whole building is indoors and it stays open into the evening, which makes it one of the few stops in town that still functions at 8:00 PM in a downpour.
• Learning is the side effect, not the pitch. The exhibits are built around doing, which holds the attention of kids who lose interest in a traditional museum inside ten minutes.
• Set up for organized groups. Birthday party packages and school field trip programs run out of the same building.

Must Do

With more than a hundred exhibits, a first visit can easily turn into aimless wandering. These are the pieces worth planning the visit around.

• Glow-In-The-Dark Ropes Course. Four stories and roughly fifty feet up, with more than fifty obstacles including swinging steps, lily pads, and a tremor bridge.
• Bed of Nails. Lie back on 3,500 nails and feel distributed pressure work in your favor, which is a physics lesson nobody forgets.
• Bubble Lab. Bubbles the size of basketballs, a bubble sheet to blow through, and one large enough to stand inside.
• Laser Tag Arena. A blacklit maze game that costs nothing extra, which makes a second and third round easy to justify.
• 4D XD Motion Theater. Twelve seats, a 3D film, and motion that ranges from a light shake to a hard jolt. Films rotate between Dino Safari, Canyon Coaster, and Wild West Mine.
• Pulley Power. Sit in a rigged chair and haul yourself off the ground, then work out why adding pulleys makes it easier.

What to Expect

The building rewards a little planning, particularly on a rainy July afternoon when everyone else on the Parkway has the same idea.

• Height rules vary by attraction. The ropes course requires 4 feet to climb alone or 3 feet 6 inches with an adult, with a maximum of 6 feet 8 inches and 300 pounds. The 4D XD theater sets its minimum at 3 feet 4 inches, and the Wonder Coaster asks for 4 feet to ride alone.
• Dress for the ropes course. Closed-toed shoes are required, and skirts and dresses are not allowed.
• Budget three to four hours. WonderWorks recommends at least that much, and the exhibit floor alone can absorb it.
• Minors need an adult. Anyone under eighteen must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is at least twenty one.
• Flashing lights and motion throughout. The attraction warns that exhibits may not suit guests with heart problems, diabetes, vertigo, seizures, or other light and motion sensitivities.
• Arrive well before close. The last ticket is sold and the doors lock sixty minutes before the posted closing time, so a late arrival is not a short visit, it is no visit at all.
• Food stays inside. Outside food and drinks are not permitted, and the Cruisin’ Cafe on site sells pizza, hot dogs, popcorn, and drinks.
• Peak days run long. Expect longer waits during peak season and on rainy days, when re-entry is also restricted.

Nearby in Pigeon Forge

• The Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud. A feuding families dinner show on the same stretch of Music Road, close enough to make an easy pairing.
• LazerPort Fun Center. Laser tag arenas, mini golf, and arcade games a short drive up the Parkway.
• Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Center. A neighboring Showplace Boulevard complex with wax figures, a mirror maze, and a motion ride under one roof.
• Titanic Museum. A ship shaped museum on the Parkway where every guest boards holding a real passenger’s boarding pass.

Explore More

My Smoky Mountain Guide Pigeon Forge is a great resource for finding things to do and places to eat.

• Pigeon Forge Food & Beverage Guide. Restaurants, dinner shows, breweries, distilleries, and eateries throughout Pigeon Forge, from sit-down meals to grab-and-go stops.
• Pigeon Forge Outdoor Adventure. Mountain coasters, UTV rentals, rafting, helicopter tours, and other ways to experience the Smokies from outdoors.
• Pigeon Forge Attractions. Museums, escape rooms, mini-golf, arcades, and other family-friendly stops across the city.
• Pigeon Forge Entertainment. Dinner shows, live music, comedy, magic, and theater experiences throughout Pigeon Forge.