You can’t miss the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee! If you are driving into Pigeon Forge from Sevierville, you will see the HUGE Titanic replica (it is actually 1/2 the scale of the original Titanic ship). We learned about the Titanic in history class and have seen the movie, but this museum really makes you a part of this story and experience. With over 400 real Titanic artifacts (valued at over 4.5 million dollars), this museum is a very unique way to understand what happened that night.

We really did enjoy our time at this museum even though the sinking of the Titanic and the loss of life were such a tragedy. This museum is a beautiful tribute to the people involved in the voyage of the Titanic. It is very educational, engaging, and visually stunning…and I do recommend making this museum a part of your visit to Pigeon Forge.

What to Expect:

Things You Can Do During Your Tour of the Titanic Museum:

• Receive a Boarding Pass of an actual Titanic passenger/crew member
• View Titanic artifacts (valued at over 4.5 million dollars)
• Walk the rotunda and the exact replica of Titanic’s Grand Staircase (personal photos are allowed)
• We got to feel 28-degree water
• Passengers can shovel “coal” in Titanic’s Boiler Room
• We learned how to send an SOS distress signal
• Stand (or try to stand) on the Sloping Decks of the Titanic’s stern as it descended
• There is an area where you can sit in an actual size lifeboat and hear stories of real passengers
• Small kiddos can visit Tot-Titanic – an interactive area for young ones aged 8 and under
• Find out your passenger’s fate in the Titanic Museum’s Memorial Room (Passenger from your Boarding Pass)
• Fun Fact:  the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge cost $25 million to build!

You probably want to allow 1-2 hours to tour this museum, especially if you want to stop and read everything and/or listen to the full audio tour. The exhibits and personal stories are so captivating – you will want to spend some time here.

Reservations & Checking In at the Titanic Museum

You can call to make reservations ( 800-381-7670 or 417-334-9500) for the Titanic Museum or make them online HERE. I highly recommend making a reservation/purchasing tickets in advance! This museum is very popular and you’ll need a reservation for a definite spot on the tour. You can also stop by the kiosk outside the museum to reserve a day and time. There are also some companies that offer discounts for booking multiple activities in the Smokies, but we made reservations directly with the museum.

After I made the reservation, I received a text message 30 minutes prior to our entry time asking us to wait in the car until a second text message is sent. About 5-10 minutes before our reservation, we received a second text asking us to make our way to the entrance. We gave our reservation/family name (kind of like a restaurant reservation) at the front and we were all checked in.

Boarding Pass

After checking in, you will get in line until your entire group is collected. The museum lets in groups of about 20-30 people every ten minutes.

You will be given a Boarding Pass and assigned a named passenger. These passengers, their stories, and their stations are entirely real. You can read all of the information about the passenger that you are while waiting in line. Even young ones get a kid’s boarding pass for a child passenger. At the end of the tour, you will find out if “you”/your passenger survived the sinking of the Titanic.

You can see in the above photo that the cast members working here are dressed in costumes. While we were waiting in line, this nice lady went over a few rules, showed us a short video, and gave us our audio devices.

Audio Tour & Self-Guided Tour

Everyone 5 years old and older gets an audio tour device. It looks and feels like a remote control. It has a speaker and hangs from your neck with a lanyard. Anywhere you see a circle with a number in it, you dial that number into the audio device. Then you can listen to the audio device (to your ear like a phone). These short clips give you more information about the exhibit (they last about 30-60 seconds).

There is also a youth audio tour for kids to listen to as they take the tour. They can follow along with the numbers and then answer the questions that are on their boarding pass. At the very end of the tour, you will exit by walking down the grand staircase, and then you will return your audio device.

The Museum

After your group is called you will enter the museum to show your ticket. After showing your ticket, you are free to enjoy the museum at your own pace. First, you will earn about all of the people who were instrumental in designing, building, and manning the Titanic.

As you explore, you will see replicas, facts, and visual aids to show the details of the Titanic and its journey. There are real artifacts from the ship – such as a deck chair, silver, plates, tools, a trunk, photos, telegraphs, etc. These items are behind glass. All of these artifacts were either found floating in the ocean, from victims’ bodies, in floating trunks or carried off by survivors.

Many of the exhibits are interactive. At one spot in the museum, you can “shovel” coal into a furnace and listen to it fire up. The tour and its exhibits wind along the hallways of the “ship”. There are restrooms located right before you get to the Grand Staircase.

Note: No personal photos are allowed until you reach the Grand Staircase.

The Grand Staircase

In addition to recreated cabins and parlors, this museum has a full-scale replica of the Grand Staircase from the Titanic. The staircase was built from the original Harland and Wolff plans complete with its oak carvings and cherub statue. It’s nice to stop here and appreciate the elaborate railings, iron scrollwork, and intricate glass dome overhead.

The most expensive part of the rotunda? It was the flooring. At the time, this “new” flooring was very expensive. Today we call it linoleum.

Accommodations Onboard

It was interesting to see the difference in the rooms/accommodations for First Class Passengers versus the 3rd Class Passengers and employees. The first class passengers had luxurious rooms while the third class passengers basically slept in a closet- 4 people in ONE room/closet. Seriously, how did they fit?

See the stark contrast in accommodations:

Room for 3rd Class Passengers:

Millionaires sitting room:

The Music Room

The Music Room pays tribute to the musicians aboard the Titanic. Guests can play the 1900s Grand Piano located in the music room. We were traveling with a friend who could play the piano and violin and he was able to play both during our visit.

Captain’s Bridge and Promenade Deck

On the Captain’s Bridge, you can “steer” the ship at the helm as you look out the windows into the starry night. If you look closely, you can see an iceberg in the distance.

As you exit the Captain’s Bridge, you will feel a cold burst of air as you head out to the Promenade Deck. Here, you can feel how cold the air and water were the night the Titanic sank. We tried to time ourselves – seeing how long we could keep our hands in the 28° water. It wasn’t for very long… This really helped us empathize with what those passengers went through. Some were in that water for hours…

Sloping Decks of the Ship’s Stern & Lifeboat

My son tried to stand on the sloping decks of the Titanic’s stern to see what it was like as the ship descended. It started with a 12-degree slope and then the last slope was 45 degrees.

In this same area is a lifeboat where you can sit and listen to the stories and experiences of real passengers.

The Memorial Room

There are varying reports/statistics, but there were about 1,324 passengers aboard the Titanic as well as 884 officers and crew members. Of these passengers, there were about 329 first-class travelers, 285 second-class travelers, and 710 third-class travelers.

In the Memorial room, you can see a lifevest that was used. You can also see the names of the survivors as well as the lives lost that night. Here, you can reference your boarding pass, to see if “you”/your passenger survived.

My daughter/her passenger was a 2nd Class woman and she did make it. Some friends who traveled with us also had passengers that survived.

My character’s name was Augusta Lindbloom. I thought she might make it since women could board the lifeboats, but was worried since she was a 3rd class passenger. I found out that she didn’t make it. My son’s passenger was a young waiter’s assistant. He also didn’t survive. We met my son’s “brother” while on the tour (they noticed that they had the same last name and started talking) and sadly, he didn’t make it either. It was sad and really made you think about the devastating loss in the sinking of the Titanic.

World’s Largest Lego Replica of the Titanic

Brynjar Karl Bigisson, a young boy from Iceland, has built the world’s largest replica of the Titanic made entirely out of Lego bricks. This model measures 26 feet long and 5 feet tall and is made of 56,000 Lego pieces. It took 700 hours over 11 months to build. Brynjar, who is on the autism spectrum, started the model when he was only 10 years old. He has said that the process of building this model helped him learn to communicate and overcome his autism. The Lego replica was shipped to America and debuted at the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Many parts of this museum are very touching and heart-warming. Some parts were tough for me, especially the room dedicated to the children lost. I didn’t take any photos of that room and honestly couldn’t stay in there for very long.

The Gift Shop

At the end of the tour, you will exit the museum through the gift shop. Here, you can find lots of goodies and treasures. There is clothing, souvenirs, jewelry, postcards, and a lot of Titanic-themed items. My daughter found a tiny violin that she liked. They also had tiny pianos – I think these could be used as ornaments. We really enjoyed exploring the gift shop (there are restrooms located here as well).

Have you visited the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee? What was your favorite part?

Titanic Pigeon Forge //2134 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863 // 800-381-7670 or 417-334-9500
WEBSITE

What’s Nearby

Here are some other activities in the same area as the Titanic Museum:

• Beyond the Lens (across the street)
• Hatfield and McCoys Dinner Feud Show (next door)
• Wonderworks
• Mountain Valley Vineyards

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