Comedy Barn Theater

The Comedy Barn has been packing families into their theater for over 30 years, and honestly, it's one of the few shows in Pigeon Forge that delivers exactly what it promises. You get two full hours of clean comedy — no curse words, which is rare these days — with everything from trained animals to ventriloquists who actually make you laugh. We've seen the ping-pong ball juggler act three times and still don't understand how he does it.

The audience participation thing is real, so don't sit in the front rows unless you want to end up on stage. Our kids love getting picked, but my husband hides behind me every time they start scanning the crowd for volunteers.

It's not a dinner show like Stampede, which keeps the ticket prices way more reasonable. They have snacks and slushies, but we usually eat before we go since the concession prices are pretty steep. The theater runs shows almost year-round except for a few weeks in January and February when they're probably giving the animals a break.

Get there 45 minutes early. I cannot stress this enough — parking turns into a nightmare and even non-sellout shows get crowded enough that you'll be squeezing past people all night if you're late. There really aren't any bad seats in the place, but arriving early means you get your pick and don't have to stress about finding a spot.

Oh and if you're going during the holidays, they do a Christmas version starting in mid-November that adds holiday music and some festive twists to the regular acts. Same show format, just with more jingle bells.