It won't open until 2029, but the new center has already snagged events that will book tens of thousands of hotel rooms.

Each year, people line up at 11:59 p.m. on July 3 in downtown Gatlinburg and prepare to ring in Independence Day.

Gatlinburg kicked off the Fourth of July with its 50th annual Midnight Parade. 6 News spoke with paradegoers on Thursday ...