I live in NETN and have been visiting Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area at least once a year for the last 10 years. I stayed at the Westgate resort in May/June of this year. First I'll share my positive thoughts...It is located directly across from the park entrance, so if you want to visit the park the location is great. The views at the top of the mountain are some of the best in the area! It is the only resort I've stayed at in Gatlinburg where I've actually seen a bear from my balcony. My kids loved the water park, but there is an additional fee. (The fee wasn't terrible or we wouldn't have gone.) The staff was friendly and came to the room immediately when we called with issues.
The negative...Our 2 bedroom unit was comprised of a studio and 1 bedroom units with a shared foyer. (There is one door to the outside that requires a key but has no deadbolt/chain since it is sometimes shared by different parties. Then there are 2 keyed doors with deadbolts to each unit off the foyer. The laundry is in the shared foyer too.) This setup would be ideal when my parents travel with us since they would have their own space and could lock out the kids. However, my boys (ages 9 & 10) were sharing the studio, so we couldn't use the deadbolts since I didn't want them locking me out at night or vice-versa. The II confirmation says each bedroom has a king bed, but the studio only has a queen. This became a bigger "problem" for us because the sleeper sofa in our unit was broken. Maintenance came immediately and was very friendly, but couldn't fix it, nor would they let us move units. They knew the sofa needed to be replaced, but they hadn't started renovations on our unit yet as there were supply shortages for sofa materials. (They still rented/exchanged it as "sleeps 8" though!) There were 5 of us, so we needed a sleeper sofa. Fortunately, my daughter is young enough (age 8) that sleeping on a slope didn't bother her the first night. After the first night she just slept on the couch because converting to a bed was a challenge. And finally, while the resort offers plenty types of amenities, there just aren't enough amenities to accommodate the number of rooms/guests during peak season.
II lists this resort as "elite", but it is far from that. It might have been elite when it was built but not now. (At least our unit wasn't!) Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't return here or that our stay was horrible. It wasn't and I would definitely return, but it wouldn't be my top pick. I prefer Bent Creek, but my parents own there and we stay in a cabin. In the grand scheme of things, my "problems" weren't true "problems", but when a resort is listed as elite my expectations are higher!!
As for time of year, I prefer November, but I grew up in NETN and took school field trips to Silver Dollar City (before it was DollyWood) every year, so I've seen this area in every season. Now I prefer less traffic and less heat! I second everything Tschwa2 said above and I'll add that, unlike Myrtle Beach, there isn't a grid of roads where you can turn the next block and eventually get out of the traffic! In Gatlinburg, once you're in it, you're in it for the ride! Dollywood is beautiful at Christmas time and I believe they start the season in early November but check their website. HTH!