If you’re an animal fan, check out Jayell Ranch. Mountain coasters are fun, but not a whole afternoon worth…unless the line is that long.

I would expect it to be busy, but haven’t been at that time myself. Not sure if any events are going on at that time; which would increase traffic. Go early; that helps.

The sidewalks are very crowded, but unless there is an ordinance against it, I don't see why you couldn't. Most areas of town appeared to be ADA compliant.

I would suggest staying in Townsend, which allows for quick access to the Cade's Cove area of the NP, which has several trails along the driving loop. Pretty sure there are pet-friendly hotels there.

Middle Prong Trail is a great family friendly walk along a stream. Follow directions to the Tremont area of Great Smokey Mountains National Park and continue on to the nice wide, flat trail a mile or so from there. I picked up some fun things for the grand kids at the gift shop in the Tremont area too.

We were there Nov 6-11 and the leaves were past peak. It was still lovely in many places but if you want more leaves (and more people) a couple weeks earlier would be ideal. A nice bonus is if you wait until this week you catch the Dollywood Christmas decorations too.

You could try contacting the management company for some of the VRBO/AirBNBs. They would mangage multiple houses and could possibly find some close together. You are probably better off at one of the resorts, but also you should call directly instead of trying to book that online. We just stayed at Villa Tavia. It had 5 bedrooms with King beds. 4 of those bed rooms had private baths. The 5th Bedroom shared the bathroom with down stairs living space. It is large enough for about 1/2 of your group. There are other rentals nearby.