Long before Dollywood opened its doors in Pigeon Forge on May 3, 1986, Dolly Parton had designs to build a theme park in the large smoked mountains of East Tennessee, where he grew up.
TO 2023 article USA Today He quoted the award -winning singer and composer saying that when he would visit the County Fair as a girl, he thought for herself: “If I do it big, if I enriched me as if I dream, I would love to do something special, to return home and build an own park.”
Related: Dolly Parton shares her vision for Dollywood’s future, also known as her ‘Tennessee Mountain Hogar’
In 1982 interview with Barbara WaltersOnly four years before the park opened, Parton shared that he dreamed of building “Fairyland Smoky Mountain”, similar to Disneyland in eastern Tennessee, “one of the most wonderful places in the world.”
Anyone who has followed Parton’s illustrious career will not be surprised that she has done Your dream of creating a place “Where the culture and people of the smoked mountains would be celebrated and enjoyed by all” a reality.
Now in its 40th season, Dollywood has grown and changed a lot since it opened its doors, but one thing is still the same: Dollywood remains and always will be a destination where families can have fun and make memories in the midst of the natural beauty of the times.
Here is a look at the history of the park and a look at what is reserved for the future of Dollywood.
Before Parton lent its nickname to the park, it operated with different names and property since the early 1960s. In 1986, the Herschend family (which also owns and operates Silver Dollar City) sold a participation to Parton, improved several elements of the park and renamed Dollywood.
Parton grew just a few miles from the park, and the association allowed him to fulfill his dream of bringing visitors to the beautiful smoked mountains while supporting his local community. Parton is still co -owner of the park with Herschends.
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Several of Dollywood’s opening day attractions are still operational, including the Dollywood Express steam train, Dolly’s’s house Tennessee Mountain Home (a replica of the two -bedroom cabin where Parton grew), Smoky Mountain River Rampage, Aunt Granny’s Restaurant, the Back Por Theater and Robert F. Thomas Chapel Chapel (called Doctor Who, where visitors can attend a weekly service of Sunday, can attend a weekly service week.
Like the Dollywood Express train, the park continued to collect steam in the 1990s.
Related: the 10 best dollywood walks for the whole family
During this time, the park built several important expansions: the 7 -Acres Showstreet area near the entrance of the Park, the country’s fair area with classic trips and carnival games such as those that inspired Parton to open its theme park, and an area inspired by the hometown by Sevierville called Jukebox Junction.
In 2001, Dollywood opened its water park, Dollywood’s Splash Country. The aquatic park celebrates its 25th anniversary season this year.
Some of Dollywood’s most popular Russian mountains were opened in the 2000 and 2010 decades.
In 2007, Dollywood opened a roller coaster that returned my body and my understanding of physics upside down. If you have ever set up, you know I’m talking about mystery. This roller steel mountain has some maneuvers that challenge gravity, including a vertical fall of 95 degrees and 85 feet, which left me speechless.
During this time, the park also opened Thunderhead, a wooden roller coaster; Wild Eagle, the first Russian mountain in the United States; and Lightning Brot, another wooden roller mountain with a maximum speed of 73 miles per hour.
In 2015, Dreammore Resort And Spa of Dollywood opened its doors. Dreammore was the first hotel in the place of the park, with a design that perfectly encapsulates stardom and southern charm of Parton. This complex joined the unique opportunity in the life of staying in the old Tourist Bus of Parton in 2022 and the opening of Heartsong Lodge & Resort of Dollywood in 2023.
Related: 11 best hotels near Dollywood
Also in 2023, TPG was present for the great inauguration of the newest and longest roller coaster in Dollywood, Big Bear Mountain. Parton itself made an appearance (in the world’s most adorable bear costume) to sing a song that he wrote for the great inauguration.
Last year, the Park opened Dolly Parton Experience, an interactive museum with exhibitions that cover the Race of Parton. Visitors will travel through the race, costumes, relatives and more of Parton.
The park has more than duplicated in size since its opening in 1986 and reached record assistance numbers last year. There are also rumors that the park will expand again in 2026. There are still not many details, but Dollywood revealed in the opening media event this season that will be a “new revolutionary experience unlike anything else in the world.”
Parton did much more to lend its name to Dollywood. From the local artisans who demonstrate their experience and sell their products within the park to the noddes to their childhood and their career full of stars, the life and legacy of Parton are integrated into the DNA of this beloved park.
“On the day of the inauguration in 1986, I only expected people to really want to visit a theme park with my name. And although I always try to dream big, I admit that I was a little nervous that first morning,” Parton shared during the opening event of season 40. “But people went out to support us that first day, and I am very proud to see that Dollywood has continued to grow over the years to become a place of fun and union for everyone Those who have come to visit, “he added.
Parton may have been surprised by the early success of Dollywood, but anyone who has visited this jewel of a theme park is not surprised at all that it has become one of the main family trip destinations in the country.
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