Dollywood Gives Guests ‘The Dolly Parton Experience’

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The “Songteller” section of “The Dolly Parton Experience” at Dollywood

Dollywood opened its new museum attraction, “The Dolly Parton Experience,” during a special event last week.

Thousands of guests were able to enjoy the multi-faceted experience, which features interactive elements and exhibits spanning the icon’s career that center around the inspiration behind her biggest dreams, the importance of her family and her signature styles. The theme park’s entire Adventures in Imagination area was completely transformed to create the attraction.

The “Songteller” section traces Parton’s roots from Sevier County to the bus she boarded to Nashville the day after her high school graduation. These exhibits showcase some of her favorite mementos from music, movies and television shows, with one room dedicated solely to her acclaimed albums. One of the rooms displays a 360-degree, projection-mapped story sharing how Parton has become one of the most beloved figures in the world. This section also honors her philanthropy efforts, including a live counter tracking the number of books given to children through her Imagination Library program, which is nearing 240,000,000 as of opening day.

The “Behind The Seams” portion offers an understanding of how Parton’s iconic look comes to life with a number of memorable wardrobes.

The “Precious Memories” exhibit aims to honor her friends and family by detailing how their support allowed her to spread her wings and fly to new heights. A new show featuring Parton’s niece Heidi also debuted in the Dreamsong Theater. The country star made a surprise appearance prior to the first show and sat in the audience to watch the entire performance.

“Our old museum really needed a facelift, but instead of a nip-and-tuck we just decided to start all over! There are a lot of interactive elements and technology all through the area, but luckily for all of you, there are no holograms of me in there anywhere. I think the last thing this world needs is a bunch of ‘Dolly-grams’ running around everywhere,” says Parton.

“Seriously though, I’m so proud of the work our people have put into this new experience to make sure it is something our guests will enjoy for many years. It’s been almost three years in the making, and it’s three times larger than anything like this we’ve ever created before, so it really is something! For me, the most special part is the area called ‘Precious Memories,’ because it’s about my family and everything they have done to support me through the years.”

Additionally, one of her former motor coaches is available to tour as part of the attraction. Dolly’s Home-on-Wheels has been considered a fixture of the park for several years, as hundreds of thousands of guests have stepped inside the 1994 Prevost each season.

“I think we can all agree there is no one else in the world like Dolly Parton,” says Eugene Naughton, Dollywood Parks & Resorts President. “She is able to shine a light of positivity and inspiration that has influenced millions of people around the world. Our team has created a remarkable experience that shares Dolly’s inspiring story in an authentic, larger-than-life way. I think ‘The Dolly Parton Experience’ is going to truly move our guests when they see it. We hope they take some of Dolly’s light and share it with the world just like she does every single day.”

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Lorie Hollabaugh
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