DollyWood is a theme park jointly owned by Dolly Parton and Herschend family Entertainment. It's located in the Knoxville - Smoky Mountains metroplex in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It host over 3 million guests in a typical season. It has 3,000 employees and covers 150 acres with further expansion in progress.
The entry into the park is bright and cheery.
This is the tour bus that Dolly travelled in . Its very pink.
There is lots of free entertainment and the entertainers are all very good. This a a 50's rendition.
While in another area we were entertained by a quartette.
The park has lots to see and do and this house is an exact replica of the home that Dolly and her 12 siblings grew up in. They were so poor that when Dolly was born on 19 January 1946 her father paid Dr Thompson with a bag of oats. Many years later Dolly helped build a hospital in the town of Sevieville which is the county she grew up in. She requested that the hospital be named after the Doctor who delivered her. Dolly is known as for her philanthropy. She established her own Dollywood Foundation in 1996 with the goal of improving literacy among young children. She has created Dolly's Imagination Library. The program donates more than 10 million books to children annually. She provides scholarships for children, donates thousands of dollars to hospitals and providing technologies for classrooms. She is also recognized for her conversation of the American Emblem - The Eagle.
We also took a ride on the Dolly Wood Express. The steam engines are of the WW 11 vintage. The train that pulled us was used to transport troops and logistics to Alaska during WW11.
She certainly puts out a lot of stem and those who were sitting in the front of the train can attest to the the amount of soot they ended up covered in every time the train let off stem.
We really enjoyed the ride.
The train ride was about 30 minutes in length and passed by reminiscences of times past.
It was also and opportunity to take some photos of other parts of the park.
Then it was time to learn more of The Dolly Parton Story. Inside the building is everything to do with Dolly from her birth, her family, her childhood, her marriage and her desire to become an entertainer. Here is the story of the song , The "Coat of many Colors" with her handwritten notes.
She has an amazing array of her many outfits.
These a few of her beaded creations.
We travelled to Dollyl Wood in a City Trolley which cost us the princely sum of 50 cents each.
It was a great day. The park is spotless and very easy to walk around. There is something for everyone.
Cheers,
Beverley and Ross
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