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Hello, Dollywood!
By Mike McLeod
 Singer, songwriter, actress, author-Dolly Parton's talents have made her a
mega star. And just like Dolly herself, Dollywood is one of the world's top
attractions. It ranks in the top 50 theme parks worldwide, and it is Tennessee's
top commercial attraction with 2.2 million people making the pilgrimage each
year. (The Smoky Mountains National Park is the only other tourist attraction in
Tennessee that brings in more visitors.)
The attached sidebar listing
events, rides, shows and things to do, which is by no means exhaustive, shows
why people love Dollywood. In addition to a multitude of music, Dollywood is an
international entertainment arena. During 2005, Dollywood will host the Moscow
Circus, Chinese acrobats, German stilt walkers, a steel drum band from Trinidad,
and musicians from Ecuador. Annual events include KidsFest, the Festival of
Nations, the Harvest Festival and the Red, and the White and Bluegrass Blast.
Visitors from across the country and around the world flock to this Pigeon
Forge entertainment park to experience the heart and soul of the Great Smoky
Mountains. Dollywood prides itself on creating "memories worth repeating." Open
nine months a year, Dollywood is spread out over 125 acres and offers more than
30 rides and attractions, a variety of music including country, bluegrass,
gospel and mountain music, and a dozen authentic East Tennessee craftsmen and
women.
Not bad for a poor girl from Locust Ridge, Tennessee. Evidence of her
roots can be seen in the Chasing Rainbows Museum, which is Dolly's collection of
not only memorabilia acquired during her career, but also many of the memories
from her childhood. In the museum, you can see the medical bag belonging to the
doctor who delivered her, Dr. Robert F. Thomas. For his services, he was paid a
sack of corn meal by Lee and Avie Lee Parton. The sack of cornmeal is one of the
few things you won't find in Dolly's museum.
Another prized possession from
her childhood in the museum has its own glass case-the Coat of Many Colors. This
coat made of rags holds not only a bittersweet memory for Dolly, but it also
resulted in one of her most touching songs.
With 12 children to feed and
clothe, the Parton family struggled to care for all of their children. With
winter coming on one year and no money for a coat for Dolly, her mother sewed
one for her from a donated box of rags. While she measured her young daughter
and sewed, Avie told Dolly the story of Joseph from the Bible and how his
father, Abraham, loved him and gave him a special coat of many colors. As she
later related, Dolly couldn't wait to wear her special coat to school, but when
she did, all the children laughed at her and her ragged coat.
In the
background behind the case holding the Coat of Many Colors is a wall-size photo
of children looking at the camera and laughing. Dolly later translated that
experience into a hit song and a children's book of the same
name.
Experiences like this and her indigent childhood served as great
motivators to Dolly. Her uncle, Bill Owens, bought her a guitar. She learned to
play and sing so well at an early age that he was able to book her on a TV
variety show in Knoxville by the age of ten. At 13, she recorded her first song,
"Puppy Love," which she co-wrote with her uncle, and she made her first
appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.
The day after Dolly graduated from high
school she moved to Nashville, and in 1967 after successfully writing a couple
of top ten songs with her uncle (that were recorded by another artist), Dolly
received the phone call that launched her career. She was called to join the
"Porter Wagoner Show" and become his singing partner. There, she became famous
for her eye-catching outfits, her lovely singing voice and for her song writing
ability.
To this day, Dolly writes songs every day-on the backs of envelopes,
scraps of paper, or whatever is close at hand when inspiration strikes.
Dolly
Parton has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, won eight CMA awards,
seven Grammies, and taken 22 songs to the No. 1 spot. Her "I Will Always Love
You," which she wrote to end her career with Porter Wagoner and strike out on
her own, has been No. 1 three times-twice for Dolly and once for Whitney
Houston. It was also chosen as the No. 1 country music love song by Country
Music Television (CMT). After leaving the show in 1974, she went on to win CMA's
Female Vocalist of the Year award in 1975 and 1976. Then in 1978, she was named
Entertainer of the Year.
Hollywood also called Dolly, and in her first
movie, "9 to 5" with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, she received an Academy Award
nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She did not win, but that hasn't
hampered her movie career. She has acted with Burt Reynolds in "The Best Little
Whorehouse in Texas," Sylvester Stallone in "Rhinestone," James Woods in
"Straight Talk," and of course, with Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Julia
Roberts and Daryl Hannah in "Steel Magnolias."
 In 1986, Dolly joined with the
owners of Silver Dollar City to transform the park into Dollywood, and
attendance increased by 75% that year (1.3 million visitors). The entertainment
park actually began in 1961 when Rebel Railroad first opened on the site. The
Robbins Brothers from North Carolina operated a small-scale attraction that
featured a coal-fired steam train called Klondike Katie, a general store, a
blacksmith shop and a saloon. Over the years, the park became Silver Dollar City
and added more attractions.
Since Dolly became the park's focus, there have
been more than $110 million in expansions and additions. But several old
favorites are still there, including Klondike Katie, which was built in
1943.
Joel and Jerrie Crawford of Lawrenceville, Ga., have RV'ed the
Dollywood-Pigeon Forge-Sevierville-Gatlinburg area. This past June, they took
their youngest grandson to Pigeon Forge and stayed at the River Plantation RV
Park in Sevierville. He had a blast on the Little Pigeon River and at a show
every Wednesday in the park put on by a performer (songs, impersonations, etc.)
who works at the Black Bear Review in Dollywood. Joel's grandson also thought
the Smoky Mountain Knife Store was "the coolest store in Tennessee" because it
has displays of Indians and trappers and a creek running through the store.
Strangely, he wasn't particularly interested in the 300 outlet stores located
nearby. More information about River Plantation can be found at
www.riverplantationrv.com.
Next to Dollywood, Joel thought the Comedy Barn
was the best theater entertainment in the area and the most reasonably priced.
He thinks the show was about two hours long, but then "you're laughing so much
that you lose track of time." For about $60, he and Jerrie bought tickets (their
grandson was free) and a $20 video of the whole show.
Joel enjoys the
mountains, and at Dollywood, you are at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Joel affirms that, "If you can't find something to do or to enjoy, you've
got real problems."
By the way, when you're in the area and need parts or
service on your RV, Adventure RV (www.adventurervcenter.com) will be happy to
help. Creekside Campground (www.creeksidervpark.com) also has a lovely place for
RV'ers to camp and enjoy the Pigeon Forge area.
Whether you are a Dolly fan
or not, Dollywood has something for everyone-you better believe
Joel.
Dollywood is open in late March through December, although not every
day. Check www.dollywood.com
for a calendar or call 865- 428-9488.
Just Some of the Attractions of Dollywood
- Eight theaters and several stages with regular performances of country,
gospel, bluegrass,'50s and '60s music, and magic.
- Dreamland Forest, a
$5-million attraction that features 15,000 square feet of interactive games,
gadgets, and gizmos for children of all ages, including the world's largest
interactive tree house, and a three-story beehive.
- Splash Country, a
$20-million water park situated on 25 acres, it features an extreme white water
rafting adventure ride, a 25,000-square-foot wave pool, a family raft ride, a
lazy river, an interactive children's area, multi-person tube rides, two
"extreme" body slides, and shaded lounge areas and a restaurant.
- Craftsmen
and women demonstrations: blacksmithing, lye soap and candle making, glass
blowing and wagon making.
- KidsFest, the largest children's festival in the
South, with VeggieTales®, Garfield's® 25th Anniversary Birthday Party, the
Purina® Dog Chow® Incredible Dog Team and ASA Extreme Sports shows.
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The Thunderhead wooden roller coaster that has 14 bridges, crosses over and
under itself 32 times, and a 100-foot plunge into an S curve.
- The Dollywood
Gristmill which was handmade in 1982 by park employees. The logs are hand-hewn,
and holes were drilled in them by hand. Park blacksmiths made all the hardware
for the mill.
- A cast of roving characters, including the Rainmaker, Trapper
& Bear, the Constable & the Robber and the Appalachian String Band.
- Dollywood's Festival of Nation's, a month-long celebration of dance, food
and culture from around the world featuring more than 300 performers and
artisans.
· Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure, the world's largest Turbo
Ride® Action Simulator Adventure.
- Chasing Rainbows, a state-of-the-art
interactive museum collection that chronicles Dolly's rise to fame from her
humble East Tennessee beginnings to her multi-faceted career as an award-winning
singer, songwriter and actress.
- The Tennessee Tornado, the world's first
spiral-loop coaster featuring back-to-back 360-degree loops.
- The Southern
Gospel Music Association's Hall of Fame and Museum honoring the genre's legends
with interactive displays, more than 350 artifacts and a recording studio.
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