Dolly Parton’s Guide to Dollywood

For Dolly Parton, welcoming visitors to Dollywood is like inviting them into her Smoky Mountains home in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. With more than 50 major rides and attractions, plus plenty of restaurants, shows, and even a chapel, on its 165 acres, her biggest priority is making sure that there’s something for everyone.

“When you come to Dollywood, everybody has a different agenda,” she told Travel + Leisure at the park’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort earlier this summer. “We’ve got some of everything — it all depends on how you want to spend your day.”

Giving guests the chance to discover their own adventure is the essence of the Dollywood experience. “It all depends on who you are, according to your personality and who’s traveled with you,” she said of the perfect park itinerary. “If you’ve got kids, they’ll want to go on the roller coasters. If you’re a couple, people love to see the arts and crafts. Women like to go to all the places where they can buy clothes, shoes, purses, and merchandise.” 

In true sassy Parton style, she even adds, “If you’re a pig, you’ll want to go eat!” There’s a range of eateries, from Front Porch Cafe serving fried green tomatoes and hot pimento cheese dip to Grist Mill, which bakes the park’s famous cinnamon bread daily. Her favorite item to munch on is the park’s funnel cakes, available at Crossroads Funnel Cakes and Splinter’s Funnel Cakes.

But for Parton herself, so much of the essence of the Dollywood is in its shows, from Forever Country featuring 80s and 90s country to The Kingdom Heirs singing Southern gospel. 

“That’s just so much of me,” she said, noting all the performers who sing, dance, and act in the park’s programs. “So many country singers started here at Dollywood, and so that’s really a wonderful compliment to us!”

She has a special connection to the newest show, Heidi Parton’s Kin & Friends, starring her very own niece. “I was very impressed with that,” she said of watching the debut performance along with a packed theater on opening day. “There’s so much talent, not just in my family, but with all the young talent.” 

In fact, her niece’s show is just one aspect of the latest addition to the park, the Dolly Parton Experience, which opened May 24. The new multi-part interactive exhibit marks a major step forward for the theme park, replacing the former Chasing Rainbows Museum that closed its doors in 2019. 

Now filled with high-tech immersive displays truly bringing fans into Parton’s life, it’s made up of Songteller: Dolly’s Journey, documenting her path from her modest Sevierville roots to becoming one of the most beloved country performers of all time, and Behind the Seams: Dolly’s Life in Rhinestones, focusing exclusively on her trademark sparkly style.

Also in the area is one of her old tour buses that visitors can step into, as well as the DreamSong Theater with a Precious Memories video display in the lobby focused on her friends and family, leading into Heidi’s show, which includes a surprise video appearance from the 78-year-old icon herself. 

Despite the elevated level of glitz added to the more high-tech experiences in the new museum area, what Parton herself is most proud of is much simpler: A sign that says “I will always love you,” signed by her, on the way out of both the resort’s Dollywood theme park and Splash Country water park parking lots. 

“They’re going to see on the way in that they’re going to have a lot of fun,” Parton said. “But when they’re worn out and ready to go back to their rooms or wherever they come from, it’s like, ‘Dolly loves us. She said thank you in her own little way.’ I love the little touches that make the people feel like I’ve said something personal to them on their way out.”

That sentiment is more than a quote on a board. “I do feel that way,” she said. “I do appreciate the people that come through here.”

She continued, explaining that she understands the investment families make to pull off a visit. “Growing up hard myself, I know that it’s not easy to save up enough money to take the whole family to a park,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, so I appreciate every bit of that.” 

Even though her name is on the park, she said that the money doesn’t “all go in my pocket,” especially proud that it helps funds passion projects like the Imagination Library, which provides free books to young children, as well as incentives that benefit the Dollywood employees, powering her hometown community. “They feel like they’re in business with us, and that’s a good feeling for us,” she said.

Parton has long been known to make surprise visits to the park, and admits she has her own routine behind the scenes. She has her own suite in each of the two resorts, 299-room DreamMore Resort, which opened in 2015, and the 302-room HeartSong, which debuted last fall. 

“It’s like being at home,” she says of DreamMore, adding that she’ll soon be staying more at HeartSong to get a better feel for it as well. “I just like to stay in my suite — I have a couple of rooms where we can put my costumes, the little suite area, where I stay. It’s pretty, so that if I have guests, I have a beautiful bedroom I can show. But I have another adjoining room that’s my junk room!” 

While her days at Dollywood are usually packed with interviews and appearances, she’s enjoyed getting a taste of the park’s cuisine, “They just send things up, and I ask what’s good,” she said. The park often hosts festivals with specialty foods — and one of her favorites was the Festival of Nations. “They would bring me samples of all the food from all these different counties — that was great!” And of course, there’s always the favorite: “I always say somebody bring me a funnel cake before the day is over!”

But overall, there’s nothing closer to Parton’s heart than family — her favorite aspect about Dollywood. “I’m real proud of the fact that this is very family-oriented,” she said of both the parks and resorts. Even for repeat visitors, she said they can always find something new, like making s’mores or swimming in the resorts’ cozy backyards.

“If you travel with children, they’re going to tell you what they want to do,’” she said. “We really are big on the family. Just get through the doors, you’ll know what to do.”