More Than Dollywood: How Dolly Parton’s Theme Park Dream Became A 40-year Empire

Watch Dollywood's 2024 opening day

Experience opening day at Dollywood for the 2024 season on Friday, March 8, 2024.

• Dolly Parton’s dream was to create something in Sevier County that would make her parents and hometown community proud.
• That dream has expanded beyond Dollywood Parks and Resorts in Pigeon Forge to include dinner attractions, a restaurant and the Titanic Museum.
• Parton also supports East Tennessee through philanthropic and humanitarian efforts.

All year long in 2025, Dollywood is celebrating 40 years of fulfilling Dolly Parton’s dream of honoring the place and the people who shaped her. Over the decades, that dream has spread across Pigeon Forge in ways visitors and residents can see and, most importantly, feel in their hearts.

“This is where I drew my first breath. So, of course, this would be where I would want to do something wonderful, to be part of something great. And just stay part of these mountains forever,” Parton told Knox News when Dollywood was named the best park in the world at the 2023 Golden Ticket Awards.

Beyond Dollywood and its accompanying water park and two resorts, there are the dinner attractions such as Dolly Parton's Stampede, the Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud, Pirates Voyage and Comedy Barn. Last year, her company acquired the popular Titanic Museum. And if you’ve ever eaten at Frizzle Chicken Café, yep, she owns that, too.

“We're just all blessed that Dollywood is here and Dolly has never forgot her Tennessee background,” said Pigeon Forge’s tourism director Leon Downey. “I mean … just on and on and on, she’s trying to help other people love other people.”

Dollywood, initially a revamped version of Herschend Family Entertainment’s Silver Dollar City, opened its gates in 1986. Two years later, Parton already was expanding her brand presence in the Sevier County town.

“I dreamed of making it in the music (industry) and, of course, if you make it in whatever your dream may be, then you're fortunate enough to be able to do so many different things,” Parton explained to Knox News in 2023. “(I hoped to) come back and build something to make my parents proud, and make the people that I grew up with, my family and my neighbors (proud)."

And for nearly 40 years, she’s continued to make East Tennessee proud by investing in its people. With the help of a few butterflies, tasty food and a whole lot of family fun, this is how Dolly Parton followed a theme park dream and watched it grow into other business properties based in her hometown.

One month before Dollywood's opening day for its milestone 40th season, Dolly Parton’s Stampede celebrated its 38th. The dinner show attraction combines majestic horses and experienced equestrians, music and storytelling, comedy, colorful butterflies and a four-course meal.

“Ever since I first dreamed up my Stampede, I’ve always said that it’s ‘The Smokies' Most Fun Place to Eat,’ and I know anyone that visits agrees with me,” Parton said in a news release. “I wanted it to have the best dinner anywhere with lots of delicious food that people could enjoy while watching a thrilling, fun and entertaining show that everyone in the family would enjoy.”

Creative ideas surrounding a dinner and show experience began soon after Dollywood opened in 1986, and development moved quickly.

“I know that Dolly’s initial vision for building Dollywood was to provide a place for families to be entertained and to create jobs for the area,” said Jack Lawrence, CEO of World Choice Investments, the operating partner of Parton’s dinner shows. “When the concept for our Stampede Dinner Attraction was created, it followed that same dream of Dolly’s.”

Dixie Stampede – known as Dolly Parton's Stampede since 2018 – was the first major expansion to the Dollywood empire in Pigeon Forge. The $3.3 million project was a “new concept in entertainment" that elevated the dinner theater model, developers told the News-Sentinel at the time.

The original 1800s Wild West-themed show was called “The Life and Times of Billy Kincaid” and featured professional rodeo riders, horses, bulls and even a buffalo. Guests continue to be transported to the American frontier during the current immersive version of the show, which also includes an LED backdrop wall, special effects and aerial acts.

The newest addition for 2025 incorporates Parton’s signature butterflies in a whimsical display of choreographed wing formations and blooming flower petals in the center of the arena.

“It’s an unbelievable privilege to work with Dolly Parton. Her creativity always inspires us and gives us great new ideas to work with and keep our shows exciting and innovative in terms of entertainment concepts,” Lawrence said.

Parton’s World Choice Investments acquired several Fee Hedrick Entertainment properties in 2019, including Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud, the Comedy Barn and Frizzle Chicken Café.

“I am so excited to have more family entertainment to present to our guests in Pigeon Forge,” she said of the purchases.

Parton also opened Pirates Voyage in 2019, a $28 million investment. The unique dinner attraction features acrobatics, animals, sword fights, cannons and actors scaling two full-sized pirate ships in a fight to win Davy Jones’ coveted sunken treasure.

“When I watch all the pirates and mermaids and the sea lions and all the special effects, it’s like I’m a kid again!” Parton said in a news release earlier this year.

The Titanic Museum was World Choice Investment's most recent purchase. There are no immediate plans to buy or build any other properties in Pigeon Forge, Lawrence said, but Parton’s partner added they are always looking for new ways to expand family entertainment.

Parton also has dinner attractions in Branson, Missouri, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The third Pirates Voyage is slated to open in Panama City Beach, Florida, in late spring.

Dollywood and Parton’s multiple business ventures celebrate Appalachian culture through music, shows, food, rides and other amusement activities, and have prompted millions of people, near and far, to embrace it as much as she does.

“Home is in my heart. These mountains, I’ve always cared (about them) … I'm proud to be a Smoky Mountain girl.” Parton told Knox News in 2023.

“I'm just proud to have been part of the people that have provided jobs and watched it grow. And it's a good feeling to have been a part of that,” she added, referring to how Pigeon Forge has developed over the past four decades.

Leon Downey has been Pigeon Forge’s tourism director for 37 years and he remembers visiting Dollywood during its first year. What has stood out to him most over the years is the commitment of Parton and the theme park to honoring the attraction's roots and making guests feel safe and welcomed.

“It's a really unique theme park in that way, I believe, about showcasing the heritage of the Great Smoky Mountains, the people, the culture,” he said. “I don't know of another theme park that’s that genuine, in my personal opinion.”

And that spirit of connection and pride extends to all of Parton’s Pigeon Forge properties, Downey noted. She dreamed of what the city could be as a tourist destination and set the example for how to make it happen.

“We're just blessed to have Dollywood as our anchor attraction … not just Pigeon Forge, but all the three cities here in Sevier County,” Downey reiterated, adding that Parton’s Pigeon Forge presence generates global buzz for the Smoky Mountain region.

“That's one of the things I'm most grateful for. You hear the word ‘Pigeon Forge’ in places like New York City, Chicago and things like that (where) we don't have dollars to market in,” he said.

Dollywood alone has approximately 4,200 employees during peak season, according to the park. The company is Sevier County’s largest employer, directly and indirectly creating 23,000 jobs in the region. Its direct economic impact to Tennessee is $1.8 billion, according to a 2021 Tennessee Department of Transportation study.

“I can guarantee you that the Tennessee Department of Tourism really appreciates Dollywood and the revenue department does, too,” Downey said with a chuckle.

Parton’s eternal admiration for Pigeon Forge is evident not just in her expanding local business portfolio. It truly comes from her heart and her desire to help people. The entertainer has donated millions of dollars to provide scholarships, support people affected by natural disasters and boost childhood literacy.

And her generosity has always been rooted at home.

After the devastating floods in East Tennessee caused by Hurricane Helene last year, Parton personally donated $1 million to immediate relief efforts. Another $1 million was donated by her Pigeon Forge businesses.

“I just want you to know that I am totally with you because I am part of you. I love you,” Parton told a crowd gathered in Newport, one of the hardest-hit communities. “I look around and I think, these are my mountains, these are my valleys, these are my rivers flowing like a stream. These are my people."

She created the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to decrease the high school dropout rate in Sevier County. The organization’s first big initiative, the Buddy Program, paired teenagers who signed a contract to help each other graduate high school. Each student was awarded $500 when received their diploma.

Within a few years, the effort helped reduce the county's dropout rate from 35% to 6%, according to the organization’s website. The foundation ended the program in 1992 and shifted its focus to childhood literacy and additional student scholarship opportunities.

“I mean, how many celebrities do those kind of things?” Downey marveled while discussing Parton’s philanthropic and humanitarian efforts in East Tennessee.

Parton’s father, who couldn’t read or write because he left school to help his family, inspired the Imagination Library. The program launched in 1995 to provide free books to children living in Sevier County. Since then it has expanded globally and gifted over 264 million books.

“Daddy got to live long enough to hear the kids call me ‘The Book Lady’ and he was as proud of that as me being star,” Parton said during a "Today” interview in 2019.

The Dreamer-in-Chief’s vision has always been clear. Parton’s Pigeon Forge “empire” might be built on her name and persona, but it was never for her. It’s for her people – the kinfolk who live in East Tennessee and the friends from every walk of life across the world who are invited to join the family.

Dollywood kicks off its 40th season March 14 with a day for season passholders. Special moments and surprises are planned throughout the year to celebrate. In keeping with tradition, Parton is scheduled to be at the park's opening day to celebrate the occasion, and will continue to come up with new ways to expand family offerings at Dollywood and throughout Pigeon Forge.

As Dollywood Parks and Resorts President Eugene Naughton explained, “She’s the Dreamer-In-Chief, and I believe that if we continue to find our inspiration from the good she does, we can be a place of light in this world for our guests.”

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208. 

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