🦃Happy Thanksgiving!🦃

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I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving.  Don't forget that Dolly will be performing during the Dallas Cowboys football game today on CBS.

🤩 Dolly Parton interview round-up 🤩

Hi Everyone,

Here is a round-up of recent Dolly interviews.   Dolly has been on a blitz lately, giving interviews left and right in anticipation of the release of her rock album, Rock Star, out Friday, November 17th, 2023.

Dolly Parton Interviews

During the grand opening of the HeartSong Lodge and Resort, Dolly Parton sat down for a series of interviews with various media outlets.

United Kingdom Promotional Trip

As part of her recent promotional trip to the United Kingdom, Dolly Parton conducted an interview with BBC reporter, Zoe Ball.

CBS and ABC Interviews

Dolly Parton has also been featured in recent interviews with CBS and ABC.

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Nashville's Talk of the Town - a 30-minute episode dedicated to Dollywood, HeartSong, their Dolly interview and a nice look at Nashville's Lipscomb University's exhibit on Dolly's style team gurus who make Dolly's clothes for all her various events, performances, engagements, etc.  Its a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, or Behind The Seams, as Dolly puts it in her new book, which is the basis for the exhibit.  Watch that HERE.

Fox 5 Atlanta - Read more and Watch that HERE.

WGN-TV Morning News in Chicago - Great interview, watch below...

WBTV-News Charlotte, NC - Watch below...

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This recent BBC interview can be watched, below...

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Norah O'Donnell and CBS

ABC News with Robin Roberts Full Interview

Unfortunately, this video for the full interview was pulled down.  If you have HULU, you can watch the full interview there.

However, here is a teaser video from GMA....watch that below.

🦋 The Dolly Parton Experience - Construction Update Video, Renderings and New Info! 🦋

Hi Everyone,

Dollywood has released some information and an awesome rendering of the New for 2024 - Dolly Parton Experience.  It's set to expand into multiple buildings.  Let's check it out!

These are on Dollywood.com.

link

link

Just looking at the rendering, and knowing what it looked like before as Chasing Rainbows, this looks like a fitting, if not over-the-top area that represents Dolly well.  Glitter, sequins, rhinestones, diamonds - everything that sparkles!  That's one way to describe Dolly and this looks like it belongs in Dolly's world - Dollywood.   I do like how the big expanse of concrete is broken up with new landscaping beds and adds a lot of interest.  Of course, the giant butterflies are one of the things associated heavily with Dolly and Dollywood too, they both honor the butterfly.  Then, off in the distance, the two twin peaks of Lightning Rod - talk about sightlines.  

Off to the right, in the theater it looks like some new programming.  "Precious Memories" is what's on the marquee.  On the left, the former Dolly's Closet looks to be transformed into Behind The Seams, which I imagine could be similar to Dolly's Closet - or perhaps they'll change it up?  We'll find out more, I'm sure, the closer we get to the 2024 season, which, by the way will begin on March 8, 2024.  That's one week before the more recent opening date of Mid-March.  Dollywood is inching closer and closer to year-round operations.

Im excited to see how this looks in the end.  If I recall, Dollywood mentioned they were incorporating some of the technology used in the recent Van Gogh Exhibit and Beyond Monet - that should be a real leveling up from Chasing Rainbows more traditional exhibits.

Dollywood posted this on facebook -

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Here's the three bullet points that are cut off:

Exhibits in multiple buildings spanning Dolly’s iconic career, inspiration behind her dreams, the importance of family and her signature style through the years

Feel like you're alongside Dolly as she journeyed from Locust Ridge to stages around the world

Three times the size of the former Chasing Rainbows Museum

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If you're feeling nostalgic, or never got experience Chasing Rainbows - Take a look at my video filmed a few months before it closed in 2021.

🏆Dollywood wins FIVE Golden Ticket Awards! 🏆

Hi Everyone,

The 25th annual Golden Ticket Awards ceremony was held at Dollywood on Saturday September 9th, 2023. Both Dollywood and Dolly Parton were recipients of Golden Ticket Awards.

Amusement Today sets up the story...

Host facility Dollywood had its biggest year ever, snagging five awards, including the night’s biggest upset. For the first time ever, the Pigeon Forge theme park took Best Park, only the third park to ever do so. Other wins were for Best Guest Experience, Best Christmas Event of 2022 and Best Kids Area. The park also took AT’s newest category: Best Family Coaster. Big Bear Mountain was Dollywood’s largest investment in an attraction to date, and it paid off.

The Best Park award for the previous eight years, has been awarded to Europa Park in Germany, so that is an impressive award for Dollywood.

KnoxNews has a lot of great information, so let's let Davarrick Turner take it away... 

She built a career that made her a global icon, but it was Dolly Parton's dream to build something that would make her parents proud and honor all the people she grew up in the Great Smoky Mountains.

And she did exactly that with Dollywood. The theme park in Pigeon Forge she opened in the mid-1980s is now crucial to East Tennessee’s tourism, economy and culture.

“There's that old saying that you can never go home again. Well, whoever said that? I can’t ever get out of home. I mean, home is in my heart. These mountains, I’ve always cared (about them),” Parton told Knox News this weekend.

“I’m the only person that ever left the Smoky Mountains and took them with her,” she joked as only she could. “But seriously, I love these mountains. I'm so proud to be a Tennessee girl, and I'm proud to be a Smoky Mountain girl.”

Because there’s not a Dollywood party without Dolly, she was in Pigeon Forge on Sept. 9 to celebrate the theme park's big wins at the annual awards ceremony considered the Oscars of the amusement industry.

Dollywood is a huge part of her legacy, and it delights her to know that it continues to have a profound impact on East Tennessee, especially contributing to the growth of other businesses in the area.

“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 said.

 

A golden night for a golden lady

It was truly a golden night for the popular theme park, earning recognition in 10 categories in total. In addition to best park, Dollywood also won top honors in the best guest experience, best kids’ area, best family coaster and best Christmas event categories. 

And it earned notable recognition in the most beautiful park, best food, best new coaster, best wooden roller coaster and best new attraction installation categories.

The Golden Ticket Awards were held at the Showstreet Palace Theater in Dollywood. The Pigeon Forge amusement park last hosted the ceremony in 2012.

“Each time I enter the park, I am immersed in a sense of welcome,” Golden Ticket Awards spokesperson Tim Baldwin said in a news release. “The food, the music, the rides, the atmosphere — there is a heart to it.”

“Just as Dolly likes to treat people with kindness and love, Dollywood exudes a sense of happiness. It makes you want to come back,” Baldwin continued. “This is why Dollywood has grown exponentially from a regional destination to a national one — and beyond.”

 

What are the Oscars of the amusement industry?

The Golden Ticket Awards are presented by Amusement Today, the amusement park industry’s leading trade magazine.

The awards are voted on by hundreds of industry journalists, ride manufacturers and experienced and well-traveled amusement park fans from around the globe. The pool of voters changes every year, according to Amusement Today.

Dollywood’s newest and longest attraction, Big Bear Mountain, was a major factor in the park’s 2023 accolades. It won the inaugural best family coaster category and solidified the park’s best kids’ area win.

Go read the whole article at KnoxNews....there are some pics to see as well.

Just a bit more info, from WATE-TV (ABC affiliate) about Dolly's operating partners for Dollywood....

SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Dollywood hosted the Golden Ticket Awards Saturday, where the park took home five awards.

In addition to the park awards, Dolly Parton and her business partners Jack and Pete Herschend were named Golden Ticket legends. Parton said the park had always been a dream of hers.

"We have so many wonderful things happening here, I have wonderful partners with the Herschends, but I've been blessed to do tons of stuff, and at my age I'm still doing it and I'm as excited about everything as I was back when I left the smokies dreaming years ago," Parton said.

She said she's proud of more than just the park.

"A lot of my own relatives even work on the park which is great, especially in the show, the family show. I'm proud of all of that, but I'm just proud of the whole area, Dollywood is just the star of the area, of course I would think that, or I want to believe that," Parton said. "I just think the whole area from Sevierville through Pigeon Forge through Gatlinburg I'm proud of this whole area."

Parton has many projects outside of music, that showcase her love for East Tennessee.

"I'm just proud to be a Tennessee girl. So, of course I wanted something in my own hometown, I always used to think if I make it big, if I make it like I'm dreaming of doing, I want to go back home and do something great for the people in my hometown," she said.

That's exactly what she did. Dollywood employs thousands of people and has been ranked a top workplace in America.

"It's something I can always be proud of, something my relatives can be proud of, and all my neighbors, the people I grew up with. Just to say that's my hometown, I got something special here, and that has all come true, and I cannot tell you how proud I am of that."

She and her business partners at Dollywood, Jack and Pete Herschend, were also named Golden Ticket Legends at the awards ceremony.

"At Dollywood, we give back too. Of course we make money, if you go in business you're hoping to make money, but it's not about the money at this point in my life as much as it is about making sure that I show my gratitude toward life and toward God and toward the people that have made life good," she said.

At the end of the day, she has one goal for visitors at Dollywood.

"Well, hope they go away thinking 'I've never has so much fun in my life,'" Parton said.

I think that's really impressive to win awards that are voted on among your professional peers and amusement park enthusiasts, so Congratulations to Dollywood!!  I mean, if you are reading this you are probably at least low-key obsessed or maybe even Obsessed-Obsesssed, but either way you already know how awesome Dollywood is.  I love sharing part of my oddball obsession with Dollywood, with all of you.

Speaking of which, Check out some of my videos that relate to this post, like Big Bear Mountain Preview Day, or any of the festivals from 2023.  

• I Will Always Love You - Celebrate 50 years of IWALY.
• IWALY Short Video if you only have 60-seconds to spare.
• Food & Flower Festival 2023
• Summer Celebration 2023
• Part 1 - A Day at the Park
• Part 2 - After Dark - Dance Party, Drone & Fireworks from Wildwood Grove - a Golden Ticket award winning Area.
• Big Bear Mountain Sing-Along With Dolly Parton
• Watch the Cued-Up Video of that - HERE

Natalie Grant Duet with Dolly Parton, singing an Annie Lennox written song, popularized by Whitney Houston!

Hi Everyone, This duet was released in early August of 2023 and I wanted to share it with you all.

I think if you liked the Whitney Version, you'll like or love this one too.  Whitney's version of Step by Step appears on the Preacher's Wife Soundtrack from 1996, if you couldn't remember, like me.  Annie Lennox wrote this song as a B-side to her 1992 single Precious.

Natalie Grant had this to say about Step by Step:

“In 1996, ‘Step By Step’ is a song I would blast on cassette in my beat up Volkswagen Golf as I drove to my job at Medicare,” shares Grant. “The dream when I moved to Nashville was music, not Medicare, but I had to do what was necessary to keep going. This song was my reminder to keep putting one foot in front of the other. If you would’ve told me then that one day, I would not only be recording this song, but doing it with an international icon, I never ever would’ve believed it. I still can’t believe it.”

Some fellow vloggers - Adventures That Rock - were lucky enough to be in the audience at Dollywood this past spring when Natalie Grant was performing, and she was joined on-stage by none other than Dolly herself!  Check their video out below.

If you're curious - Here's Annie Lennox's version of Step by Step, Then Whitney's version below that.

🚨New Video!🚨Dollywood's Flower & Food Festival🚨Plus the Hall Sisters & A Brighter Day Performances🚨

Hi Everyone,

I have a new video to share with you all!  This is from Dollywood's Flower & Food Festival for 2023. 

In this video I focus a lot more on the "Flower" end of things with this festival.  I shoot the festival by myself, and I can only eat so much, so, check out all the other vloggers who will show you that side of the festival.  I love filming all the great landscaping and you can see that a lot of thought and planning goes into making this a reality.  

Speaking of landscaping, The company that Dollywood partners with to create their mosaicultures is called Mosaicultures International and they are based in Montreal, Canada.  Check their website out below - they feature lots of photos of Dollywood and lots of other impressive installations at other locations.

website:  Home - Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal (mosaiculture.ca)

While enjoying my day admiring all of the festival decorations, I took in two very popular shows at Dollywood right now.  A Brighter Day at the Back Porch Theater and later in the day I saw The Hall Sisters perform their show on the porch of the chapel.  I wasn't sure what to expect exactly with the Hall Sisters, but they harmonize and play well together, it was definitely a great highlight from this day at Dollywood.  And of course, A Brighter Day never disappoints, and the cast and crew are all amazingly talented singers and musicians.  See Both Shows If You Can!  This festival runs until June 11th, 2023.

Big Bear Mountain is OPEN!

I will share with you this video of Dolly Parton and Eugene Naughton (Dollywood President) open Big Bear Mountain on May 12th, 2023.  Dolly Parton performs an original song that I placed over a POV video for Big Bear AND you can sing along to her catchy tune.  I love playing it over and over.

Dollywood was gracious to invite some season pass holders to a Rider Preview Day for Big Bear and that was on Monday, May 8th for me - there were several days to choose from.  I have a very extensive look at Big Bear in my video that I'll share below.

I really had an excellent first impression with my ride on BBM.  I'll break down the different elements below:

Ride Plaza / Queue Areas / Station - The ride plaza is very spacious and there is a lot of room to check out the roller coaster from countless angles.  There is a great ride sign for Big Bear.  I've already seen a lot of selfies on social media in front of it.  The queue has room for hundreds of people if needed, and it probably will be for a while.  The overall theme of the ride is that we are all looking for Big Bear, and so the queue fits with that type of expedition/rugged theming that they chose.  Lots of maps, photos, trinkets and whatnot all add to the experience.  The station is set up much like the other coasters at Dollywood.  The cubbies come in small and large, and I was able to fit my backpack in the larger cubby no problem.  The station is at grade level, so folks in wheelchairs and ECV's should have an easy time accessing the station.  

Trains - I found them very comfortable.  They are bucket-style seats that are padded, and the only restraint is an individual lap bar that I didn't have any issues with.  I'm 5 foot 8 inches, so I don't have a lot of legs to scrunch up into the train.  For a comparison, this seemed a whole lot roomier than Lightning Rod and a bit roomier than Thunderhead - to compare to other Dollywood trains.  I noticed on one row of the train, the side wall was on a hinge, so that may be the row that has more room for those with prosthetics or other considerations.  I didn't' see it in action, so I'm not certain, but that's most likely what that particular row is for.  Of course, the folks at the Ride Accessibility Center near the front gate of the park will have all of that information available.

Furthermore, I think the trains look super cool.  I love all the little details on them like the jerry cans on the back, and the little bits of mud splatters that are near the wheel wells - all of it is so cool.  The headlights and taillights both illuminate and look great.  The on-board audio sounded really well.  I think they had some speakers in some areas too, maybe for a backup or maybe to reinforce the audio sound effects?  Not sure, but either way its a nice addition.  It takes me back to my dear Opryland and the stuffed bear on Grizzly River Rampage.  

There are two trains that I saw, not sure if there is a third train.  On preview day one train would launch from the station as the other was going into the brakes, so a third train would stack if they used it.  They may have a third train coming later so they can have a spare to do maintenance on - since Dollywood's season is nearly year-round at this point.  That would be some insurance for always being able to run two trains.  

Ride Itself / Layout - I love this layout.  I have ridden lots of record-breaking rollercoasters and those are fine, but what I love most is just exactly what Big Bear is, and that's forceful launches, and lots of meandering around side to side, up and down.  Nothing too crazy that snaps your neck back and forth like I-305 or Maverick.  The transitions were so smooth in between all the direction changes that it all just felt so natural and well designed.  It's zippy!  The first launch out of the station gets the job done, which is to get you to the second launch.  I love love love the fact that the train does not come to a stop before the 2nd launch.  So many new multi-launchers will bring everything to a grinding halt before a launch and I despise that - such a buzzkill for me (see:  Copperhead Strike, Maverick, Time Traveler, there are many others).  Big Bear Mountain avoids that nightmare and really, once you are on your way you will not stop for 3,990 feet.  The pacing for me is fast and it stays fast until the end.  The little dip under the pathway is cool finale to the whole ride.  Super smooth brake run and then the friction wheels whisk it right in to the station pronto.  

The waterfall area is cool, but you go through it so quickly that it's over before you know it.  Don't blink!

Overall - I'm really impressed with everything about this new coaster.  I think it will impress many who look at it and go meh.  It's definitely not meh to me. I can't wait for summer so I can see how it looks and rides in the dark of night.  I'm sure it will be as fun in October-December when the sun sets around 5 o'clock.

10 out of 10!

I hope you enjoy all my videos!!!

🚨 New Video - Dollywood's Opening Day for it's 38th Season! ✅Big Bear Mountain ✅Music ✅I Will Always Love You Celebration

Hi Everyone,

I finished my video of my day at Dollywood and you can watch that below.  I have over 30 minutes of Dollywood performances for you to enjoy, after touring around the park, including a Big Bear Mountain update.    Under the video is my trip report and lots of pictures from that day.   

 

Dollywood opened for its 38th Season on Friday March 10th, 2023, and I have made this photo trip report.   The weather was rainy early on, but the skies cleared, and it was a pretty great day to be at Dollywood.   My day, basically:  I went around the entire park to see what changes I noticed.  I took in three shows, Love Always, The Smoky Mountain String band and the Tones show at the Village stage next to the train.  They were all great and polished - no indications of opening day jitters!  And then I finished the day with the Dolly Parade, which was surreal.  

What I noticed first as I entered the park was that the entry plaza, Showstreet and Market Square were decked out to celebrate 50 years of Dolly's musical see-you-later to Porter Waggoner, "I Will Always Love You". There are new photo opportunities throughout this part of the park, new related merchandise and even new limited time treats you can enjoy celebrating IWALY.

General Observations:  The crowds seemed heavier to me than a year ago.  I'm not sure the reasoning behind that.  Dolly was expected to be there, which draws people in.  The weather forecast was iffy and at some point, included potential snow.  In the end it rained in the morning and turned into a beautiful sunny day.  The park looked great I thought.  It felt to me like most of the projects were wrapped up before opening day.  There's always lots of little changes that I go around and try and notice.  I will point those out in each area below.

The ride operations that I noticed were mostly uneventful.  I checked the app and the boards around the park from time to time.  Lightning Rod went down for the day sometime in the afternoon.  Dizzy Disk wasn't running and had a sign in front of it.  I saw some social media reports of ride stoppages and evacuations, so there were some minor hiccups, but those happen every day.  These types of events are perfect indicators of how safe Dollywood's rides are.  They are designed to come to a very safe stop when there are minor issues that pop up during the course of operating heavy machinery.  They can seem frightening when you're less familiar with how it works, but when a ride stops it's nothing to worry about.  Stay in your seat and wait for instructions.  Here's a couple of posts you can see - safety first!

Blazing Fury Evac - Facebook

Firechaser Safe Stoppage - Facebook

Here's a area-by-area breakdown of my day looking around the park:

Tram Station - I didn't notice any changes.

Entry Plaza - Permanent structures replaced the temporary tents for ECV Rental Annex as well as the Security Screening pass through area.

ECV-Wheelchair-Stroller Rental Annex

Security Screening Pass through area

Showstreet Right (from the front gate perspective) - It was decked out for the "I Will Always Love You" 50-year celebration.  There was a pop-up merchandise spot next door to Showstreet Snacks that has a huge selection of the 50-year Merch, so check that out.  There are other places in the park to get the 50-year merch as well.   You can see the photos above of Showstreet in IWALY finest.

pop up IWALY merch on Showstreet

Showstreet Left - The ECV/wheelchair/strollers Rentals, Lockers and the Ride Accessibility Center has been rearranged in a more spacious way.   Next to the Emporium you'll find the Measuring Center and, on the right, adjacent to the Palace Theater you'll find oversized lockers and the ECV/Wheelchairs/Strollers Rental location.  I'm not sure if this layout is final but take note that it has changed around.  

Wildwood Grove - seemed to me to be the hotspot of activity in the park.  As I got closer to Big Bear, I noticed some of the planters in the middle of the pathway had changed shape a bit.  A new permanent fence has replaced the wooden work-fence at the Waterfall part of the ride.  All the track is complete, so now the focus is on wiring up the ride components, and lots of hardscaping and landscaping yet to be completed.  There is quite a bit left to do before the opening sometime in May.

I spied a bunch of new Big Bear merchandise at Mountain Grove Merchants in between Frogs n Fireflies and Black Bear Trail Ride.

There's a lot of work left to do for a May 2023 opening.

Big Bear Nano Coaster, $34.99.

Timber Canyon - the major change that I saw was Thunderhead has had a lot of wood replaced in areas near the station.  I think this is the last phase (maybe?) of the multi-year phase full replacement of track.  IIRC they were switching to a Brazilian wood - Ipe, I think it is known as.  It's much stronger than the pine that it's replacing.  According to the social media comments I saw about Thunderhead this weekend, the changes were described in extremely positive terms.

new wood on Thunderhead!

Wilderness Pass - The Food Truck Plaza was back with two Food Trucks there.

Craftsman's Valley - I noticed a new water wheel outside of the Bird Show theater, and some work on the water trough has happened as well.  Daredevil Falls' exit ramp was looking good with new paint.  The Food Truck Park was back in the Tennessee Tornado Plaza.  The setup has been rearranged a bit.

Lots of new paint on the exit of Daredevil Falls

Rivertown - Butterfly Strings.  A new shop with Dolly, Elvis, Willie, Johnny Cash merchandise, and other cool music stuff.  It's next door to the Back Porch Theater.   If you're looking for the Dolly Funkos, they can be found here.

#funko #dollyfunko #FunkoPop #Collectibles #MusicIcons #CountryMusic #9to5 #Jolene #IWillAlwaysLoveYou #Dollywood #Tennessee #EastTennessee #Memorabilia #VinylFigures #PopCulture #LimitedEdition #ToyCollection

Country Fair - Dollywood has expanded its picnic/Group pavilions.  The Celebration Hall has been converted into group dining space.  CH is next door to the Blue Ribbon Pavillion which, both buildings have been there for a million years, at least.  I imagine both pavilions will be busy on weekends for the warmer months.  Scrambler received some paint-love in the off season and is looking sharp in its mustard-ketchup color scheme.  Does anyone know what has happened to Lemon Twist?  It turns as fast as a minute hand on a clock, and it has not always been this way.  

All Smiles on the Scrambler

Scrambler with fresh paint

The Village - New accessibility ramps for the train.  This will hopefully make this easier for those that need the ramps.

Adventures In Imagination - The biggest news came from Dolly about the replacement for Chasing Rainbows Museum, expected to open in 2024.

Chasing Rainbows prepares to morph into Dollys Interactive Experience

Dolly Parade - Dolly made one parade appearance this opening weekend and it was on Friday.  Enjoy my video below of Dolly going down Showstreet.

That wraps up my Trip Report.  I am working on several videos to share, so do be sure to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel (HERE) and click the bell for notifications, and you'll catch all my Dollywood videos.  

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