Dollywood announces new features to honour Dolly Parton

Dollywood theme park has announced several new features to honour its “dreamer-in-chief” Dolly Parton, after her death at the age of 80.Parton purchased the park, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, US, in 1982, envisioning it as a counterpart to Disneyland.It has since become the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee, receiving about four million visitors a year.A mountainside waterfall will be added just outside the chapel’s front steps, creating a “peaceful setting for guests to pause, reflect and enjoy the natural beauty” of the area.Dolly Parton died on on August 25 (Jonathan Brady/PA)PA ArchiveThe chapel will also have new stained-glass windows commissioned to reflect Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV), the bible verse that resonated deeply with Parton: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”To honour Parton’s love of children and her Imagination Library book-giving programme, the park has created a new character called the Dream Maker, who will be at the Wildwood Grove area in 2027.Through stories and interactive experiences, the Dream Maker “will encourage guests to dream big, believe in themselves and lift others up through courage and kindness”.Special kiosks will be located throughout Wildwood Grove, giving people a place to share their own thoughts and notes about how Dolly inspired them to dream their own big dreams.A new portal into The Dolly Parton Experience will welcome people to the attraction’s immersive collection of moments, stories and memorabilia.Beyond the gates of Dollywood, a new programme called In Dolly’s Footsteps will “debut soon”.Walking-tour markers will be placed throughout Sevierville, Tennessee, which Parton and her family visited in her youth, offering people an opportunity to learn more about the places and experiences that helped shape her.To honour Parton’s love of children the park will create a new character called the Dream Maker (Sue Moore/PA)PA ArchiveEugene Naughton, Dollywood Parks & Resorts’ president, said: “Many of us had extensive conversations with Dolly through the years about how she would want us to carry her vision forward.Read More“Dollywood will always be a place where families find fun, kindness and joy, a place where they can make memories that last a lifetime, just like she would have wanted.“We will carry her dreams forward by continuing to grow, welcoming even more guests, and sharing the warmth and hospitality of which she was so proud.”The country music singer died on August 25 after a “brief battle” with cancer.Over the course of her career, which spanned more than 60 years, Parton sold more than 100 million records worldwide and wrote more than 3,000 songs.A museum called Dolly’s Life Of Many Colours, referencing her 1971 song and album Coat Of Many Colours, is due to open in Nashville this autumn.