Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton, a Sevier County, Tennessee native and entertainment superstar, joined the Herschends in the theme park business in 1986. Not only would Dolly share her entertainment expertise and her love of the Great Smoky Mountains, she would also share her name as what had been Silver Dollar City opened in 1986 as Dollywood.

Since 1986, Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Enterprises have remained partners in Dollywood, Tennessee's most-visited tourist attraction. Dollywood also ranks in the Top 50 most attended theme parks worldwide. The park has more than doubled in size now encompassing 150 acres. An entirely new area, Rivertown Junction, was added for Dollywood's first season. Included in this area were Aunt Granny's-still Dollywood's most-visited restaurant-Dolly's Tennessee Mountain Home; the 450-seat Back Porch Theatre and the Smoky Mountain Rampage.

Dollywood also experienced tremendous increases in attendance, drawing 1.3 million visitors in 1986, an increase of approximately 75 percent as compared to Silver Dollar City's last season in 1985. Dollywood consistently entertains more than two million visitors annually (a 54 percent increase over its inaugural 1986 season and a 160 percent increase over its 1985 attendance.)

In the years since the Dollywood name has graced the theme park's main entrance, more than $110 million in expansions and additions are now visible as a result of Dollywood's ongoing commitment to offering guests something new each season. And, several old favorites continue to welcome guests including Klondike Katie, a 110-ton coal-fired steam train built in 1943 that still roams the tracks through the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. And, the Robert F. Thomas Chapel remains but its significance to the park grew stronger after Dolly joined the family. It was Dr. Robert F. Thomas, the local Sevier County doctor, who one day delivered the fourth of twelve children to Lee and Avie Lee Parton-Dolly Rebecca Parton.

Visitors from across the country and around the world flock to the Pigeon Forge entertainment park to experience the heart and soul of the Great Smoky Mountains. Dollywood prides itself on "Creating Memories Worth Repeating®." By offering a blend of thrilling rides, spectacular shows and master craftsmen in the Great Smoky Mountain and presented by employees with a genuine interest in the guest's experience-all sprinkled with Dolly's own special brand of charm and appeal-Dollywood more than delivers.