Dollywood offers plenty of fun for the whole family

This was our first trip to Dollywood; it's not cheap with one day tickets priced at $79 and two day tickets at $99 plus $15 to park (all prices will then have tax added to them)

Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee with 3 million visitors each year; Dollywood's Splash Country is nearby and open during warm weather

The Dollywood Express is a 20 minute ride along a 2.5 mile track that takes place hourly; the locomotive, built in 1938, burns 2 tons of coal each day and emits lots of pollution

Built in 1982, the grist mill at Dollywood was the first fully operational grist mill built in the state of Tennessee in more than 100 years; it is famous for the world's best cinnamon bread

The theme song to 1980 film 9 to 5 not only reached number one on the country chart, but also, in February 1981, reached number one on the pop and the adult-contemporary charts, giving Dolly a triple number-one hit

Dolly's costumes from 1982's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; it was based on a story inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grange, TX that was exposed by Houston reporter Marvin Zindler

The Harrisburg Covered Bridge, near Sevierville, is 88 feet long and was built in 1875; Donald Trump carried 80% of the vote in Sevier County in 2016

The famous coat of many colors; the album of the same name (1971) made Time Magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of All Time; Dolly has cited the title track on numerous occasions as her personal favorite of all the songs she has written

Cybill Shepherd joins two of my favorite people; in 2016 devastating wildfires hit the Great Smoky Mountains so Dolly hosted a telethon which raised millions for the victims and personally gave $1000/month for 6 months to every family that lost their home

Dolly's wardrobe from Steel Magnolias; Dolly said she felt right at home playing a redneck hairdresser in a small, Southern town

Steel Magnolias (1989) is one of my all-time favorite movies; Dolly is 73 and has been married for 53 years; Dolly has no children of her own, but is the godmother of Miley Cyrus

Dollywood's Flower and Food Festival, the first new event in 14 years, will feature tall topiaries based on Dolly's songs, colorful photo opportunities, a rainbow sky over Showstreet, and delicious eats from May 8 - June 14, 2020

This is the kitchen and living area of a replica of Dolly's Tennessee Mountain Home where she grew up; Parton is the subject of the enjoyable NPR podcast Dolly Parton's America

This is a replica of the room where Dolly, her parents and 11 siblings slept; you wonder how 14 people could possibly sleep in such a small room!

In 1999, Dolly was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; Dolly is one of the select few to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards (47 nominations), Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, no matter their family’s income; the highly successful program has distributed more than 100,000,000 books!

My parents and I took a mini-hike to Juney Whank Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee; there are great places for tubing or rafting in the spring and summer

Wildwood Grove opened in May 2019 with 11 new experiences and is part of a $300 million, 6 year expansion project; in 2017, Dollywood won Golden Ticket awards from Amusement Today for Friendliest Park, Best Christmas Event, Best Food and Best Show

We saw a Christmas show with one of Dolly's nieces and her writing partner; Dolly had 11 brothers and sisters who shared a one room cabin growing up

Replica of Dolly's one room schoolhouse; Dolly managed to go from these humble beginnings to become the wealthiest star in country music with an estimated net worth of more than $500 million

These bald eagles are injured and unable to fly but Dollywood is tending to them; there was also a big area with healthy bald eagles

This is a replica of the Tennessee Mountain Home where Dolly grew up; the house still exists and is on the other side of the mountain from Dollywood

Appalachian Christmas was the show at the Back Porch Theater; I admired the musical ability of the performers and wish I had the talent to play an instrument

Gatlinburg is only 5 miles away and the gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park; the stretch of highway from Gatlinburg to Sevierville is one long hillybilly heaven

A huge Bush's factory employs 400 people near Sevierville; this is where the company got its start in 1897; a large visitors' center welcomes 160,000 guests every year

There are more than 5 million Christmas lights at Dollywood, 7 special holiday performances and a nightly parade; there are plenty of roller coasters and, with the cold, wet weather, no lines

The chapel at Dollywood is named for the doctor that delivered Dolly in 1946 and for which he was paid a sack of cornmeal; Dr. Robert F Thomas dedicated his life to advocating for immunizations and taking care of his rural patients

The Beaux Arts, Sevier County Courthouse was built in 1895; there's a statue of Dolly on the grounds but it bears little resemblance to her

Dollywood had areas for local craftsmen so that we could watch men blowing glass or blacksmiths in action; in the 2018 USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards Dollywood was ranked as the sixth Best Amusement Park in the U.S

Costumes from Dolly's role in 9 to 5; Parton wrote and recorded the film's title song which received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Song and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song (it also reached #1 on the charts)

Dolly has had 25 songs reach No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts, a record for a female artist; she has 9 Grammy Awards, 2 Academy Award nominations and has won the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award

Dollywood has approximately 4,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in the community; from 1986 to 2010, the park doubled in size to 150 acres and now has 50 rides and attractions

Dezzie, a desert eagle owl, came to Dollywood in 2017; the birds at Dollywood are being used for educational purposes and are under the care of the American Eagle Foundation

The Carol Burnett Show always had such great skits!; after graduating from Sevier County High School in 1964, Parton moved to Nashville the next day

Great Smoky National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most visited national park in the US (12 million visitors per year); the Blue Ridge Parkway starts here and goes 469 miles to Shenandoah National Park