Dollywood

Dollywood is the second biggest attraction in the Smoky Mountains and only second to the mountains themselves. The amusement park is one of the main reasons for the city of Pigeon Forge’s continued popularity and Dollywood tops itself year after year to live up to its already enormous hype. If you hear someone call it the “Disneyland of East Tennessee”, that’s what you can expect!

There are three things Dollywood explicitly caters to and guests come whether they’re into all three, just one or a combination thereof:

1. Rides for thrillseekers and children.
2. Theaters for country music shows, gospel music and more.
3. An interactive look and celebration of Smoky Mountain culture with arts and crafts stores, artists and crafters showing off how they do what they do, and even a train ride through the mountains, among others.

And of course, the park serves as something of a shrine to Miss Dolly Parton herself, but only to a reasonable degree. You do not need to be a fan of Dolly Parton to enjoy Dollywood, but it certainly helps.

The park offers:
– More than two dozen rides all across the park property.
– Seasonal shows that include the aforementioned country music, but can also include magic, stunt performers, Christmas shows and more.
– More than two dozen restaurants, cafes and eateries all throughout the park.
– The “Chasing Rainbows” Dolly Parton museum.
– The Eagle Mountain Sanctuary
– The Robert F. Thomas Chapel with Sunday services.
– The Southern Gospel Hall of Fame.
– The Wings of America bird show.

And all of this doesn’t even count the many festivals Dollywood runs throughout the season as well – so much so that’s hard to find a day when Dollywood doesn’t have a festival or special event going on. Take a look:

– Festival of the Nations; bringing a wide variety of world entertainment and food to the Smokies.
– Summer Lives Here; Formally known as the Great American Summer, Dollywood extends its park hours later and has nightly fireworks.
– National Southern Gospel and Harvest Celebration; Dollywood celebrates Fall with round-the-clock Gospel performances and seasonal arts and crafts booths.
– Barbeque and Bluegrass; round-the-clock Bluegrass performances and round-the-clock barbecue cooking and delivery.
– Smoky Mountain Christmas; the entire park becomes a literal winter wonderland and transforms everything to celebrate Christmas.

It would take more than a week to see and experience everything Dollywood has to offer each season. See more on Dollywood at www.dollywood.com.