originally posted on 7/1/2024
All Photos: Dave Jackson. View full-sized image.
For the 2024 season, Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) has transformed the Adventures in Imagination area of the park and replaced the old Chasing Rainbows museum with The Dolly Parton Experience. (For good measure, the tour bus was moved, too.)
Dolly Parton fans will be relieved to know her tour bus has made the move to the new museum.
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Said Parton at its opening: “Our old museum really needed a facelift, but instead of a nip-and-tuck we just decided to start all over! There are a lot of interactive elements and technology all through the area, but luckily for all of you, there are no holograms of me in there anywhere. I think the last thing this world needs is a bunch of ‘Dolly-grams’ running around everywhere.”
Songteller is located in a new building that makes The Dolly Parton Experience significantly larger than the previous Chasing Rainbows.
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The experience begins in the new Songteller building. While the old “Chasing Rainbows” had an introductory hologram followed by a sizeable collection of artifacts and awards, the new display takes guests on a journey of what it’s like to be Dolly. The new displays begin with her life growing up in the Smoky Mountains with her family and highlight their love of music. After a pause to admire the real Coat of Many Colors, guests move onto a bus to ride along with Dolly to Nashville. The display was designed to help people understand how small the fledgling performer felt going from the hills of eastern Tennessee to Nashville — Music City USA.
The Dolly Parton Experience allows guests to experience Dolly’s move to Nashville and debut on the “Dolly” variety show.
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Exiting the bus, guests enter the television era with the Porter Wagoner years transitioning to the solo “Dolly” variety show. A facsimile opening swing is in front of a huge console to allow guests a selfie of what it was like to be a host of a major television program. This exhibit transitions to Dolly’s movie career with an interactive set for “9 to 5.” A selection of costumes from both the television and movie eras serve to remind viewers of Dolly’s iconic appearances throughout the years.
No look at Dolly’s career would be complete without “9 to 5” and some of her costumes.
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Following this, the experience returns to her music with a selection of custom guitars included to introduce a room featuring video performances of some of her most recognizable songs. After a gallery of photographs capturing meetings with other celebrities, the experience crescendos in a large two-story, 360-degree multimedia presentation narrated by Dolly examining why she likes to be known as a “songteller” and what the title means to her. After a look at her charitable work, including a current count of the Imagination Library book deliveries, guests exit the main building.
The Dolly Parton Experience highlights Dolly’s charitable works as well as her numerous looks throughout the years.
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“Beyond the Seams” (which replaced the old closet shop) features displays of wigs, makeup and clothing comprising a dozen costumes. Along with everything else, the central display can be customized to the season as needed. During the opening of this area, featured were the “Rockstar” album’s looks, songs, collaborators and the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” award. While sparse in the number of artifacts, it feels like everything was personally chosen by Dolly to be on display for her fans.
The historical displays continue in the lobby of the theater building with a “Precious Memories” exhibit focusing on friends and family as an introduction to the new family show featuring Dolly’s niece, Heidi Parton. The theater building also includes the “Dolly Fan Shop” so guests can stock up on Dolly souvenirs.
Dolly was present for the opening of the new museum and spoke to the crowd about how it improved upon the previous one.
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Dolly said it best: “I’m so proud of the work our people have put into this new experience to make sure it is something our guests will enjoy for many years. It’s been almost three years in the making, and it’s three times larger than anything like this we’ve ever created before, so it really is something! For me, the most special part is the area called ‘Precious Memories,’ because it’s about my family and everything they have done to support me through the years.”
— Robert Ulrich, ACE Immediate Past President
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