Fashion choices always make headlines during awards season, and since the 1960s, Dolly Parton’s iconic looks are frequently in the spotlight. For a limited time, some of her signature styles will be on display at Dollywood Resorts, giving guests an up-close look at her rhinestones, fringes, metallics, and more.
Overnight guests, diners, and spa-goers at Dolly’s two resorts in the Great Smoky Mountains (Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa and Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort) can explore a curated selection of wardrobe pieces from album and book covers, music videos, concerts, television and films, interviews, and award shows spanning her nearly 60-year career.
The display is part of Dolly Parton’s Wardrobe Exhibit at Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort, which was curated by Dolly’s niece and archivist, Rebecca Seaver. The Exhibit is on display now through March 12 and is complimentary to overnight guests and patrons of the resorts. So even if you don’t stay overnight, you can get an entry voucher by dining at one of the resort’s restaurants or visiting the spa.
The Dolly Parton Wardrobe Exhibit is just one of many special happenings at Dollywood Resorts and Parks, which this year is celebrating the 40th anniversary season of Dollywood theme park, the 25th anniversary of Dollywood’s Splash Country water park and the 10th anniversary of Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa.
A perennial winner (excuse our pun), Dollywood regularly earns amusement industry accolades for both its natural beauty – it’s built right into the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee – as well as its incredible culinary creations that go way beyond standard park fare.
Each spring since 2020, the theme park has taken springtime experiences to an incredible new level by serving up both a breathtaking display of Mother Nature’s finest handiwork and some of the most impressive menu items during its 4th Annual Flower & Food Festival. Starting April 21 and running through June 11, visitors can expect to be awed by over one million blooms and incredible floral installations all coming together to create an amazing display of color and wonder.
Mosaicultures International, a Montreal-based company that specializes in crafting living sculptures from thousands of plants, has been busy creating and tending to a full lineup of iconic floral symbols that will be on display at Dollywood during the next several weeks. Their team of landscape architects, engineers, horticultural mosaic artists and sculptor-welders, fashion plants and flowers into the unique and magnificent living works known as mosaiculture. Think playful bears, toddering turtle, chatty mallard ducks, rascally raccoons, and other woodland creatures that can be found in the Smokies.
But perhaps the most popular sculpture of all depicts the person who once called these mountains “home”: Dolly Parton’s mother, Avie Lee, stitching the famed Coat of Many Colors.
Another popular “human” figure made from plants is the beekeeper sculpture located in the park’s Craftsman’s Valley section. New this year, a real keeper will display beehives, showcase beekeeping techniques and educate park guests about the importance of nature’s noble pollinator, the honey bee.
And that talk of honey is the perfect tie-in to the culinary side of this annual festival. The Flower & Food Festival menu was inspired by fresh spring flavors, then given some Smoky Mountain flair. This year’s menu includes a Cuban sandwich with mojo sauce, street tacos, pretzel crab melt, grilled shrimp mac & cheese, beef bulgogi nachos, street corn salad, quinoa salad, berry and honey funnel cakes, and hand-decorated cookies and cupcakes with a flower theme.
For those who can’t choose among all the delicacies, Dollywood offers a “tasting pass” that lets guests partake in a variety of food items. The pass, which can be purchased in the park or online, costs $36.99 plus tax and allows guests to sample five food offerings at special locations.
The fun – and food – doesn’t stop at the park. Plenty of festival elements carry over to Dollywood’s DreramMore Resort and Spa, where guests are greeted by colorful décor and stunning floral accents. Complimentary beverages like lavender lemonade and rosemary blueberry smash will be served in the main lobby from 4 to 6 p.m. each day, and a variety of seasonal cocktails and mocktails will be available for purchase in The Lounge. Camp DW, which offers daily activities for kids, will get into the spirit by helping young guests create flowerpots, garden gnomes and birdhouses. At the spa, guests can indulge in a Dreamy Sunflower Facial, Magic Melon Manicure or other seasonal treatments.
Each resort guest gets priority access to Dollywood; a complimentary TimeSaver pass, which can be used to access select rides and daily show reservations; complimentary trolley transportation to the park; complimentary package delivery, so all those purchases made from the park’s crafters and other shops don’t need to be lugged around all day; and early admission on Saturday mornings.
And as if all this wasn’t exciting enough, in May – right in the midst of the Flower & Food Festival – Dollywood will debut Big Bear Mountain, the longest roller coaster in the park’s history. The ride pays homage to the Smokies’ favorite critter, the ubiquitous black bear, and serves as another reminder of the natural wonders of the region.
For more information about Dollywood or to begin planning your visit, please see Dollywood.com.
About Dollywood
The Dollywood Company consists of the 165-acre Dollywood theme park; the 35-acre Dollywood’s Splash Country; and Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa. Currently under construction, the 302-room Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort is scheduled for completion later this year. As unique as its namesake and owner Dolly Parton, Dollywood is the 2010 Applause Award winner, the theme park industry’s highest accolade; winner of 48 Golden Ticket Awards; and recipient of 28 Brass Ring Awards for Live Entertainment.
The park is located in Pigeon Forge near Great Smoky Mountains National Park and was named in 2022 by Tripadvisor as the #1 theme park in the country based on actual guest reviews. It also has been recognized as a top-three U.S. theme park by USA Today on multiple occasions.
Dollywood is open mid-March through early January and offers rides and attractions, shows, and crafters authentic to the East Tennessee region. Dollywood’s Splash Country, recognized by the Travel Channel and Tripadvisor as one of the country’s most beautiful water parks, operates from mid-May to Labor Day. Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, a favorite of USA Today voters and Tripadvisor reviewers, provides guests with spectacular mountain views and family-friendly amenities next door to Dollywood theme park and Dollywood’s Splash Country. For more information, visit Dollywood.com. Operating days and hours vary.
For those who want a glimpse into the life of a legend, Dollywood is introducing the “Suite 1986” Tour Bus Experience. Today, guests can begin booking stays on the Prevost tour bus that was Dolly Parton’s favorite home away from home for 15 years. The bus was recently acquired by Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa and has been transformed into the property’s ultimate suite, now situated on a permanent parking pad just behind the hotel.
Guests of Suite 1986 will not only have the most interesting accommodations in Dollywood’s history, but they’ll also get the opportunity to enjoy some special amenities. The suite features dedicated concierge service for the entire length of stay, the chance to sample one-of-a-kind food offerings created by the resort’s award-winning culinary team, and customized keepsakes to take home as souvenirs. The tour bus sleeps two guests, but each reservation also includes a room at DreamMore Resort, which can accommodate up to four additional guests.
There’s a two-night minimum stay for Suite 1986 and a starting rate of $10,000. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Dollywood Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dolly’s enterprises. In part, it funds Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gifts free books to children from birth to age 5 as part of an ongoing effort to instill in everyone a passion for reading. So far, more than 2 million children have benefitted from the program.
Dolly herself loves to read, and she’s a writer at heart. In fact, she wrote her “Backwoods Barbie” album as well as “9 to 5 the Musical” in the comfort of the bus, plus some books and scripts for television shows and movies.
Though Dolly is a free-spirted traveler, she doesn’t enjoy flying and much prefers to have her own space, food and belongings rather than staying in a hotel. Her tour bus served as a rolling sanctuary that was customized to ensure that she and her companions traveled in comfort and ease no matter how far the journey. And it was specially adapted and upgraded so Dolly could do two of her favorite things – writing and cooking – from any locale.
She enjoyed making meals in the kitchenette and sharing them with her best friend and personal assistant, Judy Ogle, who traveled with her most of the time, and driver Tim Dunlap, who was responsible for the vehicle and its passengers during its length of service. To install a full-size refrigerator in place of the smaller size that comes standard in most vehicles of this type, the bus’s windshield had to be removed and then replaced.
Those who are curious about Dolly’s incredible wardrobe may be interested to learn that three of the bus’s six standard bunk beds were removed and replaced with a special closet that could accommodate all the glitter and rhinestones. When Dolly has welcomed visitors onto the bus, she’s taken great delight in showing off her wig cabinet, which probably isn’t something you’d find on any other tour bus. It’s a truly “Dolly” touch.
Guests may not need the wig closet, but they might appreciate the custom bathtub and electric doors that were added to the vehicle to transform it into a luxury suite on wheels. “I have homes all over the United States,” Dolly once said. “But my favorite place is the bus because that way I can just feel those wheels rolling.”
In addition to providing a unique glimpse into the icon’s life, the bus affords its guests beautiful views of the Smoky Mountains, where Dolly grew up. It also provides easy access to Dollywood, the theme park she established here in 1986 (hence, the bus’s new name) to provide both a source of employment for residents and a spark of joy and inspiration for the millions of visitors who are drawn to the region.
Looking to the future of lodging in the area, Dolly was in Pigeon Forge this morning to visit the construction site of Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort, her second hotel in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. The 302-room property is slated to open in late 2023.
Tucked away in a beautiful cove in the rolling foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains,Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort will welcome the outdoors in with high ceilings, exposed beams and natural layered textures. The resort will offer lodging options for multi-generational families and couples, including spacious family suites and bunk rooms that will feature touches inspired by the beauty of the Smokies. Many of the rooms will include balconies that provide sweeping views of the vast resort property.
For more information about anything connected to “Destination Dollywood,” please visit Dollywood.com.
