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In 2005 Dollywood, Dolly Parton's very own theme park, celebrates its 20th anniversary. It's hard to believe that this patch of trashy, campy, redneck fun in East Tennessee could have survived for so long. But it has, and there's never been a better time to visit.
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In 2005 Dollywood, Dolly Parton's very own theme park, celebrates its 20th anniversary. It's hard to believe that this patch of trashy, campy, redneck fun in East Tennessee could have survived for so long. But it has, and there's never been a better time to visit.
Dollywood is set on the outskirts of Pigeon Forge, a charmless strip of cheap motels, crazy golf stands, tacky dinner theatres and fast food outlets. If you love trash, you'll love this place.
There's an airport in Knoxville, an oasis of liberalism and sanity, about 30 miles away or you could make the four-hour drive from Nashville on the Interstate nearby, but getting there is a bit of a bind, and not worth bothering with if you don't have a car. However, its isolation only makes Dollywood all the more special - it’s very unlikely that you'll bump into any pesky hipsters whilst you're there, the only other guests are bona fide hillbillies, scarily nuclear families and die hard Dolly fans.
Dollywood is an exhausting experience, so the best thing to do is stay in a cheap motel nearby and then head for the gates as soon as they open. Weirdly enough, the park existed long before Dolly took it over in the mid-eighties, and if you're hoping for some kind of Dolly Parton fantasy land you might be disappointed.
This place is more like a country music theme park, with bits of added Dolly, than a trip through Dolly's brain. There are all the usual park zones, including Craftsman's Valley and Jukebox Junction, and the usual smattering of white knuckle and water rides. There are also a handful of shows, some focusing on country music, or gospel, others specifically for the kids.
But what makes Dollywood great are all the little details: the rose bushes planted for Dolly's favourite dead country stars; the replica of the shack in which Dolly grew up; Dolly's fabulous museum; a garden swing where you can doze and listen to Dolly's greatest hits! There's even a post office on the site where you can buy and send special Dolly post-marked cards to all of your jealous friends back home.
The best and weirdest part of the park, in my humble opinion, is the church. This is a real church, with services held every Sunday. Dolly's church. Hard to believe? You bet, but we are in the heart of the bible belt after all.
There are also some incredible shopping opportunities. Try Liberty, if you can stomach it, a patriotic gifte shoppe full of military memorabilia, ‘Support Our Troops’ stickers, American flags and - ugh! - Ronald Reagan teddy bears. You don't fancy it? Why not spend your Dolly Dollars (yes, you can buy Dolly's very own currency) on a pair of Dolly Delights (breast-shaped cakes), or some other choice piece of plastic Dollywood crap instead? You know you want to, and there's no one here to say that you can't have it.
Although Dollywood is nestled in the land of the religious right, my girlfriend and I didn't have any trouble from stray homophobes at all, in fact people were charmed by our accents and home made Dolly T-shirts. It's probably not the best place to go kissing your boyfriend, but it's relatively tolerant if you're not the flaunting kind. The closet is no place for anyone, but it might just be worth holding back a bit in order to experience Dollywood's weirdness.
Mind you, I'd love to see the looks on their faces if you turned up at the gates in full Dolly drag.
Gay travel company, Gaydar Travel have some great holiday packages to tempt you with. Take a look at their site and find out more.
Can't make it to Dollywood? Get Dolly Parton - Alive and Well on DVD instead! Buy it online and save some money so put towards her album Little Sparrow!
Have you been to Dollywood? Leave your tips and thoughts on the message boards. Or if you want to write a gay travel guide, then get in touch at travel@gaydarnation.com.
Author: Charlotte Cooper
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