Sunday May 29th and Monday May 30th
We went to Dollywood after 3:00 p.m. on Sunday and all day Monday. Since we went in late the first day we got in the next day on the same ticket. We were able to go to six different musical shows and still have time for rides on their steam locomotive train and the white water rafting “adventure.” And of course we took time to ride Ellen’s favorite ride, the Merry-Go-Round.
You will see pictures of all of the different shows. One show, called “Family Reunion” has several of Dolly’s relatives in the production. Ellen is in a picture with a couple of Dolly’s first cousins. The older gentleman with the hat and longer hair is Uncle Bill, the person given credit for getting Dolly started in the music business. The nerdy looking guy with the blue ribbon and the sash performed with three others throughout the day in one of the restaurants. They were pretty entertaining and funny. All of the shows were good, and they alone were worth the price of admission, even if you did nothing else in the park. We did not ride any of the thrill rides, since we did not care to get sick during our stay.
There is a replica of the cabin Dolly grew up in, with her ten siblings. It was interesting and small. It is hard to imagine that many people could survive in that space….talk about not having your own space! There is also a replica of a church that is representative of the ones in Sevierville, TN, the birthplace of Dolly. Dollywood is also the home of one of Dolly’s retired tour busses, which we toured. It is a Provost that cost about 1.5 million to build and modify to her needs. Her new one cost 2.5 million. The bus included a queen-size bed, makeup table, and bathroom for Dolly. Her employees traveling with her, had a separate bathroom and three bunkbeads, stacked one over the other. Of course we thought our motorhome was almost as nice!
Dollywood has an eagle breeding program where they raise the birds and release them into the wild. This is the first time I have seen this many eagles in captivity. They also keep birds that have been injured and would not be able to survive if they were released.
On Sunday Dollywood was very crowded, and we were concerned that Monday, being Memorial Day, might be a problem. It turned out that on Monday a lot of people must have been headed home, since we never had to wait in any lines. The weather was warm but we were able to say in the shade most of the time. We were lucky that Monday was our full day there.
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