Dolly Parton is a country music icon. However, her fame doesn’t stop with the world of country or music, for that matter. Over the years, she’s branched out into fashion, perfumes, pet clothing, and so much more. Many other big names in the genre open bars in Nashville. Parton, on the other hand, opted for a theme park in the Great Smoky Mountains near her childhood home.
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For families who are looking for a good time in a down-home environment, there’s no place like Dollywood. At the same time, Parton has a large family. As a result, some might think that she would shut the park down for the occasional family reunion. However, that’s not the case. The “I Will Always Love You” singer discussed this on a recent episode of Taste of Country Nights.
During the show, host Evan Paul asked Parton if she and her husband, Carl, ever shut the park down so they could have it to themselves.
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“No, but I’ve often thought I’d like to do that for my whole family,” Parton said. “Just for my family, for my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and the grandkids and all.” However, she said that’s just not something she can do.
“That’s a really hard thing to do, because people buy their season tickets, and people come and they go. It’s just hard,” she explained. “We’d probably have to do it after hours, and that’d be too late to have any fun.”
Luckily for the Parton family, she can give them the next best thing. “I guess we’ll just all go as we go and have our free passes and have those, whatever you call them, the tickets where you can jump lines, sorta.”
At the same time, Parton says she’s not a fan of cutting in line, even at her park. Instead, she said if she was visiting Dollywood, she’d be glad to stand in line just like everyone else. However, she won’t ride any of the rides. As a result, the lines are largely a non-issue for the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.
Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images for ABA
