Dolly Parton announces $37 million Dollywood expansion

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WLOS) — Dollywood officials on Friday announced the largest expansion in the park’s history … Dolly Parton on hand to get the word out about Wildwood Grove.

The 11 new attractions were inspired by her upbringing in eastern Tennessee.

“I remember when I was a kid, I used to pretend that I had frogs and butterflies as my friends,” she said.

Rides and experiences like The Dragonflier, a suspended roller coaster, all relate to nature and will be family-friendly. Aboard the Sycamore Swing, guests on a leaf boat will swing back and forth like a leaf falling from a sycamore tree. There will be a Treetop Tower, too, where riders will sit in giant acorns and drift to the grove floor.

Everything is designed to be family-friendly.

“Every year, we always add something new and different or try to. And some years, we really do something big. And, like you said, this is the biggest thing we’ve done since we actually started,” Parton said.

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