The Dollywood Company
Parton invested much of her earnings into business ventures in her native East Tennessee, notably Pigeon Forge. She is a co-owner of The Dollywood Company, which operates the theme park Dollywood (a former Silver Dollar City), a dinner theatre, Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, and the waterpark Dollywood's Splash Country, all in Pigeon Forge.
Dollywood is ranked as the 24th-most-popular theme park in the U.S., with about three million visitors annually. The area is a thriving tourist attraction, drawing visitors from large parts of the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. This region, like most areas of Appalachia, had suffered economically for decades; Parton's business investment has helped revitalize the area.
The Dixie Stampede business also has venues in Branson, Missouri, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A former Dixie Stampede location in Orlando, Florida closed in January 2008 after the business's land and building were sold to a developer. Starting in June 2011, the Myrtle beach location became Pirates Voyage Fun, Feast & Adventure; Parton appeared for the opening, and the South Carolina General Assembly declared June 3, 2011, Dolly Parton Day.
On January 19, 2012, Parton's 66th birthday, Gaylord Opryland along with Dolly Parton and her Dollywood Co. announced plans to open a $50 million water and snow park, a fun and family-friendly travel destination that's open each month of the year in Nashville, Tennessee.
Read more about this topic: Dolly Parton, Businesses
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