Dollywood theme park

​The park opened in early 1961 as a small tourist attraction owned by the Robbins brothers from Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Named "Rebel Railroad," it included a steam train, general store, blacksmith shop, and saloon. With a theme inspired by the centennial anniversary of the Civil War, the train ride let visitors experience "attacks" by Union soldiers, train robbers, and Indians. The train and its riders were protected by Confederates who fought off the attacks. The park was modeled after the Robbins brothers' first successful theme park, Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock.

​Big Bear Mountain is a steel roller coaster located at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Manufactured by Vekoma, the roller coaster is the longest in the park at a length of 3,990 feet. The roller coaster is themed on finding a bear named Big Bear.

​Lightning Rod is a steel roller coaster located at Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, the ride is themed to hot rod cars from the 1950s and opened to the public on June 13, 2016.

​FireChaser Express is a steel family launched roller coaster at the Dollywood amusement park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The ride's revealing was part of a large announcement made on August 21, 2013. The roller coaster opened on March 22, 2014.

​Wild Eagle is a steel Wing Coaster built by Bolliger & Mabillard at the Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It is the first of its kind in the United States and opened to the media on March 23, 2012 before opening to the public on March 24, 2012.

​The Tennessee Tornado is a roller coaster at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States. It debuted April 17, 1999, and was Dollywood's first major coaster expansion as well as one of Arrow Dynamics' last major coasters.

​Dragonflier is a Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The coaster debuted in 2019 as part of the $37 million, 5.5-acre Wildwood Grove park area, which was targeted at families and children.

​Dolly Rebecca Parton was born into a large family, the fourth of twelve children, on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee. She came from deep in Appalachia, where music was an integral part of life for those who, like the Partons, struggled to make a hard living.

​Born: 19 January 1946 (age 77 years)

​Thunderhead is a wooden roller coaster located at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the ride opened on April 3, 2004, as the anchor attraction of a new section added to the park that season called Thunderhead Gap