The sounds of Tennessee’s crown jewel: Dollywood

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WSMV) - It’s one of our state’s top attractions, and the summer heat isn’t keeping people away from Dollywood.

The park is seeing big numbers during its seasonal summer celebration.

It’s been a while since WSMV has been to Dollywood, so we decided to take the trip and check it out.

We learned quickly that the theme park doesn’t just count on one of your five senses to make you a memory.

“To me, it’s one of the most fun things about Dollywood is those different sounds and smells, just the experience you get,” Ellen Liston, Dollywood’s public relations manager, said.

Whether it’s the sound of a hammer in the blacksmith’s shop or the screams of excitement from one of their rollercoasters - you’re surely going to hear the many sounds - that make you feel like Dolly Parton’s dream has been realized.

We caught up with James Nelson and his nephew Jake, making knives in the blacksmith shop.

“We thought what a neat surprise to him for him to make his own knife. He’s never made one. I’m going to make one next, so I’m just as excited as he is,” James said.

His daughter Abby visited Dollywood from Portland, Oregon.

“The one thing she wanted to do, was to come to Dollywood, all the way from Portland. That’s like on everybody’s bucket list in Portland,” mother Fran Nelson said. “We’ve just had a blast being together.”

Walking through the park, you might hear something you hadn’t heard before.

The shrieks from the bald eagle sanctuary, a flash-mob performance, or a new song from one of several music stages.

“We’re just ourselves. You know Dolly is so unique and such a great inspiration for all of us that work here,” Liston said. “So we just try to be the best that we can be at being Dollywood. And we think it’s probably paying off.”

If you haven’t been to Dollywood in a while, the park has a new drone show, synchronized to music, that lights up the sky at night.

Dollywood also hinted to WSMV that they are in the works of building...something. They wouldn’t say precisely what but suggested it’s going to be big.

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