PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. – Country music legend Dolly Parton and her Dollywood company are moving full speed ahead with ambitious expansion plans.
The second Dollywood resort is currently in the works, with plans for a third, fourth, and fifth already underway. It is all part of $500 million plan to become a desired destination for family vacations.
As reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Parton told USA Today Network that the new resorts would continue to pay homage to her life and career.
“There is always some new dream that pops up, some new dream that’s going on. (Things like,) we have to have a bigger waterpark, we have to have an indoor waterpark, we have to have this or that. So, you’re always thinking like that. I just hope it always continues to go and grow through the years, long after I’m gone,” Parton said in the interview.
As reported by the News-Sentinel, Dollywood is already a powerful player in the world of hospitality. DreamMore Resort & Spa in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., has had more reservations this year than 2019—the resort’s previous record year.
Dollywood’s second resort, HeartSong, scheduled to open in fall 2023, will feature more than 600 rooms, a 26,000-square-foot convention space, restaurant, and a grab-and-go food spot.
Dollywood president Eugene McNaughton says HeartSong will give the company the “ability to reach our goal of becoming the best family destination in the United States.”
Of course, Parton herself is heavily involved in the planning of HeartSong, and she says it will have more of an “outdoor” feel than DreamMore.
