Dolly Parton Won’t Ride Her Own Theme Park Rides: “I Don’t Want My Hair To Fly Off”

Dolly Parton has an amusing reason for why she won’t ride the rides at Dollywood – the theme park she founded in Gatlinburg, Tennessee within the Smoky Mountains in 1986.

The theme park has over 50 world-class rides, many suited for thrill seekers, including Barnstormer, Daredevil Falls, Dragon Flier, Great Tree Swing, Drop Line, Dizzy Disk and the new Big Bear Mountain.

Parton told Bang Showbiz NZ at the unveiling of the rollercoaster, "Well does that look like fun or not? I think that is really gonna be something really great. Now you all know as well as you know my name that I am not gonna be riding that thing! Because I don't ride the rides, I don't want my hair to fly off right on national television or something! But I know that all of you will be fighting to get on it and I'll be standing watching you get in line!"

She additionally tackled the question back in 2019, telling the New York Times, “With all my hair I got so much to lose, like my wig or my shoes. I don’t like to get messed up. I’m gonna have some handsome man mess it up, I don’t want some ride doing it.”

Take a virtual ride on Big Bear Mountain, the longest rollercoaster at Dollywood, here.

Other plans for the upcoming seasons of Dollywood include a reconstruction of her Tennessee Mountain Home – where guests can learn about her childhood a rural area of the South as one of 12 children – as well the Dreamsong Theater, which will display entertainment based on Parton’s personal faith and love of music as well as the Wardrobe Experience, which will exhibit costumes from her decades-long career.

"I wanted to make sure that you were having some new experience in 2024,” she said. “I just wanted to personally take a minute to thank all of you. I'm so thankful to God and to you for allowing me to see my little Smoky Mountain dreams come true. I always used to dream about that. God has been good to be and so all have you. Sincerely, with all of my heart – thank you for everything!"

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