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Dolly Parton Launches Record-Breaking Wooden Roller Coaster At Dollywood, But She Won’t Be Riding It Herself

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 19:52 PST, Apr 19, 2016

Dolly Parton, country music legend and actress, recently sang her hit “Jolene” alongside Katy Perry at the ACM Awards, according to USA Today.

Katy Perry paid tribute to Dolly Parton at the Academy of Country Music Awards, wearing full country gal gear with the “9 to 5” singer during the performance. Similarities were drawn and observed by Perry between her and Parton because they’re both known for having the biggest songs in their field.

According to WSAZ, Dolly Parton is going to be performing in Charleston this summer.

She will be performing on Tuesday, June 7, at the Charleston Civic Center. With 25 songs in her discography to hit the number one spot on the Billboard Country charts, Parton also has seven Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards, five Academy of Country Music Awards, and three American Music Awards all to her name, and she also immortalized herself as one of the only seven female artists to take home the award for Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year.

Singing isn’t the only thing in Dolly Parton’s resume of accomplishments because at 70 years of age she is the proud owner of Dollywood, an amusement park. According to USA Today, the park is opening a new ride called “Lightning Rod,” and it will be the world’s fastest wooden coaster, meaning that will rely upon electromagnetic propulsion, as opposed to the classic traditional chain lift that the majority of other roller coasters rely on, and it also makes history as the world’s only launched wooden coaster. Even though it’s a roller coaster in her very own theme park, Dolly Parton fans shouldn’t expect to see the “To Know Him Is To Love Him” singer riding it anytime soon; she’s actually afraid of roller coasters and other theme park rides.

Dolly Parton spoke on where her fear for roller coasters came from.

“I was never more scared than I was at Disneyland. I had a little niece who wanted to ride Space Mountain. She was crying her eyes out. I didn’t want to ride, but I did it for her. I almost threw her out! I was so scared, I couldn’t even hold on to her. I thought, ‘Oh Lord, if you just let me make it through this, I’ll never get on another coaster.”

When asked if she would be willing to try the new Lightning Rod roller coaster, Parton joked that there are many things she’d prefer to do rather than being scared half to death on a roller coaster.

The park recently opened the Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort, which boasts 300 rooms.

Dolly Parton spoke on the addition of a resort to the theme park.

“Yes, I wanted a hotel from the time we started. Two or three different times, we’ve tried to build this resort. When we had the big recession, we had to pull back. But in the last couple of years, everything fell right into place. I always pray that God will direct me, so that was a prayer answered.”

She also spoke on the parts of Dollywood she’s proudest of.

“Well, the whole thing. I’ve got it finally. It really makes Dollywood a vacation destination. People are loving it. They can come to the park and not have to go anywhere. The rooms are great and are tailor-made for families. We have so many fun things scheduled [at the hotel], it is an attraction in itself.”

Dolly Parton prides herself on creating Dollywood as a reflection of herself, saying that the park has a little bit of her in every aspect of it. She drew the example of butterflies, which feature as a prominent motif throughout Dollywood. As a child, Parton loved butterflies and saw them as her personal symbol.

[Photo by David Becker/Getty Images]

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