Dolly Parton might be the queen of country, but she’s never been afraid to poke fun at herself.
As Southern Living‘s January/February cover star, the 78-year-old icon is celebrating nearly 40 years of Dollywood — and TODAY marked the special occasion with a throwback to 1986, when the theme park first opened its gates.
In a clip shared by the outlet on Wednesday, January 8, Parton was asked what it was like to see her name and face everywhere. Without skipping a beat, she quipped, “Well, I’m getting a little sick of it,” before adding, “But all week I’ve felt sorta like Alice in Wonderland. There’s a little area up here where I used to live, called Boogertown, so I guess I sorta feel like Alice in Boogertown.”
Dollywood might be a big business now, but for the “Jolene” songstress, it’s always been personal. In a 2016 interview with USA Today, she revealed, “Many years ago, I used to think that if I became famous, I’d love to come back to my home area and build something. I knew the National Park would always draw a bunch of tourists.”
She continued, “But more than that, I knew it would be something wonderful for my people. You know how they talk about honoring your mother and father? I wanted to bring honor to my family. I wanted to have something with my name — my dad’s name — tagged to it.”
Four decades later, Dollywood has become a beloved family destination with over 50 rides and attractions across 165 acres. But what makes the park special, according to Parton, is its connection to the Smoky Mountains and the community.
“The Smokies — and the wonderful people who work here — are what make Dollywood so different than many of the other theme parks around the world,” she told People last January. “We take what God gave us and use it to dream up the big dreams we want our guests to experience.”
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