Dolly unveiled Jukebox Junction, a new seven-acre section of Dollywood featuring a blast from the past. This $6 million 1950s themed area included the 1,000-seat Pines Theater, Red’s Diner and the Rockin’ Roadway. The Rockin’ Roadway is a ride featuring classic replica cars.
Entertainment included "Let the Good Times Roll," a tribute to rock 'n' roll. Jukebox Junction also included a variety of merchandise locations offering classic memorabilia and nostalgic items that completed the area.
"Heartsong," a film narrated by Dolly, debuted in the Heartsong Theatre, in 1994. It conveys Dolly’s fond memories and feelings for the Smoky Mountains. The film features the powerful story of her original song, "Heartsong." It was filmed in the park and at Dolly’s childhood home in East Tennessee. Dolly was so impressed with the finished theatre, that she said,
“I knew we would create an entertaining experience for the guests at Dollywood, but never guessed we would create such emotion.”
The Heartsong Theatre experience is a production of Jack Rouse Associates. It incorporates 70 mm film and specially created animation. The audience is wowed by a unique outdoor sensory experiences through the theatrical lighting and special effects, including the new, "nature round" sound.
No summer is complete without going to the fair and that’s why Dolly created the Country Fair at Dollywood. The Country Fair area opened, adding a new feature to Dollywood's skyline, the 60-foot Wonder Wheel ferris wheel. Dolly wanted every child to be as excited about the Country Fair at Dollywood as she was about the county fair when she was young.
“As a little girl, I couldn't wait for the county fair to come to town every year. Everybody got excited about the rides on the midway. I called on those memories when I created the Country Fair area.”
Other popular modern-day midway rides were added, including the Tennessee Twister (also known as the Tilt-a-Whirl) and Twist and Shout (also known as the Scrambler). Nostalgia-themed additions included old-time games and a variety of "blue ribbon" foods to complete the fair experience.
When Dollywood asked Dolly to create her perfect street, it included a glamorous theatre, shopping options, a garden and restaurants. It was only natural that from that dream came a colorful promenade shaping into Showstreet, the new front door to Dollywood. Dolly said,
“As long as I can remember, I wanted to be a big star like all the big names in Hollywood on the big screen. I loved all the glitz and glamour, and that was my inspiration for Showstreet.”
Showstreet is complete with the Showstreet Palace Theatre, where dreams like Dolly’s can be realized by everyone who visits.
Dollywood’s seventh season opened with a seven-acre expansion. The expansion included the 1,000-seat Showstreet Palace Theatre featuring the new show, Fire on the Mountain. It also introduced WDLY, a fully functional radio station. Friendship Gardens and Starwalk, a gardenscape area featuring more than 35,000 flowers and plants was also added. Finally, a full production bakery plus a variety of entertainment, food, attractions and merchandise completed the new addition.
The program launched in 1991 as an effort to decrease the dropout rate in Sevier County. In the early 1990s, there was a dropout problem in Sevier County schools. Over 30% of all students never graduated a decision which not only crippled their own lives but made it increasingly difficult for Sevier County to prosper.
Research conducted by The Dollywood Foundation identified seventh and eighth grades as the two key years when children made conscious decisions about finishing school. The Dollywood Foundation started exploring ways to address this problem. After a few months of discussion, Dolly proposed the Buddy Program.
In 1991, seventh and eighth grade students were invited to a special assembly in the newly built Dolly Parton Celebrity Theatre at Dollywood. A very special guest would lead the assembly, none other than Dolly Parton herself. Dolly told the students that day she wanted each of them to choose a Buddy and if they didn’t have a Buddy she would find one for them. She went on make a very special announcement: she offered to personally give $500 to each and every student in the seventh and eighth grades if they graduated from high school. However, there was one additional requirement: each student’s Buddy must graduate as well and they had to sign a contract to pledge to do everything they could to make sure both graduated.
The program was a great success and ultimately the dropout rate for those classes plummeted to 6%. More importantly, it served as a catalyst for the community to rally around a number of initiatives to keep children in school. These children are now the new generation of leaders in Sevier County and all proudly recall that special moment when they graduated from high school and Dolly Parton handed them a check for $500!
