Why Dolly Parton says her newest Dollywood attraction makes her ‘so emotional’

Dollywood guests have been enjoying the park’s latest attraction for a few months now, but for Dolly Parton, The Dolly Parton Experience is more than just another theme park exhibit.

The Dolly Parton Experience is an expansive interactive museum that celebrates Parton’s life, career and her iconic fashions. Actually walking through the Experience she, for years, had only imagined is a little overwhelming for the Queen of Country.

"You know how they say sometimes that when you start to die, your whole life flashes before you? Well, it about killed me going through there 'cause I got so emotional," Parton revealed in a recent CBS Mornings interview.

Parton, who combed through her personal archives and helped design the project, shared a similar sentiment with Knox News shortly before the museum opened in May.

“It stirs a lot of emotion in me,” she said about reflecting on her life and revisiting those forgotten moments that can't be displayed in a museum, like the fun backstage at a show or behind the scenes of a movie.

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“I've lived it and I've done it, but it just brings back a lot of memories to me,” Parton added.

Watch Dolly Parton talk about the new Dollywood attraction

What is the Dolly Parton Experience?

There are three exhibits that make up The Dolly Parton Experience, each housed in its own building. A major part of the Experience is dedicated to Parton's songwriting, which started at a young age with encouragement from her mother and other family members.

"I take myself more serious as a songwriter than anything else. And if I had to give up every other part of the business, I would choose to be a writer," Parton told CBS Mornings. "Because that's my therapist. My guitar is my friend."

The three Dolly Parton Experience exhibits are:

• Songteller explores Parton’s life in lyrics, tracing her roots from Sevier County to the bus she boarded to Nashville to follow her country music dreams.
• Behind the Seams is a curated selection of Parton’s iconic looks and offers the creative inspiration behind them.
• Precious Memories features the “Heidi Parton’s Kin & Friends” show and has a section dedicated to the importance of faith, friends and family.

Things to learn about Dolly at the Dolly Parton Experience

The interactive museum allows visitors to journey with Dolly from her birthplace in Locust Ridge, Tennessee to the bus she boarded to Nashville to follow her country music dreams and to the stages she performed on around the world.

A few Dolly surprises from the exhibit include just how young she was when she wrote her first song, what she discovered on her first day in Nashville and what two iconic songs she wrote in the same day!

How to explore the Dolly Parton Experience

You can learn and see much more of the Dolly Parton Experience with a visit to Dollywood. General admission tickets to the theme park are $92 for adults and $82 for child and seniors. Guests can freely explore the exhibit once inside the park.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208. 

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