Theme Parks Facts

Dolly Parton was one of twelve kids in a dirt-poor family in Sevier County, Tennessee. In 1986 she partnered with a local theme park and renamed it Dollywood, saying she wanted to bring jobs home. It grew into one of the county's largest employers, with thousands of workers and 4 million visitors a year. She died on August 25, 2026, at 80. Dollywood opened the next morning anyway, just like she wanted.

Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle has a real, working drawbridge over its moat, and it has come down for a crowd only twice. The first was opening day in 1955, when children ran across it live on TV, and the second was in 1983, when a rebuilt Fantasyland opened. In 2025, Disney Imagineers had it tested, and it still works. Millions of guests walk across it every year.