Class #209 - Tribute to Dolly Parton with Allen Babiarz-Lira

Well, you know, I, my, my love in life, as you know, as your listeners may know if they've heard my previous episodes, is just theme parks in general, whether it be Walt Disney World, Universal, Dollywood, whatever it is.

I love going to experience the theming, the narrative, and the s- the storytelling that that theme park does, right? And I have two different perspectives of Dollywood from this.

Um, one, it wa- my first time, I grew up in the Midwest.

I grew up right outside Chicago, and my first time down to Dollywood was my eighth grade graduation trip.

So I was 13, and it was a different life and perspective back then, obviously, than being a 42-year-old person now.

Um, but when we moved down here to Tennessee a few years ago, I got to experience it all over again as an adult.

Um, I remembered the basics, obviously.

Um, but it was almost a brand-new experience coming, you know, 20 years later, 20, 20, 25 years later.

And the thing that I got out of that which makes so much sense is Dolly's storytelling, right?

Mm-hmm.

It is a beautiful tale through that theme park.

Each specific area is themed and narrated, I would say, at almost, like, a Universal/Disney level.

Mm-hmm.

Um, that, that much attention to detail.

Um, the decorations where you- you've got the b- the big butterfly behind you, which is one of the big buildings in the park.

Um, the, the detail in that butterfly, just the, the shimmering as you walk up to it is incredible.

And you get not only a sense of fun and fairy tale and narrative through there, but it's sprinkled with Dolly through- throughout the whole thing, right? [laughs] Um, we get to see her tour bus.

We get to see her costumes, her wigs, everything growing up that, you know, there's a lot of things that she had.

Um, and one of the things that I think is really cool that she had announced previously, you mentioned on Jimmy Fallon.

She'd done The Jimmy Fallon Show many times.

But within the Dollyar- Dollywood resort, there is her final, uh, song that's going to be released-

Mm-hmm

... locked away, um, to be released on her 100th birthday.

Um, so I thought that was a really kinda neat thing that she gave her fans to experience.

Let's see if the technology works in-