DOLLYWOOD TURNS 35

Dollywood celebrated a milestone yesterday…as they marked their 35th anniversary. Dollywood originally opened on May 3, 1986 at the site of the former Silver Dollar City. It’s hard to believe but there were concerns back then of whether the park would survive. But today Dollywood is the largest ticketed attraction in the state of Tennessee, and has had a positive impact on the area…including here in Cocke County. In fact, a study at the University of Tennessee found the direct and indirect economic impact of Dollywood annually is more than $1.8 billion. It found the park helped create more than 23,000 jobs for the region….Dollywood employs 4,000 people at the time…many are Cocke County residents. Dollywood is estimated to bring at least 3 million people to east Tennessee every year. So, Happy 35th to Dollywood.