#Good golly plus

#Good golly plus

A nonstop flight from O’Hare to Tyson McGhee Airport near Knoxville clocks in under two hours, plus an additional hour of driving time.Ĭolin Taylor, 41, a grant writer from Oak Park, and his wife and two sons, then ages 6 and 9, drove to the Smoky Mountains and Dollywood for spring break last year. Making no stops, it’s about a nine-hour drive from Chicago to Pigeon Forge. Getting to Dollywood and the greater Smoky Mountain region requires a bit of a concerted effort.

Parton herself and experienced the area through a Midwestern lens. So, what is so magical about Dollywood? I ordered some rhinestone fringe jeans, took a trip to speak with Ms. For 2021, the National Park Service reported the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had over 14.1 million visitors, making it the most-visited national park in the country. The park also takes into consideration the number of visitors to the Smoky Mountain region, which saw an estimated 700,000 tourists from the Chicago region in 2022, according to park data. 1 theme park in the country and eighth-best in the world in 2022 by TripAdvisor. The 165-acre theme park was voted the No. And it’s not just Chicago according to park data, total visits have grown 76% in the past five years. When it’s time to take a break from working 9 to 5, thousands of Chicagoland residents are packing up and heading south to Dollywood.Īpproximately 33,600 people across northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana visited the park last year - over four times the Chicagoland visitors from just three years prior. Shattuck is far from the only northern Illinoisan with plans to visit the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, park. “I just want to experience it, and take it in, and go with an open mind,” she said.ĭolly Parton treats guests to a musical number at her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, on March 10, 2023. Now 33, Shattuck is headed to Dollywood for the first time in July with her wife and their daughter - her ticket was a Christmas gift that ties into a family reunion. I had no personal experience with resort theme park areas like this - it just kind of seemed like this cloud-in-the-sky, magical place.” “I remember learning about Dollywood pretty early on. “They wouldn’t really bring back paid souvenirs I think this was just their way of sharing the experience,” said Shattuck, now a McHenry County resident. When she saw one for Dollywood - an entire world dedicated to the glamorous country singer whose records her mother devotedly played at home - the destination became one of her most coveted travel dreams. When Grandma Nadine returned from her senior group trips with handfuls of exotic brochures, Shattuck only needed to read a trifold pamphlet to transport around the world. The medium-sized city sat as an island amid a sea of stalks that changed from green to gold as the familiar frost began to set in. Growing up in DeKalb, Josie Shattuck was surrounded by the unending flatlands of corn country.