The Dolly Parton Experience (DPE)

The Dolly Parton Experience (DPE) is a multi-building, immersive museum and entertainment attraction at Dollywood Theme Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, that celebrates Dolly Parton’s life, career, and cultural impact. Spanning three exhibit buildings and a themed tour bus, the experience blends museum-grade preservation with theatrical lighting, audio, and video systems to create a story-driven environment. Guests move through archival displays featuring original costumes, instruments, handwritten lyrics, awards, and personal memorabilia from the Dolly Parton Archive, enhanced by programmed lighting and synchronized media that support both narrative and atmosphere. Unlike a traditional museum, DPE operates at the intersection of live entertainment and artifact preservation, maintaining strict conservation standards while delivering a dynamic, immersive guest experience.

DPE Tech

One of four lighting technicians for a multi-building immersive experience, supporting daily operations across three exhibit buildings and a themed tour bus

Operated and maintained lighting systems installed by Bandit Lites and programmed by Quince Imaging, executing daily cues and adjusting tracks/systems as needed
Managed BrightSign video playback systems and troubleshot lighting, control, and moving-light systems to ensure consistent guest experiences
Collaborated with upper management, guest-facing hosts, and technical teams while maintaining safe, organized workspaces in active public environments

Songteller

The Songteller building is part of The Dolly Parton Experience, featuring immersive exhibits that celebrate Dolly Parton’s life, music, and philanthropy. Guests explore memorabilia, audiovisual storytelling, and interactive displays that highlight her journey from her Smoky Mountain roots to a global icon. Photos from Dollywood.com

The Coat of Many Colors is housed in Songteller in a humidity-controlled display case with a trigger button that lights the jacket and plays "Coat of Many Colors"

"Road to Nashville" is a walkthrough portion in Songteller that goes into detail about how Dolly got her big break

"Music Icon" is a multi-projection and lighting element that played a few of Dolly's iconic songs and performances

"Together You and I" is a passthrough while some of Dolly's most treasured collaborations. These are acrylic panes with LED Strips encased behind the panes

Museum & Artifact Operations

Performed opening and closing procedures, including securing buildings and arming security and alarm systems
Worked directly with Dollywood security, Dollywood entertainment management, and The Dolly Parton Archive to unlock exhibit cases during artifact rotations and installations
Worked and maintained Preservatech Micro Climate Preservation systems to ensure proper environmental conditions and safe handling of archival materials
Assisted in maintaining preservation standards for historically significant artifacts within a public museum setting

Media Experience — 360° Projection Room
This 360° projection room used advanced projectors and projection mapping to create an immersive environment, bringing video content to life and surrounding visitors with dynamic storytelling. Installed and managed by Quince Imaging’s team, it utilized Christie M 4K25 RGB projectors and Watchout software, with videos triggered by the host. Our role was to maintain all systems, ensure projectors settled properly, and guarantee that audio and visuals played seamlessly every time.

Photos from Quineimaging.com

Photo from Parade.com

Shine a Light

The Book Counter in The Dolly Parton Experience showcased the total number of books donated through Dolly’s Imagination Library. Updated daily with the latest figures, it provided visitors with a real-time visual representation of the program’s impact and reach.

Behind the Seems

The Behind The Seems area of the Dolly Parton Experience focused on apparel and beauty, showcasing Dolly’s wigs, shoes, and collaborations with makeup and perfume. Responsibilities included maintaining the preservatech systems for artifacts, interactive magnet board for children, monitoring and adjusting three simultaneous videos for volume and playback, and ensuring all lighting elements, including a photo-op vanity, were functioning properly throughout the space.

Photo from Coaster101.com

Precious Memories

Precious Memories, located in the Dream Song Theater lobby, was a 13-TV installation that displayed a single video across multiple screens designed to look like picture frames, telling the story of Dolly Parton’s life. The frames were mapped using BrightSign technology, and our responsibilities included ensuring the digital frames stayed properly aligned on each TV and that all screens were correctly mapped to provide a seamless, continuous video experience throughout its duration.

Project Disclaimer: Per Dollywood Parks & Resorts guidelines, behind-the-scenes images and technical documentation related to this experience are not permitted for public release.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse