How much of Dollywood does Dolly really own?
I think she owns halfsies. ???
To the best of my knowledge, it is HFC owned...Dolly has invested her own cash and has a stake in it all, but really is "the face of the brand." We would have to get a "citizen" to chime in about this, probably.
I thought it was HFEC as well... and she was simply the publicity
Don't forget the Dixie Stampede as well! She has her foot in many doors. :)
I'm not sure who actually owns the park's assets, but it is run as a dual partnership between HFEC and the Dollywood Company. The Dollywood Company represents Dolly's interests in all of her attractions.
Dolly herself probably doesn't actually own any actual piece of the park, and her involvement on the park is purely to support her own brand recognition as well as publicity for the park. I don't even know if she owns all of the Dollywood Company, as it is apparently a subsidiary of HFEC as well.
Whoever owns Dollywood they are doing a great job growing the park. It is really amazing what they are doing down there. They make very good use of Dolly and her popularity. The new Wild Eagle ride looks like it is going to be great. You do see it on the skyline but I don't think it ruins the landscape. They are promoting the heck out of it everywhere you turn. If you buy the Wild Eagle mug right now you get 99 cent refills the rest of this year and all of next year. On a side note, my kids loved the Adventure Mountain attraction at Dollywood. It's all they talked about. I must admit, it even surprised me. There are three different courses with so many options in each course. Everyone (all ages) seemed to be enjoying it and it handled a lot of guests. After witnessing it firsthand, I am not so much opposed anymore of one coming to SDC.