Different Americas like different theme parks?

Some Disney experts visit Dollywood. It's interesting to read between the lines

I am not a theme park guy. Period.

OK, if someone built a theme park around acoustic guitars and BBQ, I might go. I admit that I do have trouble with the whole Disney empire thing.

But here is the Big Idea for this little video think piece: I am old enough to remember when the cultural LEFT considered the Kingdom of Mouse a blight on the whole world, just another way for rich Americans to crush the beauty and stories of other cultures in order to sell schlock. You know, that evil thing called colonization.

These days, of course, it’s the RIGHT that’s mad at Disney. Why? Because they see it as a giant machine intent on crushing the values of Middle America, in part by soaking the Sexual Revolution and gender-studies DNA into everything pushed on Disney platforms.

It’s amazing the degree to which these two viewpoints can be merged into this basic idea: Disney sells Disney, while Disney evolves to fit the viewpoints of its artists.

Now, I am making this weekend piece open to all because I really want feedback, especially from people who either enjoy theme parks or used to enjoy theme parks.

The video at the top of this post is only 20 minutes long. There is no need to watch all of it to get the Big Idea.

In this video, the team from a YouTube operation called The Disney Food Blog Guide decided to visit East Tennessee to check out Dollywood, the theme-park built by the unelected queen of this region — Dolly Parton.

Now, I am not here to sell Dollywood. I have never been, but do plan to pay a visit (it’s near a really fine guitar store). I went to Disney World once. That was enough.

I am not here to sell Parton as some kind of Bible Belt angel. She’s a brilliant businesswoman (one of the most important in pop-culture history) and perhaps the most underrated American songwriter of the past 50 years. And after conquering pop music, she turned around and assembled a squad of killer bluegrass musicians to make a trilogy of stunning old-school CDs proving that she truly knows what’s what in mountain culture. Start with this: “The Grass Is Blue.” And if you have never heard her bluegrass-gospel take on “Stairway to Heaven,” click here. It’s on “Horns and Halos,” another disc in that bluegrass set.

Parton also, of course, built Dollywood as a monument to her love of the Smoky Mountains. It also salutes the family — 12 children, all born before her mother was 35 — led by Robert Lee Parton, an illiterate sharecropper and farmer that Dolly insists was one of the smartest people she has ever known. Dolly was kid No. 4.

So, what is the Big Idea of that video up there?

That’s what I want to hear from readers.

I will, however, share mine — since it is based on my own thinking about the video, more than the facts and opinions from the DFB Guide team.

Dollywood is a sweet, way-too-perfect version of a real culture. There’s more to it than Dolly glamour, for sure. But it’s a theme park.

Disney World is a sweet, over-the-top salute to the power of pop culture and the images and stories that millions of parents think they need to buy their children, often instead of taking the time to read them the real stories. And it’s a theme park.

I admit that I am prejudiced against Disney theme parks because it’s all about buying the images on glowing screens. And people fly from all over the world to purchase their children a few days in that pretend world built on TV, movies and now a streaming-cable platform. I have been known to say this: The fact that Disney World, in the sweat and swamps of central Florida, is the world’s top vacation destination is evidence that the Devil is real. When I say that, I am talking about role that millions of parents have allowed glowing screens to play in the lives of their children.

Let’s keep the politics of Disney out of this discussion.

Just watch the video and tell me what you think the Disney experts saw at Dollywood and, this is important, who is the intended audience for this park. There’s lots of talk about money and values, of various kinds. Look for clues there.

And what about Disney? If you have been to one of those parks, maybe multiple times, let me know. Feel free to call me judgemental, because I admit that I am on this topic.

By the way, I asked the Grok platform to tell me how Disney parks are doing, these days, in terms of economics. The bottom line: Attendance is down, a bit, but higher ticket costs are keeping the profits up.

Disney’s critics have their doubts about that. Grok said this:

Affordability and demographics: Rapid price increases are said to price out middle-class families, shifting the guest mix toward higher-income “Disney adults” or wealthier travelers. Some analyses note average daily attendance calculations (factoring open days and parties) can look softer even if raw annual totals edge up slightly. …

Official attendance figures have been mostly flat to modestly mixed in recent years (slight gains in some periods, slight declines in others), while guest spending and profits have risen; conservative critics emphasize anecdotal low-crowd reports, price effects, and cultural/political backlash, creating a narrative gap with company-reported stats covered by mainstream outlets.

Finally, there is this cluster of facts on the ground:

Disney does not release precise daily gate counts publicly. Aggregate annual or quarterly figures can mask seasonal patterns, capacity management, after-hours events, or shifts in visitor mix. Proxies used by fans and planners (posted wait times, crowd calendars from sites like TouringPlans) have frequently shown lower-than-expected crowds—especially in traditional peak periods like summer — leading to widespread “empty park” photos and videos even when annual totals hold steady. Revenue and profits have been more consistently positive because Disney has leaned into higher pricing (dynamic tickets, Lightning Lane/paid skip-the-line options, premium experiences) and attracted higher-spending guests. This can produce similar or slightly lower volume with better margins — the company has described domestic parks as operating near capacity in a deliberate strategy favoring yield over pure volume growth until expansions come online.

Dollywood? Well, as theme parks go, it’s a rather small franchise. But it’s making lots of money. Grok put it this way:

While many larger or chain-operated parks have seen flatter or softer attendance amid higher prices and competition, Dollywood has posted growth and records in recent years. Its combination of Dolly Parton’s brand strength, Appalachian/Smoky Mountains theming, family focus, live entertainment, and continual new attractions has sustained demand. Leadership has expressed ambitions to position it as a stronger national (or even international) destination.

OK, now it’s time to write a few words in a comment. What is the Big Idea in the video? What did YOU see and hear?