PIGEON FORGE — Rain may have left visitors who turned out for Dollywood’s special sneak peek day Friday a little soggy, but it did nothing to dampen the spirits as Sevier County favorite daughter Dolly Parton kicked off the attraction’s 25th season.

Parton giggled as a shower of silver glitter rained down on her in the park’s Celebrity Theater during a special morning appearance in which she came on stage riding a float shaped like a giant metallic cake.

“I came in on a cake when we celebrated our first anniversary. I cannot believe it has been 25 years since we opened this park,” she said, drawing cheers from a capacity crowd in Dollywood’s largest theater. “When I started this park 25 years ago, my business managers told me it was a bad idea. Obviously, they’re not with me anymore.”

In the two and a half decades since Parton bought into what was previously known as Silver Dollar City, the park and its sister properties here have brought in more than 40 million visitors. Parton said that’s proof she had the right idea when, in a 1982 interview, she proclaimed her intention to get into the theme park business and find a way to help her home in the Smoky Mountains.

“This was a dream of mine from the start,” Parton said. “I always thought, ‘If I ever get big enough, I want to go back and do something for my home.’ I’m so proud of the people of the Smoky Mountains.”

Likewise, Parton declared her pride for what she and the folks at Dollywood have been able to accomplish together in building what has become one of the nation’s premier theme parks. She lauded its selection as the top show park in the world, its landing at the top of the heap for its Smoky Mountain Christmas festival, and its being named one of the top five friendliest and cleanest parks in the nation.

Still, Parton said she still has plenty of big dreams for the next 25 years, a fitting announcement for an anniversary year that carries the theme, “Celebrate the dreamer in you.”

“Twenty-five years is really a long time to be still growing,” she said. “We’re really proud of where we’ve come. We’ve got a lot of dreams still to come in the next 25 years.”

Among those dreams are some short-term and some further into the future, including Parton’s hope the folks from Hallmark’s entertainment division will come down to the park later this year to film a television special as part of the 25th anniversary season.

“Kenny’s (Rogers) going to be a part of that,” Parton said.

Looking down the road, Parton was mostly cryptic, telling the crowd they’d have to wait to find out everything she has planned. However, she did tip her hand on plans to make the park a major destination.

While she said park officials are “proud” of the recently-added Dollywood Vacations program, through which visitors can book special packages that include lodging and tickets to the attraction, Parton apparently has bigger dreams for overnight guests.

“I do still want to do a resort and spa,” she said. “That’s something I’d like to add in the future.”

She gave no more details about that aspiration, though.

As for her investment in her Smoky Mountain home, Parton said she’s pleased of the part the park has played in helping to make Sevier County a destination for millions of visitors each year.

“I’m proud I got to be a part of that,” she said. “We have a lot of talented people and they come up with a lot of great ideas. You never know what will come next.”

Parton, known for her quick wit and quick retorts, joked with one questioner who asked if she’d be getting on Adventure Mountain, the park’s new $5 million challenge course attraction.

“What do you think?” she asked with her characteristic giggle, pointing out she struggled when she took a turn on the course Thursday. “It was hard for me because of all my fingernails and all.”

Parton did make an appearance later in the day, despite light rain and below-average temperatures, at Adventure Mountain. Joking earlier that she was already wearing a corset, she vowed not to get into one of the harnesses for the attraction. Still, she did show off her own harness specially made for her that included a whistle, bug spray, bear repellent and a can of hair spray.

“I’ve also got a canteen full of white lightning one of the shiners up in the holler gave me,” she laughed.

In addition to the Adventure Mountain expansion, the 25th anniversary season brings a number of other new attractions to explore in Dollywood, several of them focused on the park’s history.

Long-time visitors will have the opportunity to remember some of the park’s early days just after it made the switch from Silver Dollar City all the way through modern times in the Hall of Memories. An auxiliary building in the Craftsman’s Valley area has been filled with memorabilia from old ride cars to a collection of trading pins. One display traces the park’s history through 25 years of collectible cups while another includes a photo mosaic of 8,700 pictures of Parton that form her iconic signature.

The park’s Adventures in Imagination area is playing host to a number of the 25th anniversary additions. In Chasing Rainbows, the museum that traces Parton’s career in show business, the costumes the international star has worn over 25 years of visits to Dollywood are featured.

Meanwhile, performers will fill the area between the museum and the Dolly’s Closet shop at 3:30 p.m. each afternoon for the Silver Celebration Street Party. Featuring entertainers known as the Silvertones, the festivities will include music and other activities.

Park officials are awarding special vacation packages that include lodging and park tickets every week for the next 25 weeks. Visitors will also likely notice other changes, like new colors for the Dollywood Express’ steam engines and a bright purple coat on Dolly’s Closet. There have been major changes made to the Showstreet and Friendship Gardens areas, as well as in the Emporium, which visitors pass through as they exit the park.

A new section on the Dollywood Web site (www.dollywood.com) has been added to detail all the 25th anniversary celebrations.

dhodges@themountainpress.com