Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede
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Dixie Stampede is a dinner theater with four locations in the Southern United States. Dixie Stampede is owned by Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation.
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[edit] Locations
The first location opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 1988, just outside the entrance to Parton's theme park, Dollywood. Today, it is a dinner and show with locations in four Southern cities: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (1988); Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (1993); Branson, Missouri (1995); and Orlando, Florida (2003).
[edit] The show
One hour prior to the main dinner and show, guests are seated in a "Carriage Room" where there is an opening act. Each location has a different opening act; in TN there is a live band, Wild Oats playing bluegrass and country music, while in Orlando, an sports juggler entertains with stunts and comedy.
At show time, all guests are escorted into the arena, where the Dixie Stampede dinner and show begins. Although the attraction bears her name, Parton doesn't appear in person.
The performance is essentially a modern-day Wild West revue, pitting sections of the audience against each other in a good-natured way as "the South" and "the North" battle to win various horse riding competitions.
Each location features a show with 32 horses, dozens of cast members, live buffalo, ostrich races, and seating for 1,000 around a 35,000 square-foot arena at each facility. There are Quarter Horses and Palomino breeds plus Appaloosa and Paint breeds.
After the show, everyone exits through a souvenir shop to find the characters of the show on hand to have their picture taken with the guests. Outside the complex is the Horse Walk, where visitors can also meet the animal stars of the show, as well as their keepers.
[edit] Food
The meal, which is made fresh daily and baked on property, consists of a creamy vegetable soup appetizer, a whole rotisserie chicken entree with hickory-smoked barbeque pork, an herb-basted potato, fresh buttery corn on the cob, homemade biscuit, and an apple turnover for dessert. Snacks such as popcorn, peanuts and non-alcoholic drinks are available during the performance.
All of the meal except the soup is served without dining utensils, although these are available on request, with the exception of the Orlando location. Vegetarian meals, which substitute the two meat items with a vegetable lasagna and a mixed fruit bowl, are available upon request.
