Parents With Special-Needs Children Will Rejoice Over Dollywood's New Upgrade

With lines, crowds, and an abundance of activities, theme parks can quickly become overwhelming for anyone. But for special-needs children, kids with autism in particular, visiting an amusement park is an especially intense experience. Some parents of special-needs children are unable to take their child at all.

As a response to the sensory overload, Dolly Parton's theme park, Dollywood, just installed the first "calming room" to its list of attractions. The room is designed to alleviate the stress of being inundated with stimulation and replicates therapy offices. Although the calming room at Dollywood is the first to be installed at a theme park, other parks like Legoland have taken note and begun the process of building their own. It's a truly great idea – to be honest, a calming room sounds necessary for everyone.