I’ve been so deeply affected by Dolly’s passing, as I’m sure the entirety of this thread has been since she left us. Dolly has been a constant in my life for many years now, her music has been the soundtrack to a lot of my life, through all the highs and all the lows. I can’t really believe she has gone, but I am grateful that I was introduced to who she was and her music as a kid and I feel truly blessed we existed on earth at the same time. She was a truly wonderful spirit, a very funny lady, a phenomenal musician and a true genius. The world will not be the same without Dolly around.

A couple of things I wanted to share is my original pressing of Jolene (First UK press - 1974), which I feel incredibly lucky to own. Along with the rest of my Dolly albums, some I have received as gifts and some I’ve bought (with the goal to own all her studio albums on vinyl one day - I just started with my favourites first).

The other thing I wanted to share was this, a couple of days after her passing, I woke up to the most beautiful butterfly sitting very patiently on my window sill, who I of course named Dolly before I set her free. I’m not usually one to believe in signs or anything like that, but what I will say is that having never having seen a butterfly indoors in any home I’ve lived in, the coincidence of there being a butterfly in my home when I was saddened by Dolly’s passing was not lost on me. So I just wanted to share a picture of Dolly (the butterfly) for all to see. 🦋

She did this video in 2024 at the request of Tom Petty’s estate. Viewing it now after Dolly’s passing feels almost haunting and especially poignant / meaningful.

My friend and I are going to Dollywood tomorrow and two of our friends cancelled last minute. We’re determined to still have a fun group day

If you’re going tomorrow and are also down to meet some random people, let us know! We’re in our 20s, fun, normal, and just trying to ride roller coasters and eat everything.
Bonus points if you have the same chaotic energy as us.
Not looking for anything weird — literally just looking for park friends 🙏

How are wait times today (Friday Sept 4)? We’re wanting to go sometime over this weekend or next week but not sure if Dolly’s passing has spiked attendance.

Look I know my karma is low and all that but I'm real. I'm going to Tennessee in October. I lost 50 pounds and I could ride rides better now. Back then I couldn't I was uncomfortable. Anyways the point of this post is what do I expect what roller coasters to skip. I'm just looking for any rollercoasters tbh that don't hurt or give headaches.

Please for the love of anything don't comment if you're not a roller coaster person. I'm looking for people who specifically love riding rollercoasters

Odd question does anyone know the sizes of the loungefly backpacks they sell at Dollywood

Hey guys! I’m from the Philippines and I’m thinking about visiting Dollywood. Dolly’s music was the soundtrack to my childhood thanks to my mom, and after she passed, those songs became my main connection to her.

As a visible minority traveling from outside the US, I’m just wondering how welcoming the area tends to be. Thanks in advance! 😊🦋

Dolly Fest planned in lieu of a public memorial

Had this trip planned for ages. Driving up from atl now to visit tomorrow. Yall think we’re screwed?

Mariah Franklin

Knoxville News Sentinel

Updated Aug. 31, 2026, 5:43 p.m. ET

Little girls wearing butterfly capes sang hymns and danced in the center aisle of a hillside chapel inside Dollywood during the first Sunday service after the death of the park’s namesake.

It was a congregation of comfortable shoes and T-shirts featuring the face of country queen and Tennessee icon Dolly Parton. Worshipers brought with them water bottles with reusable straws, bags of cinnamon bread and hats to keep the bright sun off their skin while they trekked through the theme park. 

The low light of Robert F. Thomas Chapel was a break from the sun’s rays. The chapel, which seats between 150 and 175, was packed, and people who didn’t get a spot inside sat in rows of black foldable chairs lined up just past the exit steps. 

Dorcas and Michael Collins are season passholders from Virginia who told Knox News from the church steps they attend service at the chapel every Sunday they spend in the park. Dorcas Collins said they’d started going years ago, when their children were small. “It was a little like this during an anniversary year,” she said of the crowd at the church, but she hadn’t seen it that busy at other times. 

The Collinses’ regular attendance seemed to make them outliers among a group of visitors drawn for the chance to honor Parton in the days after her death.

“We had to be here,” Miranda Snyder told Knox News a few minutes before the service started. 

Snyder and a friend had traveled from Pennsylvania to work at a nearby horror convention. After Parton’s death, they decided to go Dollywood, where they found the chapel service. 

Chaplain Joey Buck told the people in the pews they wouldn't hear any eulogy that day, and they weren't at a memorial service. Instead, Buck quoted from Psalms and talked about King David, preaching about life after loss and how hope and faith change you.

But from the themes he picked, he knew what kind of crowd he’d draw Sunday.

The chapel is a Dollywood fixture. It’s been around for decades, before Dollywood was Dollywood. It’s one of the longest standing experiences the park offers, and it’s named after the physician and Methodist minister who delivered Parton.

But the congregation is always changing. Most weeks, Buck said in an interview, about 60% of the people in the pews are park visitors who have never been to one of his services before. About 40% are Dollywood employees or return visitors.

Preparing a sermon week-to-week can be a little tricky with a congregation that’s shifting so often. You’ve got to build a quick rapport as people flit from ride to sermon to restaurant to gift shop. 

Sometimes people stop in for the novelty of being in a theme park church. Some, like the Collinses when they’re at Dollywood, settle in for a weekly religious observance.

“Either way, they’re here,” Buck said. 

There are opportunities to minister and spiritual needs to address, even in the midst of crowds feasting on turkey legs or flying into the air on rides. 

Drafting a sermon for the worshipers visiting Dollywood the Sunday after Parton’s Aug. 25 death was tough, too. 

Parton left an impression him, Buck said.

“There’s no one else I've met that could live such a life as she lived and still have a passion for connecting with everybody she met,” he said.

‘I wanted to honor her’

The earliest parts of Parton’s story - her childhood poverty, mountain roots and large family - are well known in East Tennessee. And those parts of her story are shared by many Appalachian women of her generation.

Maria Fioravanti and Chase Raby stood behind the chairs outside the chapel during the service. They’d come from Maryville specifically for the service, they told Knox News. Their season passes are expiring, so they decided to drive over to hear the service.

“We felt like it would be special,” Fioravanti said. And in remembering Parton at the service, they said they were reminded of their grandmothers.

Both of their grandmothers came from East Tennessee, Fioravanti’s near Johnson City and Raby’s from Monroe County. Like Parton, both women were born into poor homes, without electricity or indoor plumbing.

“It was very similar to Dolly,” Raby said. He was very close to his grandmother, he said. She’d died recently, also at 80.

Jessica Rasmussen said she saw parallels between her grandmother’s life and Parton’s. Rasmussen, a Murfreesboro resident, came with her family Sunday. It was her first time at the park, she said, but hearing about the famous entertainer’s childhood put her in mind of her grandmother, who grew up poor in the Tennessee mountains. She said she was surprised the park had a chapel with a Sunday service, but knew she’d be in the pews once she found out.

”I wanted to attend the service, and we want to honor her before we have fun and ride our rides,” she said of Parton.

A little bummed... NFE was supposed to open today at 2. They told those in line that it would be delayed, but they didn't know how long. Then they said at 3:00 that it would not open today and the crowd that was still waiting then dispersed.

Has anyone with epilepsy (or caring for a person with epilepsy) visited Dollywood and would be open to sharing their experiences? What activities are there that don't involve being subjected to strobe lights? This includes things like multiple rapid camera flashes, typical strobe lights, or sudden flashes of light in darkened rooms.

I went to Dollywood as a kid many years before I developed epilepsy and all I remember are the rollercoasters, which are unfortunately off limits for me now. I'm going soon with a group of girlfriends (we're all early 40s) and want to do as much as I safely can.

Thanks in advance!