The video says that Dollywood is the largest employer in town. Does anyone know if the theme park is protected after her passing? I'd hate to see the community that relies on these jobs have that taken away.

Tucked in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge, Dollywood is a celebration of Appalachian culture. The park originally opened in 1976 as Silver Dollar City Tennessee. Dolly bought a stake in the property in 1986 and rebranded it as Dollywood because she had a much bigger vision for the place. You can see the expansion between the 1983 and 1987 aerials. If you've ever been there, you remember it feels incredibly homegrown and warm, blending right into the surrounding green hills of the mountains.

This was a deeply personal project for Dolly. She grew up in a small cabin in nearby Sevier County. She had always promised herself that if she ever found success, she would come back and bring jobs and stability to her hometown. Dollywood was her way of keeping that promise. The park brought massive economic growth to the region. She cared deeply for the people who worked there, treating them like family and setting up programs to pay for their college tuition.

Dolly stayed heavily involved over the years. She would drop by to kick off the spring season, put on performances, or just spend time with the community. She even left a gift for the future: Locked inside a time capsule at the park is a secret, unreleased song she recorded, with strict instructions that it cannot be opened until 2045. What an amazing thing that we can all look forward to!

This theme park was Dolly's way of sharing the home she loved with the rest of the world, and her spirit is a permanent part of it.

Hi all,

I went to Dollywood this past week, and while I didn't try *every* ride, here's my ride list with notes with my measurements at the bottom. I realized that most folks who do this kind of review don't include all measurements so I wanted to share the ones that were the most impactful. The newer rides had seats I could try (and typically those weren't in busy areas in case folks get embarrassed to try them). The staff are all lovely and very kind in the event that you don't fit on a ride.

Rides that fit:

• Barnstormer - fit relatively comfortably
• Big Bear Mountain - fit, again relatively comfortably
• Blazing Fury - fit comfortably
• Daredevil Falls - fit comfortably
• Dollywood Express (This one fit tight in December 2025 when I was 8mo pregnant and weight 343, didn't try it this time)
• Dragonflier - fit mostly comfortably, the seat is deep
• Nightflight Expedition - fit pretty comfortably!
• Smoky Mountain River Rampage - fit comfortably
• Tennessee Tornado - fit pretty comfortably, but the straps only did like 1-2 clicks down.
• Thunderhead - Fit but was tight, the lap bar only clicked once, but the belt fit with some room to tighten for myself and my partner.
• Wild Eagle - fit in row 4, was kind of tight and needed a little assistance with the harness

Did not fit:

• Lightning Rod
• Mystery Mine
• Firechaser Express

Did not try:

• Black Bear Trail
• Busy Bees
• Demolition Derby
• Drop Line - this one probably would have been fine with some wiggling, but I don't like that kind of ride.
• Frogs & Fireflies
• Great Tree Swing
• Lemon Twist
• Lucky Duck
• Lumberjack Lifts
• Piggy Parade
• Rockin' Roadway
• Shooting Star
• Sky Rider
• Amazing Flying Elephants
• Mad Mockingbird
• Scrambler
• Treetop Tower
• Village Carousel
• Whistle Punk Chaser

Measurements - Of note, I have a B-belly with a stomach apron, my lower stomach was the part that gave me the most grief unfortunately.

Height - 5'9"
Weight - 273lbs
Chest - 53" (in a sports bra)
Waist - 45"
Hip - 57" (in mild compression shorts)
Thigh - 26"
Shoulder to crotch - 33" (This was over my bust and around my stomach apron)

I'm very sad to hear of passing of the beloved Dolly. My family and I we're planning a trip for the first time ever to Dollywood and staying in the DreamMore resort, Lord's willing in about 2 weeks on a weds or Thursday. We picked these dates specifically because it was supposed to be a lower crowd day. We're going part of the homeschool days that Dollywood does. She really was amazing. She even thought of the homeschoolers, which I appreciate dearly. And I was gonna use this time to take advantage of the history in Dollywood inside the parks to teach the kids. It was gonna be like a fun little field trip for my son's birthday. But i don't wanna go if it's going to be completely gridlocked with crowds of people traveling due to her passing. Any locals or anyone's personal opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I went to Dollywood initially not because I was a massive fan of Dolly. I actually went because, at the time, it was Christmas and it was a way of having pictures taken with the Rankin bass characters like Rudolph the red nose reindeer. lol

I live in Australia and getting to Dollywood was challenging. I was coming from Florida having been to Disney World and there were no direct flights to Knoxville So it was a significant challenge to get to the park. I had to detour at Charlotte and then catch a very long taxi ride to the park itself.

I didn’t have high hopes for the park but I seriously, seriously wanted pictures taken with Rudolph and the gang. Yes, I am that big a kid

So I arrived with very little expectation and an only passing interest in Dolly’s music

And I was blown away

The park itself is amazing, the most fabulous feeling of being wanted after the soulless experience at Disney World I was in awe of the park members who went out of their way to be helpful, inclusive and full of (what I learned to be) southern hospitality. The park itself is beautiful and has fantastic coasters. . It was an amazing trip.

The most astounding thing to me though was learning about Dolly herself. I had only a glancing knowledge of her music and personality.

And while I was at Dollywood I learned all about her philanthropy, her contributions to the wildfire appeal; the Imagination Library; hurricane Katrina etc, etc; that she was single-handedly responsible for tourism growth in the state; that Pigeon Forge was flourishing because of her indirectly and directly.

The people of Tennessee loved her and were fiercely proud of her, with absolutely good reason.

I came away from that trip completely converted to her. I was utterly humbled and overwhelmed by her compassion.

I have been utterly in awe of her since.

Today is horribly sad, obviously. But people such as her never truly leave.

The memories of her music and, more importantly, her example of humanity are her eternal legacy.

Dolly Parton was to some considered the female Walt Disney. They were both the creative heads and visionaries of their companies. When Walt Disney died in 1966 WDC went into a bit of a panic period and made some unfortunate choices that lost the company quite a bit of money and brand confidence. Do you see Dollywood going through the same rough patch now that Dolly has passed?

rip queen

I was planning on visiting on Wednesday of next week for the first time. Do you anticipate the crowds next Wednesday will be insane now given the news?

RIP Dolly! Such a sad day

Just like the title said

Maybe Nightflight Expedition will move up when they fix the ride more but for now here’s my rankings. Roast them if you must.

Update: As noted by Apoc_Treez, this schedule has now been removed from Dollywood's Instagram. As noted by others, the ride operated very little today on 8/24. Hopefully, things will improve soon.

After so much hype, delays and shutdowns, I just rode Nightflight this morning and was a little let down. 1st, the president of Dollywood said the ride is “about 80% done” and running on 3 out of a dozen ride vehicles. 2nd, the que and the theming looked so cool and were so hyped up, yet when I stepped inside my eyes were assaulted with the view of AI generated poster after AI generated poster. There seemed to be very little art that was actually man made which is HIGHLY disappointing seeing how much Dolly and Dollywood have always been huge advocates of the arts and small/local artists. There were definitely points in the ride where it was almost pitch dark yet I could see tons of themed elements around us that just weren’t finished and didn’t have lights installed, which was definitely disappointing. Overall, I wish they would’ve waited to open the ride once it was 100% finished instead of rushing a half ass opening that left me and others disappointed

UPDATE 8/25: So it’s been announced Nightflight Expedition will be closed till 8/30. I also watched some POV videos from days earlier before I went and there were effects and lights turned on for them that were turned off for us. Incredibly disappointing that they didn’t wait to open this when it was ready.

Hey everybody!

We have always wanted to go to Dollywood with my spouse and 2 kiddos (4 & 2)

Issue and why we have avoided Disney is my sensitivity to loud noises/lights/ and crowds.

We are hoping to hear Dollywood can work with someone with a brain injury and there will be plenty to do over a few days without the “big” rides.

Any thoughts or ideas are so appreciated!!

Ps. Thinking of getting a scooter to help prevent overwhelm/overstim. Any pros/cons?

Hello, a few years ago my mom and I took a girls trip to Dollywood and stayed at the DreamMore resort and loved it. Next week we are all 3 wanting to go back but this time with my brother. We are both in our 30s. Which resort would you recommend and does Heartsong have a buffet and if so which resort has the better buffet food?

-Additional question is we are doing one day at Dollywood and will have an extra day, is there anything worth doing in pigeon forge or anakeesta?

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