🌟2025 Press Release, 2025 Calendar, and MORE 🌟

Exciting News from Dollywood for 2025!

Get ready for another amazing year at Dollywood!

• Latest News: [Press Release Below]
• 2025 Operating Calendar: [Scroll down to calendar]
• Holiday Breaks Planning Guide: [Scroll down to Link to Fall-Xmas-Spring Break chart]
• 2025 Season Pass Information: [Scroll down to Link to 2025 Season Pass Info]

Press Release about 2025 40th Anniversary Year Plans

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One of Dolly Parton’s greatest dreams—the little theme park named Dollywood that opened in her home county in 1986—has now become one of the world’s leading family destinations and is set to celebrate its 40th season in 2025. Dollywood Parks & Resorts looks a lot different than it did when it opened on May 3, 1986, but the mission at its heart remains the same—to create a welcoming environment where families can enjoy making memories together.

“But look at how far we’ve come since then—and we’re just getting started!”

Dollywood has special events, new celebrations and several returning favorites planned to commemorate the milestone anniversary. The fun begins at Tripadvisor’s #1 US theme park with Season Passholder Preview Day set for Friday, March 14.

“I can’t believe that we’ve been making memories for folks here at my Dollywood for 40 years,” Dolly explained. “That’s a lot of laughter, hugs and smiles, and I’m glad that we’ve been able to be part of it for so many years. When we opened Dollywood, the main thing I wanted to do was to give families a fun place where they could enjoy time spent together. I’m so proud of all the people who have worked to make Dollywood what it is today, and I want to thank all the guests who have supported us and trusted us to help them create those days they’ll never forget.

“And just think, I spent opening day watching the parking lot because I was worried that people might not show up,” she added with a laugh. “But look at how far we’ve come since then—and we’re just getting started!”

A new 40th anniversary show, which debuts Memorial Day weekend and runs through the end of summer, highlights moments from guest-favorite shows during the park’s illustrious history of entertainment offerings. Additionally, a new drone and fireworks show honoring the 40th anniversary season takes place as part of Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration presented by Food City, and a new opening ceremony will occur at the beginning of each operating day during the 2025 season.

The Imagination Playhouse, which features plays based on books from Dolly’s Imagination Library, becomes a permanent fixture this season, offering its much-loved shows for younger guests from March through the end of September. The theater will offer a rotation of playhouse favorites guests have enjoyed through the years. During Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration, new story time and character meet & greets are part of the Imagination Playhouse experience.

Also in celebration of the 40th anniversary, “Heartsong: The Movie” will be remastered and moved—appropriately—to Dreamsong Theater as part of The Dolly Parton Experience. “Heartsong: The Movie” will run in conjunction with “Heidi Parton’s Kin & Friends.”

The Country Fair area of the park also receives a bright refresh during the 2025 season to celebrate the classic fun and family togetherness of this special area of the park. In addition, Country Fair transforms during the Harvest Festival to become Candy Corn Country, with decorations and theming to highlight the “corny” fun of this fall treat. The special festival fun doesn’t end there, however. A favorite of years past, Peppermint Valley returns during Smoky Mountain Christmas to provide a bright red and white lighting scheme in Country Fair.

“I’m excited to welcome guests to celebrate our 40th anniversary season with us in 2025,” said Dollywood Parks & Resorts President Eugene Naughton. “We are thrilled to have earned the Tripadvisor #1 US theme park designation last year along with being the highest ranked US park in Golden Ticket Award voting for Best Park last year. We’ve worked hard for 40 seasons to make the Dollywood experience the best theme park experience in the country, and our guests are telling us we’ve done just that through these awards. And remember what Dolly said, ‘We’re just getting started!’”

The season begins with the I Will Always Love You Music Festival, March 15- April 13. Returning for 2025 is the show honored as the Golden Ticket Award winner for Best New Show of 2024, “From the Heart—The Life & Music of Dolly Parton.” In this instant classic, Dolly’s remarkable story is told in an inspirational and uplifting way as guests experience the emotional pull she faced as she left everything she had known in Sevier County to move to Nashville in pursuit of her dreams. “From the Heart” phenomenally tells Dolly’s exceptional story through her own narration and legendary music catalog. The show takes place in Celebrity Theater and runs through the Flower & Food Festival.

Dollywood’s Flower & Food Festival (April 18-June 8) blooms bright with iconic Mosaiculture displays throughout the park. Vivid larger-than-life flower sculptures create an immersive atmosphere for park guests with more than half-a-million blooms during this stunning festival. Dollywood’s culinary team showcases their world-class abilities during the event with a menu full of delicacies to highlight the tastes of spring in the Smokies.

Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration presented by Food City (June 14-August 3) is everyone’s favorite summer tradition, and once again includes Dollywood’s Sweet Summer Nights drone and fireworks show each night. Even more drones take to the skies this year to present a mesmerizing show that honors Dollywood’s 40th anniversary season. Two more guest-favorite shows, “Bubble Evolution” and “Perondi’s Stunt Dog Experience,” provide popping bubbles and playful pooches to help every guest feel like a kid this summer.

A family tradition for many, Dollywood’s Harvest Festival presented by Humana (Sept. 12- Oct. 27) celebrates the beauty of fall with thousands of carved pumpkins, spirited performances from talented singers and the fun of Great Pumpkin LumiNights. Great Pumpkin LumiNights, which previously has been named the best theme park harvest event in the world, features elaborate displays that are fun for every member of the family. Creative culinary items, accomplished artisans, and fall fun in the Smokies make this a picture-perfect time to enjoy Dollywood.

The industry’s Best Theme Park Christmas event—Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas presented by Humana (Nov. 1- Jan. 4)—concludes the park’s 2025 season with six million lights, festive holiday shows, and the warm Christmas atmosphere guests have come to expect during this joyous time of year.

With 40th anniversary season surprises ahead, guests should consider a season pass to ensure they can experience all the fun! Three season pass levels—Diamond, Gold and Silver—provide great options for every guest, while the popular Pre-K Imagination Season Pass offers free admission all season long to any child born in 2020 or 2021. Passes are on sale now to current 2024 season passholders and go on sale to the general public on Monday, Oct. 28. Anyone visiting during this season’s Smoky Mountain Christmas festival (opens Friday, Nov. 1) can receive full value from their admission ticket to upgrade to a 2025 season pass! It’s the perfect Christmas gift for every member of the family.

Dollywood Diamond Season Passes provide a premium experience for guests. In addition to admission all season long, Diamond passholders receive four Bring-A-Friend Free tickets, free general parking, the largest discounts on dining, merchandise and lodging, an all-season unlimited 40th anniversary refill mug, as well as discounts on TimeSaver passes, VIP tours and preferred parking. Diamond Season Passes also provide the passholder season access to Dollywood’s Splash Country.

The Gold Pass represents tremendous value for guests thanks to two Bring-A-Friend Free tickets, free general parking, a one-day unlimited refill mug, as well as discounts on dining, merchandise, and lodging. Both Diamond and Gold passholders receive access to special events and activities just for them. Only the named passholder can receive the perks associated with each pass type.

Gold and Diamond passholders can take advantage of another great perk—complimentary TimeSaver line access the first hour of every operating day. This great benefit allows the named passholder expedited boarding on Dollywood’s world-class rides and attractions including Big Bear Mountain, the two-time winner of the Golden Ticket Award for Best Family Coaster.

Silver Season Passes also are available and include two Bring-A-Friend Free tickets and a discount on Dollywood lodging. Select blackout dates apply to adult and senior Silver Season Passes and Silver Bring-A-Friend Free tickets. Child Silver Season Passes do not have blackout dates.

Guests at this world-class family vacation destination can experience even more fun at one of Dollywood’s award-winning resort hotels, Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa or Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort. Both properties offer unbeatable hospitality and exclusive complimentary privileges, including TimeSaver passes, door-to-door transportation, preferred parking at Dollywood parks, and package delivery for purchases made at Dollywood theme park.

For more information about Dollywood’s 2025 season or season passes, please visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.

-Dollywood2024-

About Dollywood Parks & Resorts: A highly awarded and widely recognized leader in the amusement industry, The Dollywood Company consists of the 165-acre Dollywood theme park; the 35-acre Dollywood’s Splash Country; and Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, and the newly opened Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort. As unique as its namesake and owner Dolly Parton, Dollywood is the 2010 Applause Award winner, the theme park industry’s highest accolade; winner of 58 Golden Ticket Awards; and recipient of 28 Brass Ring Awards for Live Entertainment. The park is located near Great Smoky Mountains National Park and earned the Golden Ticket Award for the Best Park in the world in 2023. This year, Dollywood was named by Tripadvisor as the #1 theme park in the country based on actual guest reviews. It also has been recognized as a top U.S. theme park by USA Today on multiple occasions. Dollywood is open mid-March through early January and offers rides and attractions, shows and crafters authentic to the East Tennessee region. Dollywood’s Splash Country, recognized by the Travel Channel and Tripadvisor as one of the country’s most beautiful water parks, operates from mid-May to Labor Day. Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa as well as Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort provide guests with spectacular mountain views and family-friendly amenities next door to Dollywood theme park and Dollywood’s Splash Country. For more information, visit dollywood.com. Operating days and hours vary.

Link to Business Wire 

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Link: dollywood.com

There are not many changes in the calendar from 2024.  Passholder Preview Day is March 14th. Sounds like details about Passholder Day are still being sorted out.  Expect more on that later as it draws near.  All the other festivals fall in line in duration and timing, as they did in 2024.

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Things that stood out in the Press Release...

1. ''Just getting started'' comment is interesting.
2. New 40th Anniversary Show that runs from Memorial Day to end of Summer.
3. New drone and fireworks show honoring 40th anniversary during Summer Celebration Festival.
4. New opening ceremony every operating day.
5. Imagination Playhouse will become a permanent fixture this season, with shows from March to September.
6. Heartsong, the movie, will be remastered and incorporated into the Heidi Parton's Kin & Friends show.
7. Country Fair area refresh.
1. An old path returns.  They are restoring the path behind the carousel that goes into Country Fair next to the Flying Elephants ride.
2. Harvest Festival activities will include an area-wide transformation into Candy Corn Country, celebrating Corn.
3. Smoky Mountain Christmas will usher in Peppermint Valley once again, to the Country Fair area.

1. 'Just Getting Started' comment opens up a lot of possibilities, right?  She's most likely referring to the 2025 Season, but she might also be speaking from the 30k Foot View as well.   Hard not to notice the gigantic new parking lot under construction as you enter the park.  One interesting rumor I have heard recently, was that Dollywood has future plans to remove the two current Premiere Lots and incorporate those spaces into the theme park, which makes a ton of sense to me.  As you exit Dragonfliers' station, it's also hard not to notice several unused acres of land between WWG and those Premiere Lots.  In Nashville, Dollywood is preparing to open a hotel off of Broadway - there are a lot of things going on in the Dollywood Universe right now that will lead to new and exciting things.  'Just getting started' seems appropriate.

Possible future theme park area??  Rampage ride sits on a former parking lot, so it is a growth strategy Dollywood has used in the past.  It makes great sense to me, as long as they add more parking elsewhere.

7. Country Fair Refresh.  One thing already under construction, or re-construction, is a pathway from the carousel down to the Country Fair area, next to the Flying Elephants.  I say reconstruction because there was a path that opened with the 2004 Major Refresh of the Country Fair area.  And then one year the path was gone, as Dollywood will sometimes do....make things just disappear like they never existed.  Anyway, this one will be even better than the first one.

2004 until ??

The three pics below were taken on 10/22/24.  The new path seems to follow the old path's path exactly.

As far as other things in the Country Fair area, I'm not sure what will actually end up happening, other than the holiday overlay theming mentioned in the PR.  

Ride wise - Since there have been no specific ride announcements, it's anybody's guess as to what will happen.  Lemon Twist looks to me like it is just barely hanging on for dear life.  It used to spin fast in its younger days.  Dizzy Disc and the Ferris Wheel were big losses to me.  Scrambler, Bumper Cars, Elephants, Swinger are probably all safe.  In my mind, a FAIR is colorful and has lots of cool lights on the rides (among other sensory things) and Dollywood could improve in that area, particularly the Waltzing Swinger could use a lighting package....just my .02...especially in the age of Insta and how kids and kids-at-heart behave with their phones nowadays.

The main eatery in Country Fair is the Grandstand Cafe, the ice cream cone place beside it, and then the Midway Market has snacks and drinks.  The buffet is the other option, and is popular, but its hours are somewhat inconsistent. It was not open for the Summer Festival.  I could see a restaurant revamp with some different food options replacing the Cafe.  Eugen Naughten, Park President, said a few years ago that Dollywood's Food offerings were going to go through an improvement process.  Since those remarks, we've seen exactly that around the park.  Miss Lillians is this year's example.  Iron Horse Pizza before that.  A new restaurant is under construction in Wilderness Pass.  Not sure if the words 'culinary overhaul' will apply but seems possible given the other recent examples of improvements around the park.

There's room for improvement in the Country Fair area, so I will be interested to see what they have in mind.

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Season Pass Blog Post

Read all the details about purchasing a new 2025 Dollywood Season Pass - Click Here

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Read all the details about Fall Break, Christmas Break & Spring Break for Regional School Systems

Click Here

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Read all the details about how to use the Pigeon Forge Trolley to get to Dollywood.  Watch my fun video!

Click Here

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Hotels

Promotion!! - Food City $15 Off Dollywood's Splash Country Tickets for Thursdays

Hi Everyone,

I came across this promotion for Splash Country and wanted to share it with you all.  This is valid only on Thursdays, and you'll choose the date when you purchase through the link below.  $39.95 for a one day admission.  There is a $1 Fee and $5 Tax, so $45.95 is the final price.

Details Here at Dollywood.com

It does say something to the effect of "with a Food City coupon", but it didn't ask me for anything when I put the ticket in my cart - so that part is not very clear to me.  Anyway, it doesn't look like you need it to take advantage.  Let me know in the comments if your situation is different.

What's Up at Dollywood's Splash Country in 2023? Let's Take a look!

• Hi Everyone, The Dollywood Blog has published an update from the off-season improvements that are going on at Splash Country.   Let’s check out Amber Davis’ post for the latest updates from SC!

• Source: The Dollywood Blog

Winter Work at Dollywood’s Splash Country

Written by Amber Davis

What happens at a water park in January and February? More than you might think.

Dollywood’s Splash Country has been closed since the day after Labor Day, and it won’t be long before you get to enjoy the many upgrade projects the team has been working on for the past several months.

Here are my favorite highlights:

More Shade

First, let’s talk about shade. We’re adding an additional 2500 square-feet of covered space to the wave pool deck! Each of these pavilions will be extended. See where the new posts are placed? This translates into more rows of chairs in the shade at each pavilion! This is a PREMIUM perk at a water park!

Slide Work

Water parks require a lot of maintenance. Every year, an attraction or two get some off-season attention. This year, Mountain Scream is getting the love. You may recall that this attraction has three slide options. Specifically, crews are replacing the runouts. So, those will be all new when you come back this year!

Atmosphere Upgrades

Dollywood’s Splash Country is one of the prettiest water parks you’ll find anywhere. Though a lot of credit goes to our landscaping team, we’re also blessed that our location is nestled into a mountain hollow. There’s lots of natural beauty. New paint certainly doesn’t hurt. Look for fresh touches to the waterfall at the entrance to the lazy river.

If you’ve ever renovated a bathroom, you may understand why this next update makes me giddy: the water park’s main restrooms at the front of the park got a major overhaul. From new (and brighter!) lighting to modern tile and fixtures, you’re going to want to stop in to check these out on your next visit.

There are always general construction and cleaning projects like replacing tired wood and rust mitigation. Right now, crews are hard at work on the deck at the bottom of Wild River Falls. You will even see a new fence around the seating area. It will resemble the fence along our bridges.

New

Other updates you may be interested in include additional food and drink locations—two more food trucks in addition to the one we already have. We’re focused on expediting wait times, so look for new processes that help you enjoy more time splashing and sliding.

If you don’t have a Two-Park Pass, you can buy one here or upgrade your current Season Pass for the cost of a One-Day water park ticket by calling 1-800-Dollywood. You also can visit any ticket window on your next trip. And, we still have Dining Passes available, so be sure to check that out for a free entrée and snack every time you visit Dollywood’s Splash Country!