Fans around the world have praised Dolly Parton since her passing. One fan took to social media to praise her for keeping Dollywood’s admission prices reasonable. But when a rival amusement park joined the conversation, fans were furious. The backlash was so strong that the park was forced to issue a statement.
Dolly Parton’s dream of creating her very own theme park, Dollywood, became a reality in the 1990s and went on to be a huge success. Today, Dollywood welcomes around 4 million visitors every year. But the story behind the beloved park goes back decades.
Back in 1982, Dolly spoke with Barbara Walters about a dream close to her heart: creating a “Smoky Mountain fairy land” in her home region.
But it wasn’t just about creating a magical place for families. Dolly also wanted to create jobs and help bring more money into the local economy.
Her dream soon caught the attention of theme park owners Pete and Jake Herschend.
The brothers saw the potential in Dolly’s vision and teamed up with the country music legend. Together, they transformed the former Silver Dollar City in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, into the theme park that would eventually become known as Dollywood.
Dollywood
What started as a dream in Dolly’s beloved Smoky Mountains would grow into one of the region’s biggest attractions. On May 3, 1986, Dollywood opened its doors for the very first time. And it didn’t take long for Dolly Parton’s dream to become a remarkable success.
During its first years, around 1.3 million people visited the theme park — roughly twice as many visitors as Silver Dollar City had welcomed the year before, according to The Sun.
For Dolly, it was the moment a childhood dream had finally become reality. As of today, Dollywood has proven to be more than just a passing trend. The park has continued to grow and attract millions of visitors year after year.
Last year, Tripadvisor named Dollywood the top amusement park in the United States. This year, it also ranked No. 49 on TIME magazine’s list of the 500 largest privately held companies in the country.
But perhaps most importantly, Dolly’s dream has made a lasting difference to the community she grew up in. During the busy season, Dollywood employs around 3,000 people, making it the largest employer in both Pigeon Forge and Sevier County.
After Dolly Parton’s death, the park shared that it would remain open as usual, saying it was set to welcome guests as planned and honoring Dolly Parton’s wishes.
Dolly Parton praised for admission prices to ‘Dollywood’
Dollywood Parks & Resorts President Eugene Naughton said in a statement, “Dolly’s enduring legacy extends beyond her music and generosity to her remarkable work ethic—an inspiration to people everywhere”
He continued, “In her spirit, Dollywood will be open Wednesday as Dolly wanted, always reminding everyone with her signature sparkle — ‘the show must go on.’ Together, we honor her by carrying forward her message of love, perseverance, and hope.”
Dolly Parton has made millions and millions of dollars throughout her career. At the time of her death, her net worth was estimated at around $450 million, but when it came to Dollywood, it wasn’t about money.
One fan took to X, praising Dollywood for keeping single-day admission prices consistent at $99, posting: “And she kept the prices reasonable in this economy.”
However, Dolly’s tribute about not raising prices turned into rage from fans.
Rivals Hersheypark took to the comments, writing: “Our summer tickets are $49.99.”
While the comment was deleted, many fans had taken screenshots of it and shared it around, which left several furious.
“Are you guys going to offer an official apology for this TACTLESS post or keep on ignoring it?” one user wrote, while others described it as “disgusting.”
The Pennsylvania-based park was forced to release a couple of public statements about their deleted post. They claimed that the reply was meant for a different conversation, saying: “We certainly respect your concern.”
Dollywood rival theme park sparks outrage with comment amid Dolly’s death
“A reply clarifying our ticket price in another conversation was posted without seeing the context of the chain, so we removed it quickly to avoid any confusion or insensitivity over intent. We absolutely apologize for the error,” it read.
However, not everyone bought their explanation. One person wrote, “This is such a big yikes…. like I’m shocked.”
After people continued to rage against Hersheypark, the park was forced to release a longer reply. In a statement to People Magazine, they wrote. “We join the millions mourning the loss of Dolly Parton, whose generosity, talent and spirit touched so many,
“A member of our social media team noticed inaccurate pricing information about Hersheypark within a post and intended to respond directly just to that individual to correct it, not realizing the reply would appear as a response to a conversation about Dollywood,” it continued.
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