How Dolly Parton plans to keep Dollywood getting 'better and better'

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Dolly Parton had a dream to use her star power and love of East Tennessee to create a theme park and generate jobs, fun and lasting memories in the place she grew up. And now, she’s celebrating 40 years of that dream being a reality.

“It just does my heart good to see that Dollywood has done so well. And after 40 years, it just gets better and better and better,” Parton told Knox News during an interview on opening day.

Dollywood kicked of its 40th season March 14. Excited fans came from all over to enjoy the park and hoping to get a glimpse of Dolly. Park employees were stunned by the size of the crowd, likening it to spring break numbers rather than the typical opening day. Some reports suggest around 25,000 people were in attendance.

Along with her opening day joy, Parton went on to share with Knox News what has surprised her most of Dollywood’s growth, her perfect day at the theme park and her hopes for the next 40 years.

What is Dolly Parton’s perfect day at Dollywood?

Special events, shows, new food items and even a few surprises are planned for Dollywood’s 40th season. It’s also been teased that the park’s "most ambitious" and "most expensive" attraction is coming in 2026.

“Some of the things I'd want to experience – I don't do the rides – but I would just like to look at everything. I'd like to taste some of the foods,” Parton said of her perfect day at Dollywood.

She famously does not ride the roller coasters, preferring to keep her wigs safely secured. But she does come to check on the park before the season opens or to see how the development of a new area or attraction is progressing.

“I would love to just close the park down, just bring my family and friends and have a big old party,” Parton noted.

Why hasn’t she thrown that big family party yet?

“I can't afford it.”

Parton gave the response without missing a beat and the quip caused the entire room to erupt in laughter.

‘I'm just proud to be part of this whole community’

Since opening in 1986, Dollywood has expanded to include two resorts and a waterpark. More resorts are expected to be developed. And Parton’s personal business portfolio in Pigeon Forge includes dinner theaters and other attractions.

But what has surprised Parton the most over the past 40 years is how the city of Pigeon Forge has become a booming family vacation destination.

“When Dollywood did open and when we started opening our dinner theaters,” Parton said, “it just brought so many more tourists in, and other people started building other businesses and hotels and all that. There were some things here, but not near like it was after Dollywood opened.”

She called Pigeon Forge and her hometown Sevierville a “family paradise” and praised the East Tennessee region for “growing in leaps and bounds” since the days of her childhood when only Gatlinburg offered similar tourist opportunities.

“I'm just proud to be part of this whole community. And Dollywood is a shining star, certainly to me, but evidently to a lot of other people, too,” she said. “I'm just happy to be part of that growth.”

What is Dolly Parton’s dream for the next 40 years of Dollywood?

Parton is Dollywood’s Dreamer-in-Chief and she’s always looking ahead, along with Dollywood President Eugene Naughton, whom she praised for his “great vision.”

“We have a great, great team and we have a lot of dreamers, a lot of doers,” Parton said. “We just dream and think, what do we want? We don't want things that’s just going to last a season or two…we want things to be lasting.”

A big part of that is listening to the needs and wants of guests, monitoring the pulse of theme park industry trends and being innovative, the businesswoman said.

But the other Dollywood secret to another 40 years is that good ol' thing called “Southern hospitality.”

“People in this area are just great people, period. They're just good people. And then you put them on a park to welcome guests, you feel that. You feel that they really mean it when they say, ‘Well, welcome (to Dollywood)’," Parton said.

“We love and appreciate our visitors. They're the ones that's going to tell other people and they're the ones going to come back,” she added. “You want every experience they have to be a memory worth repeating.”

Parton said she “may still be around” for the next 40 years of Dollywood but envisions the park doing just fine without its Dreamer-in-Chief. “Even after I'm gone, we'll still grow. We'll still be going.”

“As long as we grow with the public and keep our ears open and our eyes (open), we're going to find out what they want and we will grow accordingly,” she added.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.