Dollywood was closed on the day its founder Dolly Parton died, but the Pigeon Forge theme park is open again today, Aug. 26.
Though park hours were scheduled for 9 a.m.-8 p.m., some gates opened just after 8:30 a.m. and visitors were already trickling in.
“We're operating the same way that she would want us to operate,” Dollywood President Eugene Naughton told Knox News. “The show must go on and that's what she would tell us and she told me that's what she wanted (Dollywood) to be. She wanted us to be a place where families could come and have fun together and I promise that I'd be honoring that.”
The park will be closed again Aug. 27, but not because of the loss of its Dreamer-in-Chief. Both the Aug. 25 and Aug. 27 closures were already scheduled
on Dollywood's 2026 season calendar. Further closures are scheduled for Sept. 1 and 3.
Naughton said the park's schedule will not be affected by Parton's death. She wouldn't have wanted the gates to close.
Parton opened Dollywood in 1986. Her love for the Great Smoky Mountains and its the people who live and work in the region is reflected in Dollywood.
Dollywood staffers set out memorial signs the morning of Aug. 26, and guests can leave flowers, teddy bears and other tributes upon entering the main entrance of the park. Naughton was there to talk to local and national media.
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Dolly Parton wanted Dollywood open after her death: "The show must go on'
