Dolly Parton has entered another industry's Hall of Fame.
IAAPA, the leading industry association for theme and amusement parks, this morning announced its 2025 inductees into the IAAPA Hall of Fame. Parton is one five members of this year's class.
IAAPA cited Parton for her leadership with Herschend Family Entertainment in transforming Tennessee's Silver Dollar City into Dollywood, "a world-class resort destination that blends music, crafts, and culture with award-winning attractions, inspiring joy for families and theme park operators around the globe," the association said.
Parton also is a member of the Songwriters, Country Music, and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame, and she has multiple recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Other IAAPA Hall of Fame inductees this year include:
Gary S. Wachs, who started working for his father at Cincinnati's Coney Island and then went on to help create Kings Island as well as other theme parks for the Taft Broadcasting Company, including Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland.
Keith James, another former Taft Broadcasting creative leader, who went on to manage design work at Jack Rouse Associates (then JRA, now part of RWS Global) for nearly three decades.
Gerardo Arteaga Oehninger, who helped develop Chile's Fantasilandia theme park as well as the Happyland family entertainment center chain in Latin America.
Su Zhigang, founder and chairman of Chimelong Group, which is now the world's fifth most visited theme park company, according to the TEA/AECOM Theme Index report. Chimelong's top park is China's Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, the sixth most-visited park in the world. Its Chimelong Spaceship is the world's largest indoor theme park.
The induction ceremony for this year's class will take place at a special event in Orlando on November 17, during the annual IAAPA Expo. Tickets start at $399 and are available on the IAAPA website.
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No one more deserving than Gary.