Dollywood details 2027 plans to honor Dolly Parton

September 2, 2026, 2:51 PM · Dollywood will honor its late Dreamer-in-Chief with several new memorials to open in time for the 2027 season.

In a presentation at the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee theme park today, Dollywood Parks & Resorts President Eugene Naughton revealed that Dolly Parton, before her death last week, had reviewed and approved expansion plans for the park and its hotels for the next 10 years. That means that Dolly's direct influence will continue to be felt at the park for the next decade and beyond.

"Many of us had extensive conversations with Dolly through the years about how she would want us to carry her vision forward," Naughton said. "Dollywood will always be a place where families find fun, kindness and joy - a place where they can make memories that last a lifetime, just like she would have wanted. We will carry her dreams forward by continuing to grow, welcoming even more guests, and sharing the warmth and hospitality of which she was so proud."

Dollywood will honor Dolly with a new "Dream Maker" character in Wildwood Grove that will debut next year, inspired by Dolly's Imagination Library, the program that provides free books to pre-school children across the country. Wildwood Grove also will be home to new interactive kiosks where park guests may share their stories and thoughts about Dolly and how she might have inspired them. Guests may choose to keep their submissions private or to allow the park to share them as part of its tributes and storytelling.

The area in front of the park's Robert F. Thomas Chapel will feature a new mountainside waterfall to honor Dolly. That waterfall will include a guitar-shaped sculpture that Dollywood officials hope will become a focal point for fans to reflect and remember Dolly. Inside the chapel will be new stained-glass windows depicting the changing seasons of the Smoky Mountains, to reflect Ecclesiastes 3:1, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."

Finally, the park will update The Dolly Parton Experience, which opened in 2024. A new portal from Showstreet will lead guests into the exhibits, which will be updated with a new film and finale.

For more information about the park, including our advice for visiting, please read our visitors guide to Dollywood.

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