Dollywood Opens This Weekend for Its Longest Season Yet — With 23 More Days Than Last Year

Dolly Parton has always been about going bigger and bolder. After nearly six decades in the country music world, she released her first rock album, Rockstar, last fall, a few weeks after one of her most beloved hits “Jolene” turned 50 years old. Now, her Smoky Mountains theme park Dollywood is following suit and going bigger by opening on March 9 for its longest season yet. 

The 165-acre Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, destination will be open for a record 280 days in 2024 — 23 days more than last year — for its 39th season. It will also introduce two major new features focused solely on the iconic Grammy winner.

This season’s opening day will mark the debut of a new live show called the I Will Always Love You Music Festival, running through April 14. Dedicated to the classic ballad that Parton wrote in 1973, the festival will include three new shows filled with her career hits. “From the Heart – The Life and Music of Dolly Parton” will focus on her life story, while “Trio” will send up the 1987 album that also featured Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, and “Sing-a-long with Dolly” will be an immersive show for guests to join in hitting all the right notes. 

Additionally, the much anticipated Dolly Parton Experience will welcome guests in May, as an interactive exhibit that will follow the singer’s journey from Tennessee’s Locust Ridge and through to her superstar status on stages around the globe. The massive modern museum will be three times bigger than the former Chasing Rainbow Museum, which closed in 2019 — and be spread across three buildings, as well as one of her old tour buses. 

“The exhibits span Parton’s iconic career, examine the inspiration for and results of her biggest dreams, focus on the importance of her family, and even offer a glimpse of her signature style through the years,” the theme park said in a release shared with Travel + Leisure.

The park's popular Lightning Rod wooden roller coaster will also get an upgrade when it reopens in mid-March, with a new high-speed chain lift to whisk visitors along for “a more consistent and efficient ride experience." This means it should be able to host a million more rides each year.

Also, Dollywood's newest roller coaster Big Bear Mountain — a two-minute, 3,990-foot thrill ride — will return for its second season.

Outside of the theme park gates, Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa is currently being refreshed to “ensure it maintains its position as one of the top theme park resorts in the United States,” while Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort, which opened last fall, will host its first full season this year.