Dollywood wins three most sought-after theme park industry awards

The park took home Golden Ticket Awards for Best Guest Experience, Best Kids’ Area, and Best Christmas event

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PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. – Just before the fall holiday season takes full effect, Dollywood takes home more awards – again.

After being named America’s best theme park in June, Dollywood has earned three more of the most sought-after awards in the theme park industry, according to a park release.

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On Monday, Dollywood announced that they’ve won three Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today during a ceremony that was held on Saturday night.

The Golden Ticket Awards were based on an international poll conducted by Amusement Today, according to the release.

Overall, Dollywood said they ranked among the finalists in seven categories and won more awards than any other park in the world.

The theme park was awarded the Best Guest Experience award, which considers several different areas of experience, including friendliness, cleanliness, and value, according to the release.

The Best Guest Experience award has been claimed by Dollywood three times, and since the tickets were not awarded in 2020, Dollywood has been the only theme park to ever claim this award, the release said.

Dollywood also won the Best Kids’ Area for Wildwood Grove for the third time, and with the addition of the Big Bear Mountain coaster, the area is expected to be even better, Dollywood said.

And, the last ticket that was awarded to Dollywood – Best Christmas Event, making this the 14th consecutive win for the Smoky Mountain Christmas in the park, according to the release.

“We don’t do what we do to win awards, but they sure are nice,” Parton said jokingly. “Seriously though, we’re proud of the recognition we receive because it means we’re doing well at what we want to do — take care of the great folks who come to visit our park year after year.”

Dollywood said they also received recognition in the following areas:

  • Earned the runner-up position for Most Beautiful Park,
  • The park’s culinary team took the second-place for Best Food,
  • The park also finished second in the Best Park category to Europa-Park in Rust, Germany,
  • Dollywood’s Thunderhead remained ranked in the Best Wooden Roller Coaster category.

The release said that these placings ranked Dollywood as the top-placed American entry and that their Thunderhead coasted finished as the tenth best wooden coaster in the world.

To learn more about upcoming events at Dollywood this year, visit their website.


About the Author

Alli Graham came aboard the digital team as an evening digital content producer in June 2022.

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