Tennessee theme park named best in US – above Disney, Universal: Tripadvisor awards
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PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WATE) — As Dollywood continues to welcome visitors for its 40th year of operation, the Pigeon Forge-based theme park has once again been recognized as one of the most popular theme parks in the world.

Tripadvisor officials named Dollywood the number one theme park in the United States as part of its 2025 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards. This marks the third time in the last four years that the park has garnered the top spot.

See the full top 10 below:

  1. Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
  2. Magic Kingdom Park (Bay Lake, Florida)
  3. Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, Pennsylvania)
  4. Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Bay Lake, Florida)
  5. Universal Islands of Adventure (Orlando, Florida)
  6. Fun Spot America (Kissimmee, Florida)
  7. LEGOLAND California (Carlsbad, California)
  8. Universal Studios Florida (Orlando, Florida)
  9. Silver Dollar City (Branson, Missouri)
  10. Whale’s Tale Waterpark (Lincoln, New Hampshire)

See the complete list on the Tripadvisor website.

Dollywood was also the only U.S.-based theme park to make the top 15 of Tripadvisor’s 2025 worldwide rankings, coming in at No. 11 on that list.

The 165-acre theme park is co-owned by Dolly Parton’s entertainment company, Dolly Parton Productions, and Herschend Family Entertainment. Annual attendance regularly eclipses two million visitors, according to dollywood.com.

Dollywood is the largest employer in Sevier County and a 2021 study by the Tennessee Department of Transportation found that the park had an annual direct economic impact of $1.8 billion.

While Parton famously does not ride roller coasters, the park has consistently added new attractions for visitors to enjoy.

“If I get on that thing, you’d find my wigs on one of those trees,” she joked in 2023 about the new “Big Bear Mountain” roller coaster that can reach speeds up to 48 mph.

Park officials revealed ahead of the 2025 season that plans are in the works for a new ride that is the “biggest, most ambitious and possibly the most expensive project that the park has undertaken.” While project details have not yet been revealed, they said that visitors will “take flight” in 2026.

The awards are based on traveler reviews and ratings posted on Tripadvisor during a 12-month period. Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best award winners are among the top 1% of listings, according to Tripadvisor.

“We don’t provide the best guest experience in the country to try to win these awards,” said Dollywood Parks & Resorts President Eugene Naughton in a statement. “We do it because it is the right thing to do. Our guests have options on where they can spend their time, and when they choose to visit us, we want to give them a world-class experience. This award is humbling though, because it is derived from real reviews left by our actual guests describing their time here at our parks and resorts.”

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