Much like the rest of the world, we at InPark are incredibly saddened to hear of Dolly Parton’s passing. A legend in all of her endeavors, her presence in the theme park world was just as iconic as everything else she touched. Dollywood received a TEA Thea Classic Award in 2019 and Dolly herself was inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame in 2025.
We’d like to share some stories from the InPark archives celebrating Dolly’s impact on the industry along with videos of Joe Kleiman’s interview with Dollywood’s Pete Owens and a special message from Dolly herself during the Themed Entertainment Association’s Thea Awards Gala in 2019. (Second video courtesy of TEA)
