Dollywood is on a winning streak.
Earlier this year, Dollywood — the Dolly Parton theme park located in Tennessee — was named the top theme park in the United States by TripAdvisor, beating out all of Disney and Universal’s parks, including the Magic Kingdom, which came in at #2. Now, the park has beaten out its competitors for another accolade.
In November of 2024, Newsweek named Dollywood Parks & Resorts as the No. 1 theme park in the United States for customer service thanks to the park receiving a score of 93.22 out of 100 in an independent survey of more than 28,000 U.S. customers. The survey “asked customers to assess brands in the areas of quality of communications, professional competence, range of services, customer focus and accessibility and if they would recommend brands to friends or family.”
Dollywood took the top spot in the survey’s Amusement Park Experiences category:
- Dollywood | 93.22
- Disney Parks & Resorts | 92.49
- SeaWorld Parks | 92.2
- Busch Gardens Theme Parks | 91.44
- Universal Parks & Resorts | 90.1
Furthermore, the park came in 8th in the overall Transportation and Travel Category:
- Mandarin Oriental (luxury hotel) | 99.31
- Waldorf Astoria (luxury hotel) | 98.72
- Staybridge Suites (apartment hotel | 96.71
- Westin (premium hotel) | 95.67
- The Lodge at Woodloch (spa resort/retreat) | 95.41
- Enterprise CarShare (carsharing) | 94.57
- The Ritz-Carlton (luxury hotel) | 94.48
- Dollywood (amusement park) | 93.22
- Disney Cruise Line (cruise operator) | 93.17
- Loews Hotels (luxury hotel) | 92.73
In a press release regarding the award, Dollywood President Eugene Naughton said “Customer service is key to creating the welcoming environment our guests talk about the most after a visit to our theme parks and resorts. We want our guests to leave thankful for the memories and more connected to one another than when they first came. If that happens, it means we all did our jobs well.”
The Newsweek accolade caps a great year for Dollywood. In addition to the aforementioned TripAdvisor praise, the park also won an industry-leading five Golden Ticket Awards. Naughton said at the time, “There is a great sense of pride for everyone each time we learn about another of these accolades. We all work for Dolly Parton, who I believe is one of the most loved people on the entire planet. We all want to provide an experience that is worthy of her.”
Tennessee theme park Dollywood has once again beaten out theme park brethren Disney and Universal in a major survey. Stay tuned to AllEars for more theme park industry news.
5 Unspoken Rules About Visiting Dollywood
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Have you ever been to Dollywood? What do you think of the park? Let us know in the comments below.
I spent a number of days at Dollywood last month. I hadn’t been there in years and I was
amazed and impressed at the money that has been poured into the park. It was a very enjoyable
vacation and unlike WDW, it didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Because of it’s price gouging, I no
longer go to WDW and I’ve been 62 times. No more. What it costs to go to WDW for one day, is what
I used to spend for a week. Walt is spinning in his grave.
It’s not the Magic Kingdom, but it is a great family park with tons of rides. Well worth two days and lots to do in the area besides the park.