On January 19th Dolly Parton celebrated her 80th birthday. Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, TN takes its name from Dolly and the theme park is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and Dolly Parton. The park was known by several other names previously, but this arrangement came about in 1986, marking 40 years of the park being known as Dollywood. Although she is famous for not riding the rides, Dolly’s fingerprints are all over the park and it even features museum areas about her music, career and wardrobe.

Dolly is also one of the newest inductees to the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) Hall of Fame. The recognition celebrates her role in creating and influencing Dollywood Parks & Resorts through her partnership with Herschend. Dolly was honored as part of the 2025 annual expo in Orlando that also corresponded with the exciting reveal of the Night Flight ride vehicle, the parks largest investment ever new attraction set to open in 2026. Dolly was unable to attend, but did send a video message.

Happy Birthday to Dolly! She’s helped build one of the best theme parks in the world that has simultaneously helped her local community. In addition to bringing joy and great memories at her theme park she’s also helped give over 304 million books away to children as part of her Imagination Library program. Dolly is a national treasure that seems to transcend typically divisive factors like politics and religion. Congrats on her success and hopefully it will continue for years to come.