Dollywood earns top spot as ‘favorite theme park’ for third straight year

Dollywood earned the title of “favorite theme park” in the country for the third straight year in 2024.

That’s according to the National Amusement Park Historical Association’s (NAPHA) recently released yearly NAPHA Amusement Park Attractions Survey of its members.

Dollywood’s first-place ranking for “favorite theme park” – one of a handful of categories that the survey looks at – for 2024 marked Dollywood’s latest instance of receiving the title, after notching it with the NAPHA’s members in 2022 and 2023. 

The park, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is also tied for first in that category with two other theme parks in 2021, per the NAPHA. 

The entrance to Dollywood is viewed on Oct. 18, 2016 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Located near the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this tourist resort community is home to Dollywood and other entertainment and roadside attractions.  (George Rose / Getty Images)

Dollywood has over 50 rides and attractions. More than 2 million people visit Dolly Parton’s park each year, according to the park’s website.

DOLLY PARTON’S $650 MILLION EMPIRE: FROM HUMBLE ROOTS TO QUEEN OF COUNTRY MUSIC, MOVIES AND NOW MAKEUP

No. 2 for “favorite theme park” went to Disneyland, the Walt Disney Co.-operated park in Anaheim, California. 

In the survey, Dollywood was also dubbed the second “most beautiful park” behind Busch Gardens Williamsburg, according to the NAPHA.

Road sign display for the Summer Celebration in front of the FireChaser roller coaster ride at the Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, TN.  (Ron Buskirk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Ticket booth at the entrance to Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, TN.  (Ron Buskirk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

When it came to traditional amusement parks, Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania emerged as NAPHA members’ favorite for that category.

SPIRIT OF SERVICE LIVES ON 70 YEARS AFTER VETERANS BUILT ORIGINAL DISNEY PARK

Knoebels Amusement Resort’s Phoenix roller coaster was also named the “favorite wood roller coaster” for 2024 for the 14th year in a row, the NAPHA said. 

Other categories included in the NAPHA survey included “favorite steel roller coaster” and “best new attraction,” which Cedar Point’s Millennium Force and Six Flags Great Escape’s The Bobcat, respectively earned. 

The NAPHA’s members have over 130 different parks under their belts on average, it said. 

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE