Dollywood Voted America’s Favorite Theme Park
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On July 9, 2024, the National Amusement Park Historical Association released its 38th Annual NAPHA member survey. In it, members vote on six categories to determine which theme parks are the best in the industry.
According to the organization’s website, NAPHA members “are typically experienced riders who have visited countless amusement parks and have ridden a diverse assortment of roller coasters and other rides.”
Their annual survey is it oldest of its kind and is highly regarded within the amusement park industry and enthusiasts and while the survey is just for fun, the association says that “parks also are interested in the survey findings, and many incorporate the results into their publicity materials.”
The categories include Favorite Traditional Park, Favorite Theme Park, Most Beautiful Park, Favorite Wood Rollercoaster, Favorite Steel Rollercoaster, and Best New Attraction.
What were the winners of this year’s surveys?
The survey results, which were released on July 9th, were taken at the beginning of the year with a deadline of March 3, 2024. Votes were calculated and finally released this week for the 2023 year.
West Mifflin, PA’s Kennywood was named the NAPHA’s Favorite Traditional Park, while Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA was voted Most Beautiful Park. Favorite Wood Rollercoaster went to the Phoenixm which is at Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg, PA. Millennium Force at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH was voted the Favorite Steel Rollercoaster. Best New Attraction went to Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood.
Dollywood was also named Favorite Theme Park! The Tennessee staple beat out Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL and Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, who placed second and third, respectively.
This isn’t the first time Dollywood has beaten out the Disney parks.
Dollywood was most recently named Favorite Theme Park for 2022, 2021 (tie for first with Busch Gardens and Disneyland), and 2016. The theme park has won in many categories over the years as well!
If you have ever been to Dollywood, these statistics would not surprise you. And it doesn’t surprise Dollywood President Eugene Naughton, either.
“Look at The Dolly Parton Experience, which we opened less than two weeks ago. It is an industry-leading offering that follows closely behind two spectacular additions last year: the greatest new ride in the industry, Big Bear Mountain, and one of the top resort properties at any theme park, HeartSong Lodge & Resort,” Naughton said in a press release.
Dollywood opened in 1986 and hosts nearly 3 million visitors a year during their season, which runs from mid-March to the Christmas holidays.
It is the largest ticketed tourist attraction in the entire state of Tennessee, and has brought hundreds of jobs to Parton’s hometown of Pigeon Forge!
