Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season from mid-March to the Christmas holidays, Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee.

In addition to standard amusement park thrill rides, Dollywood features traditional crafts, food, and music of the Smoky Mountain area.

The park opened in early 1961 as a small tourist attraction owned by the Robbins brothers from Blowing Rock, North Carolina.

[6] Also in 1977, the train ride added two new steam locomotives, the #70 and the #71, plus the remains of engine #72 for spare parts, from the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad.

In 2010, Parton said she became involved with the operation because she "always thought that if I made it big or got successful at what I had started out to do, that I wanted to come back to my part of the country and do something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs into this area.

In 1995, the Jukebox Junction 1950s "Main Street" themed area was added and included Rockin' Roadway miniature car ride, The Pines Theater, Red's Diner, and Cas Walker's Music Store.

The Flooded Mine dark-ride was closed and demolished in October, and Silver Screen Cafe became DJ Platters in the Dollywood Boulevard area.

Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure, a new simulator film, replaced Thunder Road, and a new Dolly museum called Chasing Rainbows opened in the building formerly occupied by DJ Platters.

[11] In 2003, summer children's festival KidsFest premiered, and Imagination Station was converted into Celebration Hall, a special events facility.

The new rides included Dizzy Disk, Amazing Flying Elephants, Lemon Twist, Shooting Star, Sky Rider, VeggieTales Sideshow Spin (children's roller coaster), Waltzing Swinger, Piggy Parade, Busy Bees, and Lucky Ducky.

The 2007 season included the addition of Mystery Mine, a Gerstlauer Eurofighter coaster with two vertical lifts hills and dark ride elements.

[11] In 2008, River Battle, an interactive water raft ride, was built in a new section of the park called Wilderness Pass that connected the Timber Canyon and Craftsman's Valley areas.

Land of Blue Smoke," which featured music written by Dolly Parton and told the story of the last family living in the Smoky Mountains at the time it became a national park.

"Thunder Road" was renamed "White Lightning" and then changed to a new attraction, Journey to the Center of the Earth: 4-D Adventure, based on the 2008 film.

In 2009, an upcharge zipline attraction called SkyZip (owned by Skyline Eco-Adventures of Maui, Hawaii) opened at Dollywood, becoming the first multi-line zip line tour inside a theme park.

[2] It included three distinct adventure courses, Geyser Gorge, Black Bear Cliff, and Rocky Top, that ranged from easy to expert with 100 different rope features, swinging beams, suspension bridges, flying islands, and floating stairs.

New shows for the season included Cirque Shanghai, Mystic India, and One World Party as part of Festival of Nations along with more than 50 new international food items.

[11] Dollywood's slogan was changed to "Love Every Moment," and Smoky Mountain Christmas added a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer meet-and-greet called Holly Jolly Junction.

Cas Walker's was demolished to make room for a new attraction, and six new shows were added to "Great American Summer" along with the revival of the Showcase of Stars concert series.

[24] In 2018, the former River Battle site was transformed into the Plaza at Wilderness Pass, a new open space with covered seating for relaxing and enjoying seasonal events.

[25] With the debut of the Spring Mix three-week music series, the 2018 "Season of Showstoppers" also marked the park's largest investment in entertainment in Dollywood's history.

The area now provides a more open space for guests to walk through and also allow a chance to relax and enjoy the views of the passing Dollywood Express.

The Emporium also received a complete makeover, providing a modern shopping experience as guests look to find unique Dollywood keepsakes.

Also, as guests have continued to ask for more room to provide spacing in the park, two buildings were removed to allow for wider walkways — the former Eagle Shop (part of the second phase of the Craftsman’s Valley widening project) and the former Christmas Cottage in Rivertown Junction.

Attractions include Dollywood Grist Mill, Valley Theater, Eagle Mountain Sanctuary, Wings of America Theater, Robert F. Thomas Chapel, Calico Falls Schoolhouse, Tennessee Tornado coaster, Blazing Fury coaster, Daredevil Falls flume ride, and craft exhibits.

Attractions include the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Dollywood Express steam train, Heartsong Theater, Village Carousel.

Rides include Dizzy Disk, The Amazing Flying Elephants, Lemon Twist, Shooting Star, Sky Rider, The Waltzing Swinger, Piggy Parade, Busy Bees, Lucky Ducky, Dolly's Demolition Derby, and The Scrambler.

Opened in 2019; attractions include Dragonflier, a suspended family coaster; Big Bear Mountain, a family launched coaster; The Mad Mockingbird, a flying scooter ride; The Wildwood Tree, a 50-foot-tall (15 m) lighted tree; and Till & Harvest Food Hall, a Smoky Mountains-inspired restaurant.

[42] In addition to three dinner show options, more than 25 vendors serve meals and snacks, ranging from barbecue ribs, pizza, corn dogs, and pork rinds to cinnamon bread, funnel cakes, cotton candy, and banana pudding made using Dolly's recipe.

It uses an all-you-can-eat buffet format with comfort foods like chicken and dumplings, tacos, and steaks along with a salad bar and health-conscious choices.