On Thursday, an esteemed Tennessee park won more awards than any other park during the Golden Ticket Awards virtual ceremony.
Dollywood, a famed park known for its theme park rides, music and water attractions, won four Golden Ticket Awards and earned finalist placement in several categories.
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This year, the park won Best Guest Experience of any theme park in the world, Best Kid’s Area, Best Christmas Event for the 13th consecutive year and the Most Beautiful Park award for the first time this year.
While there were no awards given in 2020 due to the pandemic, in 2019, Dollywood won the Best Kids’ Area and Best Guest Experience awards.
Park Owner Dolly Parton is proud of what the park has been able to accomplish.
“These awards show that our guests think we’re doing the right thing,” Parton said. “We love the awards, but of course, we don’t do what we do just to win awards. We want families to come spend time with us, enjoy one another and hold on to those memories forever.”
She added that she remembers growing up as a little girl in the Great Smoky Mountains and realizing that it’d be the perfect place to draw in people from around the world.
“Ever since we opened Dollywood in 1986, people have told us how special this place is because of the friendly people and the beautiful mountains that God has blessed us with,” she said. “We make sure to take all that beauty that surrounds us and bring it right down into the middle of the park. We’re truly surrounded—all the way around—by the Smokies!”
Dollywood also had top-10 (finalist) positions in five additional categories:
- Best Park, second place;
- Best Food, second place;
- Best New Show (Sweet Summer Nights), third place;
- Best Steel Coaster (Lightning Rod), seventh place;
- Best Wood Coaster (Thunderhead), tenth place