How early does Dollywood open in 2025?
Over its 40 years of existence, Dollywood has become one of the truly great American theme parks. It is a worthy rival to Universal and Disney and has passed other parks like King’s Island or Six Flags. At least in my opinion.
However, Florida theme parks have an advantage over Dollywood in that they can remain open year-round. Dollywood closes in early January and reopens sometime in March due to the winter weather. Tennessee winters aren’t as harsh as they are further north, but Dollywood leadership has so far been unable to find a formula that works in keeping the park open year-round.
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When will Dollywood be open in 2025?
Dollywood will open to the general public on March 15. That’s a week later than it did in 2024. The general target date for the last few years has been somewhere around March 10th. The annual celebration of passholders – which Dolly herself often attends – occurs the day before the park officially opens. This year the annual passholder preview will be on March 14.
The 2025 Dollywood schedule
The Dollywood schedule is built around a series of festivals. A tradition that included the great but now defunct International Festival which brought performers and food booths from around the world to Dollywood.
This year kicks off with the I Will Always Love You Music Festival named after one of Dolly’s most famous songs. Running from March 14 through April 13, the festival is a celebration filled with Dolly Inspired shows and art Installations as well as festival-specific dishes.
The festival will be followed by the Flower and Food Festival, a spring favorite for both the vibrant floral arrangements and also delicious foods available. The Flower and Food Festival runs from April 18 through June 8. There are also some specific spring-time-themed entertainment and shows.
The Flower and Food Festival is followed closely by the Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration, presented by Food City. In my opinion, the summer festival is the least distinct of the Dollywood Festivals. It is mostly just the park being open in summer except for the closing fireworks and drone show, which is amazing.
To be fair, some things are unique to the season such as sprinklers and interactive fountains. But those feel less like festival additions and more like things that prevent heat stroke in the Smoky Mountain humidity. That said, the Gazillion Bubble Show is a standout, however. At Dollywood, summer lasts from June 14 through Aug. 3.
After spring and summer come the fall
The Harvest Festival, presented by Humana, begins on Sept. 12 and runs through Oct. 27 when the park closes briefly to prepare for the Christmas Festival which begins Nov. 1.
Highlights of the Harvest include the Great Pumpkin LumiNights, which shines after dark with not-so-spooky nighttime fun for all ages. During the Festival, the park will be decked out in all its best Autumn décor, perfect to match the changing colors of the mountains. There is also seasonal food and entertainment to be enjoyed.
The Smoky Mountain Christmas festival
The final festival of the year is probably the most popular. I think it’s a dead heat between Smoky Mountain Christmas and the Flower and Food Festival. Smoky Mountain Christmas, presented by Humana, features Dollywood bedecked in millions of lights as a sparkling, winter wonderland. Christmas-themed shows, entertainment and classic food are all part of this annual holiday celebration.
Changes to the schedule over the years
Over the years, Dollywood has pushed back its opening date in pursuit of the perfect balance of acceptable weather and demand. When Dollywood opened for the first time in 1986 – the park had been Silver Dollar City the year before – the opening day was May 3. Not opening the park until May left a lot of money on the table. April is a fine month to theme park in East Tennessee. And yes, I just used theme park as a verb.
But it seems like it took a while for the park’s leadership to embrace change. In 2005, for Dollywood’s 20th year, the season-opening day was still in April. Five years later, in the park’s 25th season, opening day was March 27. The opening kept moving back from there. The opening day for the 30th season in 2015 was March 20.
Will Dollywood ever go year-round?
There are two different schools of thought. One led by a Dollywood insider with the power and foresight to make it happen. The other is led by – well probably not led by – but includes me.
It’s a yes, according to Dollywood President Eugene Naughton who told Knox News last year that he’s set a goal of being the top family destination in the country and he doesn’t think that’s possible as a part-time park.
But it’s a no, according to me. Look, in January we had a week or so of highs that didn’t reach the 20s. We went a couple of weeks without reaching the 45-degree mark. Can a theme park operate in those conditions? I don’t think so. And while the Tennessee winters are usually fairly mild, we’ve had cold snaps in recent Januarys and Februarys that would make park operations near impossible. Yes, they’ve pushed the openings into March. But a couple of the biggest snowstorms in Tennessee history came down the park in March. I don’t see how February or January is possible.
Now, some will say people come to the park in December when it’s almost as cold as January but that’s the glow of Christmas. Is anyone going to want to sing carols and don gay apparel on January 19th? I’m skeptical.
The vision of a year-round park
Maybe Naughton’s vision of a year-round park is just being open during daylight hours on the weekends. But even then, I don’t see it. Most of the rides can’t be in operation when the temps dip near freezing and the logistics of staffing the restaurants and shops just for a handful of days a month would be daunting at best. Will visitors pay Dollywood ticket prices for a winter experience with a park manned by a skeleton crew and little to no rides operating? I don’t think so.
Now, could Dollywood open on a limited basis around Valentine’s Day? I could see that. A few specials at the restaurants, a little shopping. That could work. But I’d hardly call that a year-round opening.
Another factor in the year-round plan is Dollywood’s workforce. Can Dollywood staff the park in frigid conditions? Years ago, a friend of mine used the long break to take a couple of months off work, draw unemployment and focus on his schooling.
Of course, Naughton knows a lot more about it than I do. Maybe people will break out their parkas and bring their sled dogs in the depths of January to catch a few Dollywood shows.
“When we’re open, people come,” Naughton told Knox News. ““Behind the scenes, a big part of my job is the development of the long-term plan that’s gonna drive our overall experiences, I’m very focused on trying to march my way toward (Dollywood being open throughout the year).”
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