Dolly Parton Skips Dollywood Ride Opening Amid Ongoing Health Problems

Dolly Parton was unable to attend the opening of NightFlight Expedition at Dollywood on Friday due to ongoing “health issues.”

Dollywood President Eugene Naughton shared a pre-recorded video of the singer during the dedication ceremony for the new ride. “Well, hey Eugene. I’m right here… Well, kind of. Sorta,” Parton said in the video. “I’m still in Nashville, and I’m sorry about that. I was supposed to be there in person like I planned.”

Parton shared that she had been feeling dizzy and dehydrated. She told fans her doctor had advised her against traveling to the opening. “My Nashville doctor has kinda clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.’ So I guess, if your doctor tells you, ‘you ain’t traveling this week,’ you ain’t traveling this week,” she said.

“You have fun, and I’m gonna see you down the road,” she added.

In May, Parton canceled her Las Vegas residency, which had been rescheduled for September. She was originally slated to perform six shows at Caesars Palace in December 2025, but postponed the shows due to “health challenges.”

Parton gave the keynote address at Dollywood during the 41st anniversary celebration in March, one of her first major appearances since the health scare.

Parton bought an interest in the theme park in 1986, and it was renamed to Dollywood. The Dollywood Company operates the theme park, a dinner theater, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, Dollywood’s Splash Country waterpark and the Dream More Resort and Spa. Located in the Knoxville metropolitan area, it is now the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee.