Why Did Dollywood Close? Theme Park Apologizes to Guests "Impacted" by the Shutdown

Singer-songwriter Dolly Parton has various jobs and projects over the years. Since 1986, one of them has been her theme park, Dollywood .

Dollywood is in Dolly's hometown, Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Throngs of tourists visit the amusement park throughout the year, but especially in the summer.

In July 2024, the attraction was forced to close its doors. So, what happened?

Why did Dollywood close?

For those who had Dollywood on their summer bucket lists, we have great news — Dollywood isn't closed for good! OK, now that we can all breathe, let's continue.

On Wednesday, July 17, the park announced on its social media accounts that it had to temporarily close. The closure was due to a water main break that happened that morning.

According to Wate 6 in Knoxville, Tenn., Dollywood's maintenance teams and crews worked tirelessly to fix the water break in time for the park to reopen the following day. The park also promised to honor tickets from Wednesday on the following day to accommodate guests who planned to attend the theme park. Dollywood's other properties, Splash Country and Dollywood Dreammore Resort , were also marked safe from the closure.

After keeping guests updated about the water main break's status on X, Dollywood's team confirmed on Thursday, July 18, Dollywood was ready to reopen. The park released a statement on its Instagram stories thanking guests for their patience and support.

"We are happy to share that the water main break has been repaired," the statement read. "The park will reopen for regular hours today."

"We sincerely apologize to all guests who were impacted by the water break," Dollywood's team continued. "The closure prevented us from creating memories worth repeating for you and your families yesterday, and we want to make it right."

The Dollywood team ended their statement by encouraging guests to call the theme park's number, 1-800-Dollywood, should they need a refund for their July 17 trip. Dolly hasn't discussed Dollywood's closure publicly.