PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Oct. 30, 2024) — Newsweek has named Dollywood Parks & Resorts as the #1 theme park company in the United States for customer service. Following a recurring trend for the Smoky Mountain family destination, the award follows several recent honors that have recognized the park and its resorts as the best-of-the-best.
The America’s Best Customer Service 2025 ranking is based on an independent survey of more than 28,000 U.S. customers who have either made purchases, used services, or gathered information about products or services in the past three years. More than 200,000 evaluations of brands were collected with customers asked a number of questions about their interactions with the companies. Consumers were asked whether they would recommend brands to friends or family and to assess brands in the areas of quality of communications, professional competence, range of services, customer focus and accessibility. Results were provided for 163 categories, with the top 3-5 brands recognized in each category.
Dollywood received a score of 93.22 out of 100, placing it atop the Amusement Park Experience category. The top-five were Dollywood Parks & Resorts, Disney Parks & Resorts, SeaWorld Parks, Busch Gardens Theme Parks, and Universal Parks & Resorts. Interestingly, Dollywood’s 93.22 overall score ranked it #8 out of the entire Transportation and Travel category which includes airlines, car rentals, cruise operators, luxury hotels, premium hotels, and spa resorts & retreats. The Top 10 in the category are Mandarin Oriental, Waldorf Astoria, Staybridge Suites, Westin, The Lodge at Woodloch, Enterprise CarShare, The Ritz-Carlton, Dollywood Parks & Resorts, Disney Cruise Line and Loews Hotels.
“We’re honored to win these awards,” said Dollywood Parks & Resorts President Eugene Naughton, “because it reflects the hard work our entire staff does to ensure our guests have the best possible experience while they are here. Customer service is key to creating the welcoming environment our guests talk about the most after a visit to our theme parks and resorts. We often say we don’t do what we do to win awards; we do it because it is the right thing to do. We appreciate these honors, but after a full day of experiences at one of our properties, we want our guests to leave thankful for the memories and more connected to one another than when they first came. If that happens, it means we all did our jobs well.”
Dollywood Parks & Resorts’ score also ranked it #26 out of the more than 700 brands across 163 categories represented in the survey. The top 10 companies on the overall list are Mandarin Oriental, Waldorf Astoria, Staybridge Suites, James Avery, B&H, Westin, Lancome, Kilwins, The Lodge at Woodloch and Aflac.
According to Nancy Cooper, Newsweek Global Editor in Chief, “Customer service is a cornerstone of a great shopping experience. Whether shopping online or in store, customers want to feel valued, heard and supported… With customer expectations higher than ever, businesses are finding new ways to meet those demands… We hope these rankings help you make informed decisions about the places to shop where you will have the best experience and feel most valued.”
To view the entire list, please visit https://www.newsweek.com/rankings/americas-best-customer-service-2025
The Newsweek award is another in Dollywood’s growing list of accolades. According to Tripadvisor, Dollywood ranked #1 in both 2024 and 2022 as the best park in the United States based on feedback from actual guest reviews and it is the only North American theme park in the worldwide Top 10 this year. Earlier this year, Dollywood earned Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards for Best Guest Experience, Best Christmas Event, Best Kids Area, Most Beautiful Park, Best New Show and Best Family Coaster. Dollywood Parks & Resorts has earned a number of additional awards in 2024, including:
- Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort named one of National Geographic’s 22 “Hotels we love in 2024”;
- Southern Living named Dollywood the Best Attraction in the South;
- A study by travel insurance company Insureandgo named Dollywood the #1 attraction in the world “Guests Want to Return To”;
- Dollywood Parks & Resorts named a top regional workplace by Gannett;
- The National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) named Dollywood the favorite theme park in the country.
For anyone wishing to share the magic of creating cherished family memories at one of the world’s best theme park destinations, a Dollywood Season Pass is the best gift to give loved ones. Diamond and Gold Season Passes purchased during Dollywood’s award-winning Smoky Mountain Christmas presented by Humana allow admission to this year’s festival and Dollywood during the entire 2025 operating season. Guests can purchase their 2025 Season Pass now or upgrade their regular admission ticket on the day of their visit. Ticket purchasers receive credit for the value of a regular one-day ticket toward a 2025 Season Pass. Smoky Mountain Christmas begins Friday, and next year marks Dollywood’s 40th anniversary season. With so many surprises in store to celebrate the milestone, it will be a year to remember.
For more information, please visit dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.
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About Dollywood Parks & Resorts: A highly awarded and widely recognized leader in the amusement industry, The Dollywood Company consists of the 165-acre Dollywood theme park; the 35-acre Dollywood’s Splash Country; and Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, and the newly opened Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort. As unique as its namesake and owner Dolly Parton, Dollywood is the 2010 Applause Award winner, the theme park industry’s highest accolade; winner of 58 Golden Ticket Awards; and recipient of 28 Brass Ring Awards for Live Entertainment. The park is located near Great Smoky Mountains National Park and earned the Golden Ticket Award for the Best Park in the world in 2023. This year, Dollywood was named by Tripadvisor as the #1 theme park in the country based on actual guest reviews. It also has been recognized as a top U.S. theme park by USA Today on multiple occasions. Dollywood is open mid-March through early January and offers rides and attractions, shows and crafters authentic to the East Tennessee region. Dollywood’s Splash Country, recognized by the Travel Channel and Tripadvisor as one of the country’s most beautiful water parks, operates from mid-May to Labor Day. Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa as well as Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort provide guests with spectacular mountain views and family-friendly amenities next door to Dollywood theme park and Dollywood’s Splash Country. For more information, visit dollywood.com. Operating days and hours vary.
Media Contacts:
Pete Owens: Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations, (865) 428-9486, (865) 755-7972 or [email protected]
Wes Ramey: Public Relations Director, (865) 428-9484, (865) 640-3805 or [email protected]
Ellen Liston: Public Relations Manager, (865) 428-9629, (865) 919-7001 or [email protected]
Jennifer Webb: Sr. Publicist, (865) 428-9602, (865) 323-7584 or [email protected]
Josh Sauer: Publicist, (865) 428-9891, (865) 323-2653 or [email protected]
Eve Thompson: Publicist, (865) 428-9496, (703) 232-2248 or [email protected]
For B-roll, photography and more information, visit the Dollywood Media Room at http://www.dollywood.com/Media/Media-Room