Dollywood Tops Disney Parks in Guest Experience Award for Sixth Consecutive Year

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Dollywood triumphs yet again, surpassing Disney parks to receive the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Award for Exceptional Guest Service. This is the sixth instance that the Tennessee-based theme park has received this prestigious honor. At the same event, it garnered a total of three accolades: Best Guest Experience, Best Area for Kids, and Best Family Roller Coaster.

On September 6, 2025, the Golden Ticket Awards for 2025 were revealed. In the Best Guest Experience category, it was Dollywood that emerged victorious once again, extending its streak of wins. This makes it the sixth straight year that Dollywood has been acknowledged as surpassing both Disney and Universal parks in terms of guest experience.

2019 marked the introduction of this category, and since then, Dollywood has been claiming the top spot. They achieved it for the sixth time in the year 2025. #GTA2025 #CreamOfTheCrop

#GTA2025: Great Textual Achievement 2025 (assuming this is a known acronym)
#BestOfTheBest: Implying that Dollywood was the best in its category for 2025.

— Amusement Today (@amusementtoday) September 7, 2025

Since its debut in 2019, Dollywood’s Wildwood Grove has consistently been named the Best Kids’ Area. This expansive part of the park is their largest expansion to date and encourages visitors to step into the magical world through a hollow log. The landscape within mirrors Dolly Parton’s vivid childhood memories of the Smoky Mountains.

At the heart of the design lies the majestic Wildwood Tree, standing tall at 50-55 feet, adorned with thousands of twinkling butterflies that put on a dazzling light display each night. The surrounding area offers numerous family-friendly attractions, including the Dragonflier (a suspended family roller coaster), Great Tree Swing, Treetop Tower, The Mad Mockingbird, Black Bear Trail, Hidden Hollow (a temperature-controlled play zone), and Wildwood Creek (an interactive water area with musical elements). To further enhance the immersive environment, live character interactions are provided with figures such as Benjamin Bear, Flit, and Flutte.

In a recent development, Dollywood’s Big Bear Mountain received the title of Best Family Coaster. With an impressive length of 3,990 feet, it now holds the record as the longest roller coaster within the park.

At Big Bear Mountain, you’ll find three magnetic launches, 23 exhilarating airtime hills, swift carousel curves, tunnels, and an awe-inspiring passage behind a cascading waterfall – all while reaching speeds of up to 48 mph and soaring up to 66 feet high. This coaster is also unique at Dollywood as it’s the first to feature onboard audio. The trains are designed like four-wheel-drive SUVs with headlights and taillights, accommodating 20 riders each. A minimum height of 39 inches is required for this thrilling ride experience.

Every year, the awards known as the Golden Tickets are presented by Amusement Today. These honors are determined based on votes from seasoned travelers, industry experts, and passionate enthusiasts.

The repeated victory of Dollywood in the category of Best Guest Experience underscores their continuous commitment to providing top-notch service, family-friendly facilities, and captivating attractions. Although the specific voting results aren’t disclosed, this repeated acknowledgement suggests that they consistently uphold a high standard of excellence.

Universal Also Wins Big

Epic Universe’s opening year debuted with four tops wins as well.

  • Best New Roller Coaster: Stardust Racers
  • Best New Attraction Installation: Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry
  • Best New Theme Concept: Dark Universe
  • Best Dark Ride: Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

As a devoted cinephile of all things fun and thrilling, let me share my excitement about being part of the epic moment when Universal’s Volcano Bay swept the Best Water Park award, dethroning the 26-year reigning champion, Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort in New Braunfels, Texas. What a fantastic showdown between these two watery titans!

Golden Ticket Awards Communications Coordinator, Tim Baldwin, commented about Epic’s achievements.

He stated, “This truly was Universal’s moment in time.” All the anticipation leading up to the opening of their park, even prior to the pandemic, had been immense. Yet, they managed to make it happen. The accolades themselves are testament to how well they delivered on their promise.

Having just opened in May, Epic is already stealing the attention of theme park fans and experts.

Disney Parks Falling Behind

Currently, Disney’s theme parks appear to be lagging somewhat. For instance, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind ranks 18th among steel roller coasters.

Disney theme parks are facing challenges in maintaining a high-quality guest experience compared to their competitors, as many visitors have expressed concerns over prioritizing profit at the expense of visitor enjoyment for years. The recent increases in costs and introduction of services like the Lightning Lane Multi Pass, which charges for previously complimentary services, make the parks less affordable for some families. Furthermore, the last few years have witnessed the demolition or rebranding of popular attractions such as MuppetVision3D at Hollywood Studios and Rivers of America in Magic Kingdom; this year alone, some long-standing favorites have been permanently closed.

But will the House of Mouse change course? They have not seemed to yet.

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2025-09-10 17:58