When Will Dollywood Open in 2020?

One of the most-asked questions about the coronavirus COVID-19 related closures in the Smoky Mountains is “when will Dollywood reopen in 2020?” Dollywood communicates official updates on their website as well as their facebook page. As of May 18th, they have not announced any reopening date, so we have to dig into some clues to rule out when they can’t open and then start to pinpoint when they could possibly open. Keep in mind that nothing has been officially announced & all of the following is our best guess based on what is publicly shared at this point.

First, when will Dollywood not open?

On May 15, Gov. Bill Lee announced that Tennessee will begin relaxing restrictions on large attractions. Large attractions such as amusement parks, water parks, theaters and more are now allowed to reopen on Friday, May 22 in 89 counties in Tennessee. This means that Dollywood is allowed to open as early as May 22! Shortly after the announcement, Dollywood said it would be announcing its opening plans “soon,” but did not give an official opening date.

But as it currently stands, Dollywood’s earliest opening date would be May 22nd.

When will Dollywood reopen?

Ok, so now that we know when they “can’t” open, let’s look at some clues that point to a possibly opening date for 2020.

1) Their earliest possible date for reopening is May 22, 2020.

2) Possibly the biggest clue is the announcement that Dollywood made stating that they are extending current season passes through June 1, 2021. This is a fairly significant clue, because it means if they open on June 1, 2020 then the passes could be used within 365 days. Click here for more details about the season pass extension.

So are we looking at May 22nd or June 1st as the possible opening dates for Dollywood? If we had to pick one of those, we would lean toward June 1st. Mostly because May 22 is on a Friday, which is typically one of the busiest days of the week…and reopening with numerous new guidelines and procedures may be easier if started on a Monday with lighter crowds to allow the staff to work through the changes. It will definitely require adjustments and a lot of patience with both the staff as well as guests.

Again, at this time there is no officially announced reopening date for Dollywood. Amusement parks will be under a completely different set of guidelines as other attractions, which may impact whether or not they will be allowed to open on the same dates.

With all of that said, our current best guess points to a hopeful reopening somewhere in June. A lot of positive things need to line up for that to happen, and we will update this post as more updates and details are provided.

Our biggest recommendation at this time if you will be visiting Pigeon Forge soon is to have a variety of options of things to do and be very flexible with your choices. The Smoky Mountains offer so many wonderful things to do for the whole family, so be open to new adventures in the event that Dollywood or anything else is possibly closed or limited during your visit. The Smokies are full of memories waiting to be made!