Dolly Parton Misses Dollywood Attraction Announcement Due to Kidney Stone Recovery
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NEED TO KNOW
- Dolly Parton was absent at the announcement of Dollywood’s new Night Flight Expedition ride
- The country star appeared in a video shown at the event explaining why she couldn’t be there
- “I had a kidney stone that was causing me a lot of problems,” she said
Why was Dolly Parton missing for the latest Dollywood attraction announcement?
The 79-year-old country star’s Pigeon Forge, Tenn. theme park announced its new Night Flight Expedition ride with an on-site event on Wednesday, Sept. 17, which featured a video from Parton explaining how a health issue kept her from attending.
“Hello Dollywood! It’s me,” she told fans. “I know — and I’m here, and you’re there. And you’re wondering why that is? Well, I had a little problem.”
Parton continued, “I had a kidney stone that was causing me a lot of problems, turned out it’d given me an infection, and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling right this minute, so you need a few days to get better.'”
Jason Kempin/Getty
“So, he suggested I not go to Dollywood today, but I’m there with you in spirit,” she added. “I was looking so forward to it.”
Night Flight Expedition is coming to Dollywood next year. “What happens in the Smoky Mountains after the sun goes down? Soar, plunge, climb and navigate the first ride of its kind in the world,” teased the theme park on Instagram.
Parton may have missed the announcement, but she’s had a busy 2025. A musical about her life opened in Nashville in January ahead of an expected move to Broadway next year, and she’s gearing up for a Las Vegas residency in December.
The “Jolene” singer also has new music in the works, but she’s putting certain creative projects on hold after her husband of 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, died in March 2025.
“[There are] several things I have wanted to start, but I can’t do it,” Parton told Khloé Kardashian on her podcast, Khloé in Wonder Land.
Jason Kempin/Getty
“I will later,” she continued. “I’m just coming up with such wonderful beautiful ideas, but I think I won’t finish it. I can’t do it right now, because I got so many other things.”
“I can’t afford the luxury of, you know, getting that emotional right now,” Parton said. “There are times like that, things like that, that will stall you a little bit. But I’ll write something else though, if it comes.”
“I’m just putting that all on hold,” she added.
Credit to Nypost AND Peoples
