Dolly Parton skipped her planned in-person appearance at Dollywood’s new roller coaster opening after her doctor barred her from traveling due to ongoing health issues.
The “9 to 5” songstress, 80, delivered her remarks virtually at the Friday ceremony for NightFlight Expedition, wearing fairy wings as she addressed the crowd from Nashville. “I’m still in Nashville, and I’m sorry about that,” she shared in video posted by Knoxville News Sentinel and the Tennessean. “I’m supposed to be there in person, like we planned.”
Parton has been open with fans about her medical struggles over the past year. “Now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I have had a few little health issues,” she continued in the virtual appearance. “And sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated,” She added plainly, “And I’m dehydrated.”
The country icon revealed her doctor had directly intervened. “And so my Nashville doctor clipped my wings, saying you ain’t traveling this week,” she told the crowd. She took the restriction in stride, noting, “So I guess if your doctor tells you you ain’t traveling this week, you ain’t traveling this week.”
Parton emphasized her commitment to transparency with her audience. She explained that she likes keeping her fans “in the loop” as she promised she would “on everything.”
In the viral moment that sparked broader concern about her condition, Parton missed a September 2025 Dollywood appearance due to a kidney stone that caused an infection. Her sister Freida Parton posted a prayer request on Facebook that October, though she later clarified Dolly was merely “a little under the weather.” Parton’s rep, Olly Rowland, confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the time that “it’s just the kidney stones” keeping her from performing. The health issues ultimately led Parton to postpone and later cancel her Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace, which had been rescheduled for September 2026 after an initial December 2025 postponement.
Parton gave her most detailed health update in a May 4 Instagram Reel, where she described both progress and continued limitations. “First, it’s concerning my health — and I have some good news and a little bad news,” she said in the video. “But the good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day. Now, the bad news is that it’s gonna take me a little while before I’m up to stage performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a little swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say.”
She used her signature humor to describe the scope of her ailments. “Let’s think of me like an old classic car, that once restored, can be better than ever,” Parton quipped. “When they raised the hood on this old antique, they realized that I need to rebuild my engine and that my transmission is slipping, my oil pan is leaking, my muffler’s busted and my shocks and pistons need to be replaced.”
The “Jolene” hitmaker elaborated on her specific conditions. “I’ve told you before that I’ve always had problems with my kidney stones,” she said. “Lord, they dig more stones out of me a year than the rock quarry in Rockwood, Tenn. But seriously, my immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple of three years, and they’re working real hard on rebuilding their strength.”
Despite her setbacks, Parton has maintained an active work schedule on non-performance projects. She noted in her May update that she was still “making videos, recording and going to Dollywood,” plus preparing for her SongTeller Hotel and Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum opening in Nashville. She has also been spending considerable time “rewriting and reworking” her Broadway musical, “Dolly: A True Original Musical,” which she said is set to debut in New York “this fall or early winter.”
The past year has carried additional emotional weight for the entertainer. Her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, died in March 2025. “After going through a year of firsts, I mean the holidays, and especially our wedding anniversary and the date of his death, March 3, that was hard for me,” Parton shared in her May video. She thanked fans for their outpouring of support, noting, “Lord, my house and my porch looked like the botanical gardens with all the flowers, and my den looked like the post office with all the cards and letters.”
Parton has consistently pushed back against speculation that her health might force retirement. In a November 2025 interview, she said, “People say, ‘Well, you’re going to be 80 years old.’ Well, so what? Look at all I’ve done in 80 years. I feel like I’m just getting started,” She added, “I ain’t got time to get old!”
Her doctor-ordered absence from the Dollywood roller coaster opening marks the latest in a string of missed personal appearances, even as she continues business operations remotely. The NightFlight Expedition event went forward with her virtual participation rather than the in-person presence fans and park officials had originally expected.
Parton’s Broadway musical “Dolly: A True Original Musical” is scheduled to open in New York this fall or early winter.