Dolly Parton’s Tennessee theme park has announced the immediate and unexpected closure of one of its most iconic attractions. According to the Pigeon Forge vacation destination, the Dollywood Express will remain closed for necessary maintenance for several days. Thankfully, the park has provided an estimated reopening timeline.Dollywood Express ClosureThe Dollywood Express predates Dolly Parton’s ownership of the Smoky Mountain vacation destination, dating back to the park’s origins as the Rebel Railroad. The steam train spent years as the star of the Tennessee theme park, surviving several different owners and operating under different names until the country music legend took over in 1986.Credit: DollywoodOver the last several years, the Dollywood Express has experienced repeated maintenance issues, sometimes closing for weeks or months at a time for repair. Earlier this year, Parton’s theme park announced it would convert the steam train from coal to oil, reducing air pollution and making the attraction easier to maintain. Even so, the decades-old ride is still struggling.On Monday, Dollywood posted an official notice to its Instagram story, confirming that the steam train attraction was now closed for maintenance. If all goes well, the attraction will resume operations on Friday, August 7. Read the full statement below:“PARK UPDATEThe Dollywood Express will be closed for maintenance and is currently scheduled to return to service on Friday, August 7.”Credit: Story Screenshot, Instagram, @DollywoodThe closure of the Dollywood Express comes during a transitional period for the Pigeon Forge vacation destination. The park just wrapped up its annual Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration, with the Harvest Festival & Great Pumpkin LumiNights set to kick off on September 14. Smoky Mountain Christmas will follow, beginning on November 6 and continuing through the end of the 2026 operating season on January 3, 2027.Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration presented by @foodcitygrocery looked pretty good on y’all! Thanks for celebrating with us and sharing all the moments that made this season so special. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dollywood Parks & Resorts (@dollywood)Has an attraction closure ever impacted your theme park vacation? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments! The post Dollywood Issues Theme Park Closure Notice on August 3, Effective Immediately appeared first on Inside the Magic.