Dolly Parton did not make it down to the opening of the new NightFlight Expedition ride at her namesake Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. on Friday (Aug. 14) due to her ongoing struggle with unspecified health issues.
But Dollywood president Eugene Naughton shared a personal video from the 80-year-old country legend welcoming the first riders of the park’s newest roller coaster in which she apologized for not being there with them. “Well, hey Eugene. I’m right here… Well, kind of. Sorta,” Parton said in the whimsical clip in which she sprouted colorful butterfly wings and seemed to be interacting with Naughton in real time. “I’m still in Nashville, and I’m sorry about that. I was supposed to be there in person like I planned.”
The singer noted that she’s already shared with fans that she’s had some recent “health issues” and that sometimes she gets “a little dizzy” and dehydrated, which might explain why her doctors advised her against making the 200-mile trek to the park for the opening of the new attraction. “My Nashville doctor has kinda clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.’ So I guess, if your doctor tells you, ‘you ain’t traveling this week,’ you ain’t traveling this week,” she laughed.
She energetically encouraged Naughton to tell the assembled fans all about the new ride, told them to have fun and promised that she would see them “down the road.”
Parton has largely been out of the public eye since announcing the postponement of her Las Vegas residency in September due to a “few” undisclosed medical procedures. She made a rare in-person appearance in March to deliver the keynote address marking the 41st anniversary of Dollywood on this year’s opening day.
“I’ve not been touring, as you know,” Parton said, according to footage shared at the time by local station WVLT 8. “I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them.”
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