By Amber Raiken

Copyright independent

Dolly Parton skipped out on a major event for her theme park, Dollywood, to focus on her health.

The amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, shared a pre-recorded message from Parton about her missing Wednesday’s scheduled visit, which was to celebrate Dollywood’s new Night Flight Expedition ride.

“Hello, Dollywood! It’s me,” the singer said in the clip shared on X, which was played during the event at Dollywood. “I know, I’m here, and you’re there. And you’re wondering why that is? Well, I had a little problem.”

“I had a kidney stone that was causing me a lot of problems. Turned out it’d given me an infection,” she continued in the video, which appeared to be filmed from her living room. “And the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling right this minute, so you need a few days to get better.’”

Parton noted that while her doctor told her not to go to Dollywood last night, she was there with the guests “in spirit.” She also reassured fans that she’ll recover from the health issue soon.

“I’ll be back as quick as I can,” she concluded. “Don’t worry about me, I’m gonna be okay. Just can’t do it today.”

The new attraction at Parton’s amusement park, Night Flight Expedition, is expected to open in 2026.

“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,” Dollywood teased in a Wednesday Instagram video.

Parton’s health issue comes six months after her husband of 60 years, Carl Dean, died. During an interview with The Associated Press in May, she said Dean died after “he was ill for quite a while.”

Despite preparing for a Las Vegas residency in December and working on new music, the “Jolene” singer has put some of her songwriting on hold. During a July appearance on Khloé Kardashian’s podcast, Khloé in Wonder Land, Parton opened up about how she has been struggling to complete songs because she is still processing her grief.

“[There are] several things I have wanted to start, but I can’t do it,” she told the reality TV star when asked whether she ever suffered from writer’s block, or had begun to write a song but not finished it. “I will later. 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’ve] got so many other things.”

“I can’t afford the luxury of, you know, getting that emotional right now,” Parton added. “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.”