The Tennessee attraction that is part-owned by country music legend Dolly Parton has come out on top in front of Disney in rankings established via a 28,000-person customer service survey conducted by Newsweek and the research firm Statista.

Dollywood – which was opened by the '9 to 5' hitmaker back in 1986 – topped the "amusement park experiences" category with Disney Parks in second. SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Universal completed the top five.

Newsweek global editor in chief Nancy Cooper wrote: "The evaluation focused on five key components: quality of communication, professional competence, range of services, customer focus and accessibility."

Earlier this year, Dollywood saw off competition from Disney World and Disneyland in the National Amusement Park Historical Association's annual members survey.

Disney World and Disneyland tied for second place in the "favourite theme park" category and were also beaten to the "best new attraction" prize by Dollywood's Big Bear Mountain roller-coaster – a child-friendly ride that stretches 3,990 feet of track.

Dollywood hosts almost three million guests in a season from March until the Christmas holidays and Dolly spoke of her pride in what the park had achieved throughout its history at the season opener earlier this year.

She said: "I looked out at the parking lot when I came in and I thought, oh my lord, look at all those cars, all those people. But I'm so proud for every bit of it.

"It's going to be a busy year for Dollywood, no doubt about that."