Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Would you like to ride Dollywood's NightFlight Expedition? If you have, what would your rate it 0-10?
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Ryan & Brie
PO BOX 4975
Sevierville, TN 37864
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Friday, August 14, 2026) — Dollywood’s newest attraction, the more than $60 million NightFlight Expedition, was celebrated with great fanfare today during a ride dedication event attended by media, VIPs and park season passholders. A common description overheard by many as they exited the ride was simply, “Incredible!”
Anticipation for the ride has been high since it was announced last September, with many experts describing it as a gamechanger not only for Dollywood but for the entire theme park industry. Featuring a thrilling, one-of-a-kind experience, NightFlight Expedition has been named by many outlets as the most talked-about theme park attraction opening this season. The ride is the largest single attraction investment in Dollywood’s history and is the park’s 11th roller coaster.
“I’m so proud that we’re able to create something like NightFlight Expedition and give families a brand-new way to experience the Smokies together,” Dolly has said about the attraction. “Growing up here, I learned to love these mountains in a way that stays with you your whole life. I always want folks who visit Dollywood to feel that same way.
“This ride truly is an adventure that lets you see the mountains the way I always remember them, full of wonder and beauty. I’m also excited that with NightFlight Expedition we’re able to tell stories about what happens in the mountains after the sun goes down. Whether a family is coming for their hundredth visit or if they’re coming for their very first time, I hope they’ll make memories here that are just as special as the ones I made growing up.”
With four different experiences comprising one coaster, Dollywood’s NightFlight Expedition adds to the park’s roster of industry-leading ride innovations. The immersive indoor adventure coaster takes guests soaring on a nighttime flight over the scenic Smokies, plunging into a daring whitewater rafting excursion through more than 500,000 gallons of surging water, climbing up and over a mountain ridge, and splashing into a shimmering Smoky Mountain lake.
NightFlight Expedition continues Dollywood’s long history of rich storytelling, beginning with a highly detailed queue line experience that introduces Cora and Jasper Oakley, the niece and nephew of Ned Oakley, the character made famous by the Big Bear Mountain family coaster. Created and built by Dollywood, Herschend Creative Studios and esteemed manufacturer Mack Rides, NightFlight Expedition’s custom-designed ride vehicle interacts with vivid multimedia projections, dynamic onboard and offboard audio, as well as special lighting effects, to draw guests into an extraordinary Smoky Mountain adventure. Mack Rides won the 2025 Amusement Today Golden Ticket for Best New Innovation, thanks to the ride system utilized in NightFlight Expedition.
NightFlight Expedition—which features a 39” height requirement—is located inside a 44,000 sq. ft., temperature-controlled facility, allowing it to operate independently of the Smoky Mountain weather. At the heart of the ride’s nearly five-and-a-half minute adventure is the search for Secret Lake, the water source thought to provide Wildwood Grove’s Wildwood Tree with its colorful glowing canopy.
Guests set out on their expedition to find Secret Lake with the help of twin scientists, Cora and Jasper. The twins, who work out of a hangar at Hidden Hollow Aviation, have invented the Bioluminator, a device designed to detect and amplify bioluminescence, the biochemical emission of light by living organisms found naturally in the Great Smoky Mountains. Cora and Jasper mount the device onto their one-of-a-kind Smoky Mountain Tracker Vehicle to illuminate the Wildwood Tree’s glowing roots and follow them to Secret Lake.
#dollywood #pigeonforge #coaster #gatlinburg #dollyparton #rollercoaster #smokymountains
Would you like to ride Dollywood's NightFlight Expedition? If you have, what would your rate it 0-10?
⏰ Tik Tok | tiktok.com/@AIOTfamily
📸 Instagram | instagram.com/AIOTfamily
👤 Facebook | facebook.com/AIOTfamily
🐦 Twitter | twitter.com/AIOTfamily
🎥 The Camera Gear We Use ► youtu.be/8xn_AnL776E
📬 Contact Us
AdvOutThere@gmail.com
Ryan & Brie
PO BOX 4975
Sevierville, TN 37864
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Friday, August 14, 2026) — Dollywood’s newest attraction, the more than $60 million NightFlight Expedition, was celebrated with great fanfare today during a ride dedication event attended by media, VIPs and park season passholders. A common description overheard by many as they exited the ride was simply, “Incredible!”
Anticipation for the ride has been high since it was announced last September, with many experts describing it as a gamechanger not only for Dollywood but for the entire theme park industry. Featuring a thrilling, one-of-a-kind experience, NightFlight Expedition has been named by many outlets as the most talked-about theme park attraction opening this season. The ride is the largest single attraction investment in Dollywood’s history and is the park’s 11th roller coaster.
“I’m so proud that we’re able to create something like NightFlight Expedition and give families a brand-new way to experience the Smokies together,” Dolly has said about the attraction. “Growing up here, I learned to love these mountains in a way that stays with you your whole life. I always want folks who visit Dollywood to feel that same way.
“This ride truly is an adventure that lets you see the mountains the way I always remember them, full of wonder and beauty. I’m also excited that with NightFlight Expedition we’re able to tell stories about what happens in the mountains after the sun goes down. Whether a family is coming for their hundredth visit or if they’re coming for their very first time, I hope they’ll make memories here that are just as special as the ones I made growing up.”
With four different experiences comprising one coaster, Dollywood’s NightFlight Expedition adds to the park’s roster of industry-leading ride innovations. The immersive indoor adventure coaster takes guests soaring on a nighttime flight over the scenic Smokies, plunging into a daring whitewater rafting excursion through more than 500,000 gallons of surging water, climbing up and over a mountain ridge, and splashing into a shimmering Smoky Mountain lake.
NightFlight Expedition continues Dollywood’s long history of rich storytelling, beginning with a highly detailed queue line experience that introduces Cora and Jasper Oakley, the niece and nephew of Ned Oakley, the character made famous by the Big Bear Mountain family coaster. Created and built by Dollywood, Herschend Creative Studios and esteemed manufacturer Mack Rides, NightFlight Expedition’s custom-designed ride vehicle interacts with vivid multimedia projections, dynamic onboard and offboard audio, as well as special lighting effects, to draw guests into an extraordinary Smoky Mountain adventure. Mack Rides won the 2025 Amusement Today Golden Ticket for Best New Innovation, thanks to the ride system utilized in NightFlight Expedition.
NightFlight Expedition—which features a 39” height requirement—is located inside a 44,000 sq. ft., temperature-controlled facility, allowing it to operate independently of the Smoky Mountain weather. At the heart of the ride’s nearly five-and-a-half minute adventure is the search for Secret Lake, the water source thought to provide Wildwood Grove’s Wildwood Tree with its colorful glowing canopy.
Guests set out on their expedition to find Secret Lake with the help of twin scientists, Cora and Jasper. The twins, who work out of a hangar at Hidden Hollow Aviation, have invented the Bioluminator, a device designed to detect and amplify bioluminescence, the biochemical emission of light by living organisms found naturally in the Great Smoky Mountains. Cora and Jasper mount the device onto their one-of-a-kind Smoky Mountain Tracker Vehicle to illuminate the Wildwood Tree’s glowing roots and follow them to Secret Lake.
#dollywood #pigeonforge #coaster #gatlinburg #dollyparton #rollercoaster #smokymountains
