First-of-its-kind Nightflight Expedition marks Dollywood’s most expensive ride yet

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Dollywood revealed Nightflight Expedition Wednesday, the latest ride being billed as the “single most ambitious adventure” to come to Dolly Parton’s theme park. It’s expected to open in the spring of 2026.

A reveal trailer played in a crowded theater at the park said Nightflight Expedition will include four major sections: soaring over East Tennessee, plunging through white water rapids, climbing over the Great Smoky Mountains and dropping off cliffs and ledges. Dollywood President Eugene Naughton said the four aspects of the five-minute ride allowed them to include experiences like riding through 500,000 gallons of water and traditional roller coaster elements.

The ride itself will also be contained completely indoors, Naughton said. Herschend Enterprises CEO Andrew Wexler revealed Nightflight Expedition’s building will take up 44,000 square feet, adding that it will offer refuge from the heat of summer and chill of winter.

Most Dollywood rides also tell some sort of story, and the same is true of Nightflight Expedition. The upcoming ride focuses on a park ranger’s family and their search for Secret Lake, a place in the Smokies you can only get to at night.

“Guests set out on their expedition to find Secret Lake with the help of twin scientists, Cora and Jasper Oakley, who just happen to be the niece and nephew of Wildwood Grove’s resident wilderness explorer, Ned Oakley,” park representatives explained. “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. Cora and Jasper mount the device onto their family’s one-of-a-kind amphibious aircraft to illuminate the Wildwood Tree’s glowing roots and follow them to Secret Lake.”

The coaster is also a product of the same company that created Dollywood’s Wild Eagle, Lightning Rod and Big Bear Mountain rides.

A notable piece missing from Dollywood’s announcement: Dolly herself. The park’s “dreamer in chief” appeared virtually, explaining she had a kidney stone and wasn’t traveling.

“A lot of people ask me about my favorite season in the Smokies, but no one ever asks me what my favorite time of day is,” Dolly later said. “Our new ride sends you out into the mountains at night, which is the time that I think they really come to life! Obviously, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is known for the synchronous lightning bugs, but I also love to just sit and listen to the owls calling or the frogs croaking, and I love to see the stars sparkling like rhinestones up in the big old sky. It’s pure mountain magic.”

She did, in typical Dolly fashion, point out that Nightflight Expedition would be the park’s most expensive ride to date, billed at $50 million.