Dollywood announces new ride, ‘Night Flight Expedition,’ coming next year

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WATE) — Dollywood shared new details Wednesday morning about its attraction coming to the park in 2026.

Via a skit, Dollywood — without its namesake, Dolly Parton — unveiled “Night Flight Expedition,” a first-of-its-kind ride that will feature four thrilling adventures in one attraction.

At the ride announcement event Wednesday, Dollywood President Eugene Naughton said the new ride, which has been in the works for three years, would open in spring 2026.

Usually, Parton is in person with Naughton for the announcements about new attractions at the park, but Naughton shared a video with the crowd from Dolly herself addressing the unusual situation.

“I had a little problem, I had a kidney stone that was causing me a lot of problems, turned out [it had] given me an infection and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling right this minute, so you need a few days to get better.’ So he suggested I not go to Dollywood today, but I’m there with you in spirit,” Parton said.

Parton also discussed the ride for a moment, saying that she usually doesn’t ride the rides at Dollywood, but this one was just magical enough that she may check it out.

There does appear to be a tie-in with another Dollywood Ride, with the skit referencing Big Bear Mountain, a coaster at Dollywood. Recent park visitors may have also noticed construction on a building happening near Big Bear Mountain while riding the train, or posters for “Hidden Hollow Aviation” around the park.

Naughton explained they had worked hard to keep the new ride a secret. Noting how strange it felt to make the announcement alone, Naughton also introduced Andrew Wexler, CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment, the parent company of Dollywood.

Naughton and Wexler shared that not long after Big Bear Mountain opened in 2023, they were on a plane traveling to Europe to ride the prototype of Night Flight Expedition. Naughton said the new ride tells another Wildwood Grove story and, really, “another Dolly story,” all about the Great Smoky Mountains at night.

“It’s one of the most biodiverse places in the world, and the Great Smoky Mountains comes to life in many ways, through plants and creatures, in the night,” Naughton said.

According to Naughton and Wexler, there are four parts to the ride where visitors will fly, plunge, climb and drop like a roller coaster, and then navigate to a “very special lake.” The entire ride takes place inside a 44,000-square-foot building with 500,000 gallons of water in a “roaring rapids” segment.

During the 2025 season preview day in March, Parton and Naughton revealed that the new attraction is the biggest, most ambitious, and possibly the most expensive project that the park has undertaken.