Dollywood’s newest attraction, the more than $60 million NightFlight Expedition, was celebrated this past weekend during a ride dedication event attended by media, VIPs and park season passholders.
Featuring a thrilling experience, NightFlight Expedition 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 Parton 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.
“NightFlight Expedition represents a defining moment not only for Dollywood but for the theme park industry as a whole,” explained Eugene Naughton, Dollywood Parks & Resorts President. “This attraction redefines how a family ride can be used to tell a rich, authentic story true to your park and its surroundings. We’re blessed to be in the Great Smoky Mountains, and NightFlight Expedition allows us to take guests on an unforgettable nighttime adventure in the mountains with groundbreaking technology, immersive storytelling and a ride system that offers four distinct experiences.
“We believe NightFlight Expedition will be a true game changer, further elevating Dollywood’s reputation for innovation, true heart and world-class experiences rooted in the beauty of the Smoky Mountains.”
NightFlight Expedition—which features a 39 inch height requirement—is located inside a 44,000-square-foot, 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.
NightFlight Expedition marks an expansion of Wildwood Grove.
