Overview
- NightFlight Expedition, which began season-passholder previews on Saturday, Aug. 15, is scheduled to open for general public rides on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
- Dollywood built the attraction inside a 44,000-square-foot climate-controlled building that holds more than 500,000 gallons of water to deliver a 5.5-minute experience combining coaster track, whitewater rapids, a boat sequence, motion-sim scenes and multimedia.
- The ride uses Mack Rides’ Rocking Boat hybrid technology in its first fully indoor installation, reaches about 29 mph, has a 39-inch minimum height, and carries characters and story tied to Wildwood Grove.
- Preview riders and reviewers praised the engineering, scale and storytelling but flagged practical issues in technical rehearsals such as vehicles that stay in motion while boarding and soggy exits that may need operational fixes.
- Dolly Parton missed the dedication and gave a video health update saying dehydration and dizziness kept her in Nashville on doctor’s orders as the park begins the attraction’s soft-opening phase.