At $60 million, NightFlight Expedition is Dollywood’s most expensive investment to date, even more than the DreamMore Resort.
All photos: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Coaster enthusiasts easily stand out from typical guests in a queue. Nothing can turn heads from the public like a debate barking out questions like “Do you count that?!”
By their very nature, enthusiasts can be a quirky lot, if not a little obsessive. Most ACE members know fellow coaster fans who “count EVERY-thing,” said with a moan and eyeroll. Usually, it is a mixture of a ride type that throws people into the coasterdom courtroom.
With the recent opening of Expedition NightFlight at Dollywood (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) — delayed as it was — it’s time to fire up the “Is It or Isn’t It Machine.”
For debate’s sake, let’s first put up the reasons against …
No, It Isn’t
- The ride is extraordinary, but it is so many things — boat ride, coaster, dark ride, flying theater, rapids ride — to call it a coaster is a stretch.
- For a five-and-a half-minute ride, riders probably “coast” for maybe 10 seconds.
- It’s supposed to be a boundary-pushing, story-driven ride, not an indoor roller coaster.
And now the reasons for …
Yes, It Is
- Dollywood is calling it the park’s “eleventh coaster.”
- The vehicles are on a track the entire time, and the three dips are gravity-driven.
- Roller Coaster DataBase lists it. Say no more.
This is one that will be overly discussed for years. That’s part of the ride’s magic. It is so many things, it truly can’t be classified other than just an “indoor attraction.” That’s what makes it special.
And special came with a price tag — around $60 million. For people thinking coasters, they can picture what that figure could build towering in the sky. But NightFlight Expedition is a towering coaster; it started with a story, and riders venture into the Smoky Mountains at night in order to see the bioluminescent life — that really exists in the National Park — and venture on a quest for Secret Lake.
The indoor space has more than 44,000 square feet.
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This attraction is so revolutionary, it is easy to want to seek out what it’s like by watching online reports. But the advice of this author is … “Don’t!” Keeping oneself blind to the surprises and the details will only make the ride much more thoroughly enjoyable when actually ridden. Spoiling the secrets benefits no one.
Inside the queue, thematic scenes, such as this one investigating bioluminescent life, helps keep guests entertained.
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The storyline puts riders on a quest to find Secret Lake.
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The ride system is from Mack Rides. It combines so many elements, industry professionals are going to undoubtedly go investigate the experience. (As they should.) Most notable of all the portions of the ride is the first installation of Mack Rides Rocking Boat system in North America. The first ever arrived last year at Futuroscope in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. That ride, Mission Bermudes, was acclaimed by guests and insiders when it opened in 2025.
Dollywood has taken it a step further by integrating it into something much bigger.
Ride and decide.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News
Seen here with the lights on, the station features a moving loading system, although those with ADA needs have access to a nonmoving boat.
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