Dollywood has announced another scheduled closure for its newest and most expensive attraction, NightFlight Expedition, beginning September 28. The park says the closure — running Monday, September 28 through Friday, October 2 — is needed to make additional adjustments aimed at delivering a better experience for guests.

Dollywood was always deeply personal to Dolly Parton. She stayed closely involved with the Tennessee park throughout her life, regularly appearing at major openings and helping steer its growth while keeping its Smoky Mountains roots, local culture, and her own story at the heart of the resort. Today, Dollywood blends Parton's legacy with major theme park attractions, live entertainment, festivals, and Southern food — including roller coasters such as Lightning Rod, Wild Eagle, and Big Bear Mountain.

That investment continued right up to the end of Parton's life. Months before her passing on August 25, Parton appeared at Dollywood to share details about NightFlight Expedition, the park's biggest attraction investment to date. The indoor adventure coaster opened in Wildwood Grove on August 19, 2026, becoming the park's 11th roller coaster.

A Rocky Debut for NightFlight Expedition

NightFlight Expedition has had a difficult debut. Originally slated for spring 2026, the $60 million attraction was delayed until August 19, with Dollywood president Eugene Naughton saying crews needed more time for adjustments and testing on the unusually complex ride system.

The attraction is billed as the world's first indoor family hybrid coaster and whitewater river raft ride. Over roughly five and a half minutes, riders move between simulated flight, roller coaster track, more than 500,000 gallons of whitewater, and a boat section while searching the Smokies for a mysterious source of bioluminescence.

Problems continued after opening. Dollywood closed NightFlight from August 25 through August 30 after manufacturer Mack Rides requested more time to adjust the timing of its turntable. Early riders also reported extended downtime, water leaking into the queue, and malfunctioning sections of the attraction's screens.

Those issues have persisted into September. Guests have continued reporting intermittent breakdowns and incomplete effects. As one guest wrote on Reddit this week: "It doesn't quite work. Rode [it] a few times last week. It misses its marks and timing a lot, so you are ahead of or behind the ride elements. Also the [theming] is a lot of scrim and 'sheets' which I'm sure looked better before all the leaking but, there's no magic in a scene where the backdrops are sagging and wrinkled extensively from the corners inward."

Now Dollywood has confirmed yet another scheduled closure. In a statement, the park wrote:

"NightFlight Expedition will be closed Monday, Sept. 28 – Friday, Oct. 2 as we make additional adjustments to provide a better guest experience. Check Dollywood social channels for any additional updates."

Guests Weigh In

Many guests are skeptical that a short closure will be enough to resolve the attraction's ongoing issues.

"Dollywood just needs to close night flight for the rest of the season and open it next season," said one fan on Reddit.

Another wrote, "They are in a bad spot. They heavily advertised this as a new attraction. I could see them being worried about potential litigation if they close the ride entirely."

A third guest reflected, "I think it went up before it was ready. It was front and center in all the season pass marketing, and I think that put a clock on it that the ride just couldn't meet. I was expecting to ride it early in the summer, and here we are almost in October with it still not running consistently."

As Dollywood's most expensive ride ever, NightFlight Expedition faced enormous pressure before its opening. Some have theorized that it opened ahead of schedule so Parton herself could celebrate one last opening for the park. One fan offered a sympathetic take: "Given the circumstances with Dolly's failing health and them trying to get it open before she passed I'm not going to be too hard on them about it. They really need to just shut the thing down and fix/finish it. … If Eugene came out tomorrow and gave a simple explanation of they rushed it for Dolly, we know it has issues, we're shutting it down to get it up to the level of quality our guests expect I would have a lot of respect for him."

During the attraction's opening, Parton — who was unable to physically attend — said, "I've been wanting to tell everybody about our great new ride, NightFlight Expedition. You have fun, and I'm gonna see you down the road." In a previous statement, she praised the attraction's concept: "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."

Dollywood Has Been Here Before

Dollywood has faced reliability problems with an ambitious coaster before. Lightning Rod opened in 2016 as the world's first launched wooden coaster, but its unique launch system became notorious for downtime, with the attraction suffering repeated closures and maintenance issues throughout its early years. In 2020, Dollywood closed Lightning Rod for major changes, ultimately replacing roughly 57% of its wooden Topper Track with steel track. Even that did not solve everything, and the park continued making tweaks as the coaster's launch remained a persistent source of downtime. For 2024, Dollywood removed Lightning Rod's signature launch entirely, replacing it with a chain lift and introducing new trains to improve reliability — while the rest of the ride, including its 73 mph top speed, remained largely unchanged.

Have you experienced NightFlight Expedition yet? Let us know your thoughts!