NightFlight at Dollywood to Reopen August 31st and Continue Technical Rehearsals

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Dollywood’s social media has posted that NightFlight Expedition will operate on Monday, August 31, 2016 from 2pm to 8pm. The ride has been shut down for several days as Dollywood said the manufacturer had asked for additional time to adjust the timing of the ride’s turntable in the flying simulator section. The park hasn’t made any promises after Monday, but the park is scheduled to be closed on Tuesday, September 1st anyway. Dollywood considers the ride in “technical rehearsals” so we can expect the schedule to be fluid, although I’m sure they’d love it operating 100% for Labor Day weekend. I had a chance to experience NightFlight and it’s an extremely ambitious ride with simulator, boat, roller coaster and dark ride elements all together. None of the ride elements of NightFlight themselves were revolutionary, but having one single Mack vehicle do them all in a 5 minute experience was pretty amazing! 

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Former Opryland Ride Old Mill Scream (Lumberjack Falls at Wild Waves) Closes. Maybe Nate Bargatze Should Buy it for his New Nateland Park?

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Lumberjack Falls (Courtesy of Wild Waves Theme & Water Park)

Opryland closed back in 1997, but several of its rides were purchased and still operate today. One of those rides was Lumberjack Falls at Wild Waves Theme & Water Park near Seattle, Washington which operated in Opryland as Old Mill Scream from 1987 to 1997. Unfortunately Wild Waves is slated to close permanently on November 1, 2026 with Lumberjack Falls is already closed for the season (which essentially means forever). This is sad to see on many levels, but perhaps in this there’s a small glimmer of opportunity. Comedian Nate Bargatze is looking to build a theme park called Nateland in Nashville, Tennessee. The park is inspired by Bargatze’s childhood memories of the former Opryland and the era it 90’s era of it’s operations. Wouldn’t it be something if Nate Bargatze bought the former Opryland attraction Old Mill Scream and brought it back to Nashville for his new Nateland theme park? This would be the ultimate homecoming and give Nateland an actual former Opryland attraction.

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Scooter Pals are Now Available at Six Flags Darien Lake

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Scooter Pals are essentially a scooter or ECV in fun and fuzzy packaging. The Scooter Pals website says they’re, “More than just a ride, these ScooterPals Fur-Wheelers® are a full-fledged animal attraction.” They have great names like Lumi McSparklepants the Unicorn, Boogie P. the Giant Panda and Rey’s the Giraffe. They are often found at places like zoos, but they’re now also available at Six Flags Darien Lake right near Rolling Thunder. You can rent a Scooter Pal for a $5 activation fee plus $0.39/minute. That’s the activation fee plus $23.40/hour. During a recent visit later in the day we saw several people enjoying them with a good percentage of the Scooter Pals rented.

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Dollywood Gets into the Collectible Popcorn Bucket Game with its NightFlight Color-Changing Bioluminator Popcorn Bucket

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Popcorn buckets are a big deal at many theme parks. Many of the Disney ones are known to have lines that rival rides and often sell out. These popcorn buckets get exotic, taking the shape of characters, props or landmarks, often incorporating lights and sound. Dollywood now has an awesome looking collectible in its NightFlight Color-Changing Bioluminator Popcorn Bucket. The Bioluminator is a key part of the plot of the NightFlight Expedition ride and the popcorn bucket is a faithful recreation of it. You can get one at Dollywood for $29.99 and no doubt it will be a conversation piece wherever you display it.

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Never Made it to Opryland? Some of its Rides are Still Running Today Like Canyon Blaster at Great Escape

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Opryland was a famous theme park in Nashville that closed almost 30 years ago. It had a nice group of rides which you probably need to be almost 40 to remember riding. Remarkably though, several of the rides from the park were relocated and are still operating today. One of those is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, a classic Arrow mine train, which is now operating as Canyon Blaster at Six Flags Great Escape (Enchanted Parks) in Queensbury, New York. There were a few modifications to fit the space, but it’s essentially the same ride. The signature moment for Canyon Blaster is the huge 900 degree helix at the end.

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Did You Know There’s One More Dolly Parton Song to be Released in 2046 and it’s Stored at Dollywood?

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Dream Box at DreamMore Resort (Courtesy of Dollywood)

Dolly has a secret and it’s at the DreamMore Resort at Dollywood. Around 2015 when the hotel was built, Dolly Parton recorded a secret, final song titled “My Place in History”. The song master is on a CD and locked in a wooden “Dream Box” (with a CD player) and is scheduled for release on her 100th birthday on January 19, 2046. The song is stored in a display case in Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort lobby alongside her Dream More book and a piece of wood from her childhood home. There is also a letter in the case with instructions on how to play the master (and maybe more). It’s sort of a transparent time capsule. Dolly did speak about the song in interviews and mentioned she hoped she might be there when it was opened and that it was tough to hide it away, but that she wanted to do something special for the future. So Dolly may be gone, but in 19 years we’ll still have new Dolly Parton music.

NightFlight at Dollywood Shut Down Through August 30th to Allow Mack to Adjust the “Turntable” in the Flying Simulator Section of the Ride

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It’s no secret that NightFlight Expedition at Dollywood has had some up-time challenges in its early days. I experienced this personally earlier this week with it opening late and shutting down early. We may have an indication of one of the potential issues with Dollywood’s social media post stating, “As part of on-going ride rehearsal, the manufacturer has asked for additional time to adjust the timing of the ride’s turntable to ensure a quality experience for this unique part of the attraction.” It’s rare that you see this level of transparency and specificity by a theme park about a ride issue and it is quite refreshing. The post has now been removed as everything is about Dolly Parton’s passing (and rightfully so), but the bottom line remains that the ride is closed for now.

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Visiting Dollywood the Last “Normal” Day Before Dolly Parton’s Death

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Dollywood entrance

I was lucky enough to be at Dollywood on Monday, August 24, 2026, just hours away from Dolly Parton unexpectedly passing away the following morning on August 25, 2026. Dollywood was already scheduled to be closed on August 25th, and the park has already announced that “Dollywood will be open Wednesday as Dolly wanted, always reminding everyone with her signature sparkle, ‘the show must go on’.” Monday was simply a gorgeous day with mostly clear skies and a buzz in the air for the opening of a new ride, NightFlight Expedition. I was traveling for work passing near Dollywood and decided to stop in for a few hours to check out the new ride. It made for a long late day, but I was excited to do it. However, I didn’t realize I’d be visiting on the last day before the park would lose its namesake and the World would lose the sparkle of a universally beloved star.

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A Review of Riding NightFlight Expedition at Dollywood During its First Week of Operation

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NightFlight Expedition at Dollywood is open and it is a highly ambitious ride, but in these early days you may need a lot of patience. I went to Dollywood on Monday, August 24th, 5 days after the August 19th official opening date. This ride is complex with a moving loading platform, simulator section, coaster section (forwards and backwards with turntables), a water rapids section, a calm boat section and tons of screens and effects. Getting it all to work in sync borders of a miracle of technology as there is so much going on during this ride. The ride’s opening date was delayed from Spring to August and it’s obvious they’re still debugging the ride. However, when it all works it’s pretty cool, but try to ride as early in the day as you can as it has had a propensity for extended closures as they work to get everything right.

Update 8/25/26: According to Dollywood, the ride will now be closed through Sunday, Aug. 30th, while additional work is done. 

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Splashdown Refreshers at Island H2O Water Park is a Great Place for Boba with BOBACHILLERS

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Boba has been a trendy beverage for a few years now. Popping those small little pearls of flavor is a lot of fun and adds so depth to the beverage. Island H20 water park in Kissimmee now offers BOBACHILLERS in several flavors and colors that both look and taste amazing at their Splashdown Refreshment Station. In addition to boba the stand also offers Aguas Frescas which are light, refreshing, and sweet traditional fruit-based drinks and and iced coffees. All of these are great non-alcoholic beverages for people looking for a choice other than a simple soda and are priced reasonably at just $8.

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