News Project 2026: NightFlight Expedition (Mack Rocking Boat Dark Ride)

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Not exactly a guarantee. But I would be satisfied if this was the next attraction. Flying theaters are underrated IMO
Zachary said:
Per permits, this is almost certainly just parking lot expansion for the record.

Also, it looks like we need to field the possibility that the next major attraction is actually a flying theater (ignore the Reddit post title—OP is definitely wrong).

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mtpelepele said:
That's gonna be a resort.
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No. The resorts are out past the water park.

b_onko said:
Dollywood already has two resorts, DreamMore and Heartsong, with Heartsong opening at the end of 2023. The dirt dug out for Heartsong was the hill near the train station where the “mine” tunnel used to be. I was told by our tram driver that this plot of land was being excavated for parking and “attractions.”


I recommend this video, it outlines where they could expand from and why this expansion will likely be adding on to Wildwood or an entirely new themed area. That little path under Big Bear lets them out of Big Bear’s spaghetti bowl and allows them to continue building back in that direction I personally think it would be smart to add another path leading to this area at the dead end path that leads to Thunderhead. It’s already really far to get all the way to Big Bear, and another way into Wildwood would be good for capacity and traffic control.
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A new “land” will be added by the close of the decade. Parking is being expanded in the short term.
 
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Really just wish they'd invest in an observation tower ride. Slow-moving/no thrill, tall, able to see the scenery without being on a coaster, would pair well with the Railroad, etc. That's really what the place needs, and the older clientele that comes solely for the shows and food would make it a must-do attraction. Also kind-of get them closer to something you'd go to The Island or Anakeesta for, too.
 
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Is Intamin still building Flying Islands? I'd much prefer something like that with less of a permanent place on the skyline of the park.
 
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It would be cool if they added something similar to pantheon.
 
Assuming it's a square (who knows), that could be a pretty damn large building:

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I would lean more towards some new tech dark ride or flying theater of some kind. In an interview, Pete Owens of Dollywood was asked "is it a ride?", to which he very intentionally didn't answer yes or no, but rather "It's something that's no one has ever done before.. in this particular way". Could allude to the complexity of whatever it is, but I'm not assuming it's a coaster.

An Arthur The Ride style coaster/dark ride combo would be so, so nice. I'm a huge fan of it at Europa.
 
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Could be a flying theater— those seem to be a trend, and it would work well there as Flyin’ Over the Great Smokies kind of thing. Basically an upgrade of Heartsong
 
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I would expect something larger than a dark ride for their 40th anniversary. Since their last 2 additions have been family coasters, could we see an indoor thrill coaster? Maybe a multidimensional coaster with an inversion?! Intamin says the trains are inversion capable!
 

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GAcoaster said:
Could be a flying theater— those seem to be a trend, and it would work well there as Flyin’ Over the Great Smokies kind of thing. Basically an upgrade of Heartsong
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Bingo. It's almost certainly this I'd assume:

Zachary said:
Also, it looks like we need to field the possibility that the next major attraction is actually a flying theater (ignore the Reddit post title—OP is definitely wrong).

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I'll FOIA docs right now though and share what I get.
 
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If it's a motion simulator, that's a huge building for it. Larger than Soarin's original two theaters at Epcot (just over 24,000 Sq Ft) - while it's possible, that just seems like overkill unless it's front and center in a prominent position in the park to soak up crowds near the entrance.

Looking at Legoland Florida's single flying theater (with multi-level loading), that's somewhere around 6,850 sq ft. Which seems more reasonable, even if it was doubled up for the sake of capacity.

Edit: I think what I'd prefer to see added to the park, is some kind of slow boat ride in a show building, with an indoor-outdoor coaster going through a lot of the same scenes above it. Two rides that would both be "dark rides" that could give them something unique, without being thrilling but still offering something for everyone.
 
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