News Project 2026: NightFlight Expedition (Mack Rocking Boat Dark Ride)
- Thread starter Tacky3663
- Start date
Yikes, the animations are brutal. Like, really bad. I’d imagine the park can’t be happy with it either? The main characters literally go from standing to sitting down without any transition and it looks really sloppy going through the made up world. Seeing it glitch to the beginning of the video sequence after the lightning strike is especially cringe.
The final room looks awesome though!
The final room looks awesome though!
The video is cut in some parts. If you look at the earlier posted pov, the animations are much better than the newer video
This. Something is clearly wrong with the screen in this new POV vs the older one. The video content doesn't look good to be clear—honestly looks worse than something like Battle for Eire from what I can tell—but most of it doesn't seem unacceptably bad or anything. Whatever was happening with the jump cuts in the media with the new POV though, yikes, yeah, that has got to be fixed.
Does anyone know if the info in this post about only running three boats (out of a dozen??) is correct?
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
We rode twice this morning between 9:30-11:00AM. There were probably three boats in the station at a time with one arriving as another dispatched. Just guessing but it felt like maybe six boats in play this morning, but certainly more than the three described during media day.
So, four rides on NightFlight Expedition between yesterday and today. One ride waiting about an hour each day, a bonus ride from a gifted reride pass Friday, and a passholder TimeSaver ride today. The ride is still technically in dress rehearsals, Mack and ENIS had a folding table full of laptops on the load platform today actively working on the ride. Multiple ride systems, lighting, audio, video, onboard audio and lighting, it's going to take some time to get the kinks worked out. Out of my four rides, I would say one was near perfect. Nothing was egregious, but timing is an issue they'll be battling for a while.
The ride experience: First, the queue. There are plenty of videos/pics out there, but it is indoors, air conditioned, and LONG. There are four rooms of switchbacks that I'd estimate will hold about three hours worth. It is also very loud and echo-y. Some sound panels would be a worthwhile long term investment. The final room has some nice props and light effects, then up two flights of stairs to the station. There is an elevator, requiring a ride accessibility pass to use, as well as an accessible loading bay, where a boat can be slid to the side to be loaded stationary. This was in use, although I understand it was not ready during preview days. The loading station has the boats constantly slowly moving, but the floor is stationary. Stepping up into a moving vehicle may prove challenging for some, and I did see them stop a vehicle to assist. The boats seat 10 in five rows of two, although they were not loading row five on any of my rides, I do not know why. The boats have a lap bar with a LOT of room, for my fellow larger guests, and any row behind row one has miles of foot room. Height requirement is a mere 39". The boats have onboard audio, and light up, color changing "bio-illuminators" on each row.
Once loaded, you move along a short stretch of track through forest theming. The trees and such are a cartoony, "flat plywood" style of theming. This was a conscious creative decision, and even the trees rendered in the simulator section are done in the same style! From there, you move across a neat little section of folding track onto the turntable. The massive turntable has three u-shaped motion theater screens on it. You enter position one, rotate to position two while another boat moves into one, then rotate to position three from which you leave. Creative way to increase the throughput! In the motion theater, you are "flying" through the forest. You are in the middle of a large screen on a stationary piece of track, and the boat's motion system is doing all of the movement. If you pay close attention, you can just barely feel each time the turntable moves. Your boat is struck by lighting, all lights go out, and you exit the turntable into a backwards coaster drop, accompanied by strobes. At the bottom, you end on a small switch track, and rotate slightly to the left before going forward to enter the rapids section. Entering the water for the first time was easily one of the coolest things I've ever done on a ride. If you've ridden the Amphicars at Disney Springs, it's kinda like that. It feels just a little wrong, but oh so fun! The water is far higher than I would have thought, with some decent rapids. You get mildly splashed, and front row will get your feet wet if you don't lift them. After a decent rapids section, you climb a coaster lift hill out of the water and into the forest. At the top, your boat "loses power", and you go down a coaster drop in the dark with a double down before splashing down into another water section. I don't know the height, but max speed is 29 mph, so do with that what you will. Here, you travel down a stream where see the roots around you start to bioluminesce, and there is a screen with the characters from the sim portion of the ride welcoming you to Secret Lake. You then enter Secret Lake, a mist covered round lake that your boat travels around the outside, while fiberoptic fireflies glow above, and roots light around and under the water. At the end, another coaster lift takes you out of the water, and into the station. If you are in the back, particularly on the right, LIFT YOUR FEET. All the water comes running back!
So, let's discuss the POVs, and common complaints. I watched both of those posted here before posting, so i could speak to what y'all have seen. The first POV in this thread had some bad editing of the simulator section. It also had no footage of Secret Lake. The second had a glitch at the end of the simulator footage. It should go black after you're hit by lightning, sometimes it will glitch back to the beginning of the movie before doing so. I had this happen on two of my rides. The second POV also looks like it had a ride stoppage while they were in Secret Lake. It went through the entire light show while the boat was sitting still at the entrance, instead of progressing while traveling through. My best guess there is that a boat was stopped in the station, backing things up. The POVs showed both too little, and not enough. You do not get a good sense of the scale and immersion of the ride, and you can't see the water sections well enough to appreciate what I think is a mastery of engineering and design. In addition, you can see things like walls very clearly on camera, where they disappear more in person.
Common complaints: Too many screens. There are two. There is a little less than a minute simulator section with a large wraparound screen. Frankly, it's really cool, having your ride vehicle provide the motion. Then there is a second screen with the animated characters you meet in the sim turntable, introducing you to Secret Lake. That's it.
Next, length. It's a 5 1/2 minute ride!!! I'm not sure what else people want!
And finally, reliability. As I said before, I would consider one out of my four rides to have been pretty much perfect. There were mostly no major problems with my other rides, but small glitches. Sometimes onboard audio wasn't on the whole time. The timing glitch at the end of the sim movie. My first ride, something happened that caused my boat to not enter the turntable. Luckily I was in the front, and got to watch the theater rotate to the next slot, so I didn't mind at all!!! Row five was closed off both days. I did not experience downtime, but I do understand it is happening. There are a lot of moving parts, and a lot to work out. It will take a while.
I love Dollywood. I consider it a home park, and I live 20 minutes from BGW, which I don't have a pass to. But I do not find the park infallible. That being said, I am giving them some slack here. They bit off more than they had any right to be able to chew, and they are pulling it off. I always thought spring was too optimistic, and was completely unsurprised when it was delayed. I'm shocked it opened this summer, but they have, and continue to, work their asses off on this thing. Is it the best ride ever? No. That's still Monsters Unchained. But is it the single most impressive thing I've seen in this country outside of a Disney or Universal park? It certainly is. It is not a high thrill ride. I personally wish the coaster section was just a little longer, but I would not get rid of the incredible simulator tech, or the even more incredible water sections to do it. But it is a fantastic family ride, with enough thrills to entertain all ages. This is a winner. It will be a pricey ride to maintain, and I hope Dollywood knows what they're in for with that. But this is most certainly a hit.
The ride experience: First, the queue. There are plenty of videos/pics out there, but it is indoors, air conditioned, and LONG. There are four rooms of switchbacks that I'd estimate will hold about three hours worth. It is also very loud and echo-y. Some sound panels would be a worthwhile long term investment. The final room has some nice props and light effects, then up two flights of stairs to the station. There is an elevator, requiring a ride accessibility pass to use, as well as an accessible loading bay, where a boat can be slid to the side to be loaded stationary. This was in use, although I understand it was not ready during preview days. The loading station has the boats constantly slowly moving, but the floor is stationary. Stepping up into a moving vehicle may prove challenging for some, and I did see them stop a vehicle to assist. The boats seat 10 in five rows of two, although they were not loading row five on any of my rides, I do not know why. The boats have a lap bar with a LOT of room, for my fellow larger guests, and any row behind row one has miles of foot room. Height requirement is a mere 39". The boats have onboard audio, and light up, color changing "bio-illuminators" on each row.
Once loaded, you move along a short stretch of track through forest theming. The trees and such are a cartoony, "flat plywood" style of theming. This was a conscious creative decision, and even the trees rendered in the simulator section are done in the same style! From there, you move across a neat little section of folding track onto the turntable. The massive turntable has three u-shaped motion theater screens on it. You enter position one, rotate to position two while another boat moves into one, then rotate to position three from which you leave. Creative way to increase the throughput! In the motion theater, you are "flying" through the forest. You are in the middle of a large screen on a stationary piece of track, and the boat's motion system is doing all of the movement. If you pay close attention, you can just barely feel each time the turntable moves. Your boat is struck by lighting, all lights go out, and you exit the turntable into a backwards coaster drop, accompanied by strobes. At the bottom, you end on a small switch track, and rotate slightly to the left before going forward to enter the rapids section. Entering the water for the first time was easily one of the coolest things I've ever done on a ride. If you've ridden the Amphicars at Disney Springs, it's kinda like that. It feels just a little wrong, but oh so fun! The water is far higher than I would have thought, with some decent rapids. You get mildly splashed, and front row will get your feet wet if you don't lift them. After a decent rapids section, you climb a coaster lift hill out of the water and into the forest. At the top, your boat "loses power", and you go down a coaster drop in the dark with a double down before splashing down into another water section. I don't know the height, but max speed is 29 mph, so do with that what you will. Here, you travel down a stream where see the roots around you start to bioluminesce, and there is a screen with the characters from the sim portion of the ride welcoming you to Secret Lake. You then enter Secret Lake, a mist covered round lake that your boat travels around the outside, while fiberoptic fireflies glow above, and roots light around and under the water. At the end, another coaster lift takes you out of the water, and into the station. If you are in the back, particularly on the right, LIFT YOUR FEET. All the water comes running back!
So, let's discuss the POVs, and common complaints. I watched both of those posted here before posting, so i could speak to what y'all have seen. The first POV in this thread had some bad editing of the simulator section. It also had no footage of Secret Lake. The second had a glitch at the end of the simulator footage. It should go black after you're hit by lightning, sometimes it will glitch back to the beginning of the movie before doing so. I had this happen on two of my rides. The second POV also looks like it had a ride stoppage while they were in Secret Lake. It went through the entire light show while the boat was sitting still at the entrance, instead of progressing while traveling through. My best guess there is that a boat was stopped in the station, backing things up. The POVs showed both too little, and not enough. You do not get a good sense of the scale and immersion of the ride, and you can't see the water sections well enough to appreciate what I think is a mastery of engineering and design. In addition, you can see things like walls very clearly on camera, where they disappear more in person.
Common complaints: Too many screens. There are two. There is a little less than a minute simulator section with a large wraparound screen. Frankly, it's really cool, having your ride vehicle provide the motion. Then there is a second screen with the animated characters you meet in the sim turntable, introducing you to Secret Lake. That's it.
Next, length. It's a 5 1/2 minute ride!!! I'm not sure what else people want!
And finally, reliability. As I said before, I would consider one out of my four rides to have been pretty much perfect. There were mostly no major problems with my other rides, but small glitches. Sometimes onboard audio wasn't on the whole time. The timing glitch at the end of the sim movie. My first ride, something happened that caused my boat to not enter the turntable. Luckily I was in the front, and got to watch the theater rotate to the next slot, so I didn't mind at all!!! Row five was closed off both days. I did not experience downtime, but I do understand it is happening. There are a lot of moving parts, and a lot to work out. It will take a while.
I love Dollywood. I consider it a home park, and I live 20 minutes from BGW, which I don't have a pass to. But I do not find the park infallible. That being said, I am giving them some slack here. They bit off more than they had any right to be able to chew, and they are pulling it off. I always thought spring was too optimistic, and was completely unsurprised when it was delayed. I'm shocked it opened this summer, but they have, and continue to, work their asses off on this thing. Is it the best ride ever? No. That's still Monsters Unchained. But is it the single most impressive thing I've seen in this country outside of a Disney or Universal park? It certainly is. It is not a high thrill ride. I personally wish the coaster section was just a little longer, but I would not get rid of the incredible simulator tech, or the even more incredible water sections to do it. But it is a fantastic family ride, with enough thrills to entertain all ages. This is a winner. It will be a pricey ride to maintain, and I hope Dollywood knows what they're in for with that. But this is most certainly a hit.
I have personally seen five boats at once. Mine, one in handicap loading, and three in the station in front of me. I can't verify beyond that.
Taken all together we were very impressed by NightFlight Expedition too after both of our rides today, especially for a regional park.
Can't verify the current count but I know they are still actively adding boats as quick as possible snd that the number should slowly increase in the coming weeks.
Wow you know details about Dollywood inner operations too. Very impressive. Just would like to remind everyone money doesn't grow on trees...but it seems like Dollywood at least had the gumption to try for something out of the ordinary. I gotta give them credit for that. Nitpicking never did anybody any favors. Some of the comments/criticisms on here are over the top imo tbh
Mr Herschend is that u??? Is Dolly on the forums nowadays?
U picked an objective observation and called it out as criticism like it was a pointed personal insult
I haven't seen anybody express the very rational take that it shouldn't be open at all in its current state and that 80% done isn't good enough. Can't imagine what has been "over the top" in this thread if even a defensible criticism that's common elsewhere (reddit) like that hasn't manifested here yet
I swear some of u r PR plants running defense in advance
No I just didn't want to double-post so I put all my thoughts in one response. Not directly pointed at anyone in particular. It still amazes me that any contrary viewpoints in the slightest are treated as verboten
????????? All I see is praise lol. Even people who weren't blown away by the ride have gone out of their way to phrase their thoughts on its future optimistically
This is like... the whole problem. Instead of highlighting complaints you thought were unfair and providing positive pushback, you just vague posted broad condemnation of unspecified criticism (of which there really isn't even much at all, I might add).
And here you're doing it again.
If you disagree with someone or have some problem with how a discussion is going, express it. Right now it just feels like you rode in here on your high horse to talk down to everyone.
Ok well thats fine. Not sure why you are coming for me lol. Everyone has their own piece to say. Glad you feel so strongly about defending the ride
Well then. Ok let me try this again. Big Dollywood/theme park fan in general here. Glad they did this ride. Other parks should take similar swings at creative projects. I hate to see that discouraged on forums like this. Nitpicking is fine I guess. Just a little annoying.
I'm glad Dollywood swung for the fences too. It's a very ambitious attraction and, even if it doesn't turn out absolutely perfectly, just by way of its uniqueness and ambition, I think it's likely to become a staple of the park.
I guess I'm just not seeing people "discouraging" the ambition?
I think there are VERY reasonable criticisms to be made surrounding how this ride has debuted (opening it unfinished, not really providing any insight into the ride experience, excessive reliance on "mommy blogger"-types for the opening rollout, etc.) That being said, a lot of these are marketing/communications/strategy disagreements, not even remotely condemnation of the ambition behind the ride or even of the ride itself.
The posts I've seen from folks who have ridden it seem overwhelmingly positive?
I guess I'm just not seeing people "discouraging" the ambition?
I think there are VERY reasonable criticisms to be made surrounding how this ride has debuted (opening it unfinished, not really providing any insight into the ride experience, excessive reliance on "mommy blogger"-types for the opening rollout, etc.) That being said, a lot of these are marketing/communications/strategy disagreements, not even remotely condemnation of the ambition behind the ride or even of the ride itself.
The posts I've seen from folks who have ridden it seem overwhelmingly positive?