Dolly Parton’s beloved Dollywood has announced an unexpected closure, starting September 28.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.Credit: DollywoodToday, Dollywood mixes Parton’s legacy with major theme park attractions, live entertainment, festivals, and Southern food. Its lineup includes roller coasters such as Lightning Rod, Wild Eagle, and Big Bear Mountain, alongside attractions celebrating Parton’s own story and an expanding resort operation surrounding the park.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 more information about NightFlight Expedition, Dollywood’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.However, Dollywood has now announced its closure.Dollywood Confirms NightFlight Expedition ClosureNightFlight 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.Credit: DollywoodProblems 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 teething problems 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 announced another scheduled closure.In a statement, Dollywood 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.”NightFlight Expedition will be closed Monday, 9/28 – Friday, 10/2 byu/TTAPeopleMover inDollywoodBut guests are pessimistic about whether the closure can fix the attraction’s issues.Guests Slam NightFlight Expedition“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.”“I think it went up before it was ready,” one guest said last week. “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 a lot of pressure before its opening. Some have theorized that it opened ahead of schedule so Parton herself could celebrate one last opening for the park.Credit: Jen, FlickrOne fan said, “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 explination 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 its 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, Parton praised the attraction’s concept in depth. “This ride truly is an adventure that lets you see the mountains the way I always remember them, full of wonder and beauty,” she said. “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.”Credit: Jeremy Thompson, FlickrDollywood 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.Dollywood eventually made an even bigger compromise. For 2024, it removed Lightning Rod’s signature launch entirely, replacing it with a chain lift and introducing new trains to improve reliability. The rest of the ride remained largely unchanged, including its 73 mph top speed.Have you experienced NightFlight Expedition yet?The post Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Announces Closure To Become “Better” for Guests appeared first on Inside the Magic.