Dolly Parton did not attend Dollywood’s Aug. 14 dedication ceremony for NightFlight Expedition after cancelling the day before because of health issues that have kept her out for nearly a year. She appeared by video instead, while Eugene Naughton led the kickoff festivities in her place.
The absence mattered because the event was meant to mark the debut of Dollywood’s newest ride, and one of the park’s biggest bets. Naughton said the attraction cost more than $60 million, making it the most Dollywood has ever spent on an attraction and, in his words, its biggest and most technology-advanced ride yet.
NightFlight Expedition opened with the dedication ceremony after an unplanned delay, but the park gave no detailed explanation for what pushed the launch back. Parton’s own remarks from the video made clear how closely she had been following it. She said she had her butterfly wings a-flappin' since May 15th, when the ride was first due to open, and again in June. She also said the ride had to be made as safe as possible because it is the newest and most expensive addition Dollywood has ever made.
Parton used the video to frame the ride as more than a thrill. She said it tells stories about what happens in the mountains after the sun goes down and lets guests see the Great Smoky Mountains the way she remembers them, full of wonder and beauty. Naughton said the attraction represents the park’s 11th coaster, but is much more than that, describing it as a first-of-its-kind indoor family coaster with water and other immersive elements.
That is the point of the absence, too. Parton was not there to cut the ribbon in person, but she was still the face of the launch, and the video made the health issue impossible to miss without turning it into the story’s center. What remains unanswered is the one detail Dollywood has not given: what specific health problem forced her to cancel the day before the park’s biggest new opening in years.
