Two Theme Parks are Glowing Up in 2026 with Groundbreaking Dark Rides
It's hard to imagine a year where the two theme park attractions I'm most excited about opening are coming to Sea World Orlando and Dollywood. Now, I know many might be interested in some roller coasters (and Hollywood Drift looks great), but 2026 is looking like the year of the dark ride. What makes this year even more intriguing is that the most innovative dark ride systems are making their North American debut not at a Disney or Universal park. This means smaller budgets, but it also means dark rides not based on existing properties, which is a rare treat.
Dollywood is set to receive a groundbreaking new attraction with the opening of NightFlight Expedition in Wildwood Grove. This more than $50 million investment marks the largest attraction in the park's history and will be the first of its kind in the world. It comes from Mack Rides, creator of Slinky Dog Dash at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Journey to Atlantis at Sea World Orlando. In fact, it's building off the watercoaster design with the Rockin' Boat. Unlike a traditional boat ride, the vehicle is attached to a track buried beneath the water's surface. This ingenious design allows the boat to drift and rock on the water's surface, creating a realistic, simulated boat ride experience while still maintaining precise control over the ride's path. This enables the ride to feature simulated rapids, waterfall descents, and tight turns. The system also allows the vehicle to leave the water and travel on a standard coaster track, incorporating elements like coaster drops and lifts.
The closest comparison in terms of thematic execution is the Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle of the Sunken Treasure attraction at Shanghai Disneyland, which uses a different ride system but features a similar blend of water and track-based elements. The only other existing Mack Rockin' Boat ride is in France, and while a nice prototype, it doesn't fully explore the thematic potential of the system.
Now it might be surprising that Dollywood would be the first theme park to get this design, but it really makes perfect sense for the park. In terms of their lineup, the one big thing Dollywood was missing was a modern indoor dark ride, something thrilling yet family oriented. The concept art for NightFlight Expedition evokes a feeling of being on a thrilling river journey through a bioluminescent forest, reminiscent of a cross between Na'vi River Journey and Grizzly River Run. The ride's theme is an expedition to find the "Secret Lake," the source of the glowing Wildwood Tree in Wildwood Grove. In the announcement there was mention of using something called a “bioluminator" which sounded a bit like interactive dark light for guests to interact with the environment, similar to Monsters. Inc Hide and Seek at Tokyo Disneyland, but the concept art doesn’t feature anything like that.
My main hope for this attraction is that Dollywood, which often uses screens and projections to tell its stories (understandable for a regional park maintenance budget), fully embraces the technological potential of the ride system. Much like the brilliant layering of screens and physical sets in Na'vi River Journey, I hope NightFlight Expedition avoids the pitfalls of rides that overly rely on flat, uninspired projections, such as SeaWorld's former Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin.
The ride promises a 5.5 minute runtime with loading and unloading. So I'm guessing around a 3.5 minute ride which might seem short, but knowing the limited budget they have to work with in comparison to the large parks, I think it could work to its benefit.
By adding this ride, Wildwood Grove now has 13 attractions which is more than some small regional parks have altogether. It's truly a powerhouse land and arguably the best variety of attractions in a single area for under 40" in the world (although one could make an argument for Fantasyland at Disneyland). Perhaps the Golden Ticket should just sunset the "Best Kids Area" category in advance, cause I think Dollywood has it locked up for the near future.
Meanwhile, at SeaWorld Orlando, the mysterious SEAQuest: Legends of the Deep promises a different kind of adventure. Details are scarce, but I think we can safely say that despite the SeaQuest name that we won’t be seeing Darwin the talking dolphin. The park has described it as a "first-of-its-kind suspended dark ride." Based on what is known about Vekoma's new suspended dark ride system, which is widely believed to be the manufacturer, we can make some educated guesses.
The ride vehicles resemble a longer version of the flying ships from Peter Pan's Flight, but with a seating capacity for four riders across. Some new innovations include the vehicle's ability to rotate a full 360 degrees and pivot back and forth 20 degrees, allowing for dynamic movements and reveals. The vehicles can also feature onboard audio, and the track can utilize an elevator lift, which is a great way to maximize space and create unexpected transitions.
I remember that Sea World Orlando recently put out a survey about a dark ride featuring jellyfish and my hopes are this will be an exploration of the bizarre and fascinating creatures in the deep. Remember the "eerie luminescent" scene of the old Submarine Voyage attraction at Disneyland? Something like that. Teach me about Chemosynthesis and creatures that live near hydrothermal vents. While I anticipate the use of screens and projections, I'm optimistic that the bizarre and often simple forms of deep-sea life will be well-suited for practical effects, such as the use of fiber optics, gels, and kinetic sculptures to simulate glowing jellyfish or anglerfish. That being said, a lot of these creatures aren't terribly challenging to simulate (I can get a jellyfish lamp at Home Depot for $15) so I'm crossing my fingers for some fun practical effects.
The fact that both of these innovative dark ride systems are making their debut at parks not named Disney or Universal is a huge win for the industry. It shows a growing commitment from regional parks to invest in high-quality, story-driven attractions that can appeal to a wide audience. And clearly, bioluminescence is in, and who doesn't love that? For a dark ride enthusiast like myself, 2026 is shaping up to be an unforgettable year.