Details have started being revealed for a massive new attraction coming to Dollywood in 2026! It’s no surprise that they want to celebrate Dollywood’s 40th anniversary in a big way in 2026, and what better way to do it than a major new ride! Some of you remember when we broke the news about Lightning Rod and listed every public hint leading up to the official announcement. You may also remember when we revealed details that lead up to the announcement of Wildwood Grove.
Our goal is to only share publicly available information rather than rumors or unverifiable sources. And for the new 2026 attraction, we’ve already got quite a few hints, so let’s dive into it!
Public Hint #1: September 3, 2024
On September 3, 2024 the Hollers and Hills Podcast interviewed Pete Owen’s, Dollywood’s VP of Marketing & PR (video below). Starting at 11:51 in the interview, Pete discusses Wildwood Grove and the growth taking place around it.
Some notable comments he made include:
- ( 12:04 ) Big Bear Mountain was Wildwood Grove Phase 2
- ( 12:07 ) The 2026 Project is Wildwood Grove Phase 3
- ( 12:10 ) There’s a Phase 4 parcel there across the road
- ( 29:39 ) We have a major attraction in 2026, a nearly $50M attraction
- ( 29:55 ) It’s something that no one has ever done before in this particular way
- ( 29:59 ) We’re also refurbishing a legacy attraction that we’ll be able to celebrate in 2026
So the biggest reveal here is the cost of this new attraction…nearly $50 million! For comparison, Big Bear Mountain was their single-largest attraction investment, which was $25M. So we’re looking at a new attraction worth around twice that!
Is this a “ride”, though? Pete had an interesting response when the host, Beth Haynes, asked if it was “a new ride”. Pete paused and responded with, “It’s hard, I will tell you and you will understand that it is something that no one has ever done before in this particular way (Listen to his comment here ). So he didn’t “acknowledge” that it’s a “ride”, which is a bit interesting. We could be reading too much into his vague response, but it leaves the options open to what it will be.
Public Hint #2: September 24, 2024
Reported by The Mountain Press , Dollywood presented plans to the Pigeon Forge City Commission for their new attraction. While Dollywood didn’t give away too many details, they did share the following tidbits:
- It will feature a 43,000sqft building
- It will sit on a 3.5acre tract
- It will be located behind Wildwood Grove
- The structure will hold approximately 1,000 people
Ok, so we’re starting to get a picture of what this new attraction will be. The “building” leads us to think it will be a “dark ride” or “indoor attraction”, which will take up approximately 3.5 acres.
The structure “holding approximately 1,000” people was worded in an odd way, because it made us think of another indoor attraction that Dollywood’s parent company, Herschend Family Entertainment, opened recently at Silver Dollar City. Here are some stats about that other attraction:
- Located in a 32,000 sqft building
- Capable of 1,000 riders per hour
- Cost $30 million to build
That ride is the new version of “Fire in the Hole” at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO, which is part of the newly create “Fire District”. The old version was similar to Dollywood’s Blazing Fury, which is currently the oldest ride in the park.
Ok, so this new building will be roughly 1 acre in size…but the plans call for it to sit on a 3.5 acre tract. So what about the other 2.5 acres. Well, Silver Dollar City’s Fire District is 2+ acres in size.
Oh, and Pete did say they would be refurbishing a “legacy attraction”, and it doesn’t get any more “legacy” than Blazing Fury.
But then again, Pete also said “It’s something that no one has ever done before in this particular way”…so we could be WAY off…and honestly, we hope we are. Nothing against the Fire District and Blazing Fury, but we love to be surprised and we love innovation. We want to be “wow’d” when it’s finally revealed.
Where will it be located?
Based on Pete’s comments that it will sit behind Wildwood Grove and the plan presented to the City Commission showing it would sit on 3.5 acres, our best guess at this time is that it will be located on the flat ground directly behind the new Big Bear Mountain roller coaster. While there are other options for locations, this particular spot would require the least amount on site prep of moving dirt, removing trees, changing erosion, etc. It’s the most obvious spot, so that’s our first guess.
Public Hint #3 January 18, 2025
Dollywood officials attended American Coaster Enthusiasts' "No Coaster Con" and shared a super-vague hint by showing a few pictures and saying "Ranger Ned is building some kind of storage shed back there." Here is WGN's Marcus Leshock's X post with the details:
DOLLYWOOD gave us a tease of what they have coming post-2025. Their next addition will be beyond Big Bear Mountain.
— Marcus Leshock (@marcusleshock) January 18, 2025
No official details, just that “Ranger Ned is building some kind of storage shed back there.” 🤣
It’s a big building. I suspect an official teaser campaign will… pic.twitter.com/yQ8bZEW9sV
If we're reading between the lines, this is Dollywood's "themed" explanation for the construction of a massive building that will be visibily under construction throughout the 2025 season. This leads to even stronger speculation that the building will feature a new indoor ride/attraction that will debut in 2026.
Public Hint #4 May 2, 2025
During Dollywood's 40th Season Celebration, Eugene Naughton (President of Dollywood) shared that soon "it's going to be hard to hide that 5 story, 44,000 sqft indoor attraction". This is larger than the original plans that was previously reported.
You can hear his comment at 30:45 in the video below that Dollywood shared on Facebook:
Public Hint #5 June 18, 2025
Dollywood employees have reportedly been referring to the new building as the "hangar", and Dollywood just released a teaser video that supports that rumor!
The new video, shown below, features an Airline brand AM radio set to station 800 and begins with a voiceover stating that "Hidden Hollow 0900 is ready for takeoff" and then ends with a logo that says "Hidden Hollow Aviation". Could these be clues? Since Dollywood historically announces new rides on Fridays in early August, could these numbers be pointing to an announcement date of August 8 at 9:00am?
Will "Hidden Hollow Aviation" be the name of the new ride?
More importantly, what will the new ride be? There are plenty of rumors and speculation, but we will soon start seeing parts delivered, which means that Dollywood won't be able to keep the secret much longer!
Public Hint #6 June 23, 2026
BREAKING NEWS: Dollywood has a new (hidden but public) page on their website that features a new image as well as a brand new teaser video! This new page isn't listed in their navigation or anywhere on their website currently, so you have to know where to look…and fortunately for you, we do! So here it is!
This new website address includes "Hidden Hollow Aviation", so it's becoming more possible that this could be the name of the new attraction.
https://www.dollywood.com/hiddenhollowaviation/
The new teaser video for Hidden Hollow Aviation begins with a person opening a vintage steamer trunk, which reveals a handful of items. The first of which is a pilot wings pin with a "N" shaped logo on it.
Underneath a blanket in the trunk is a vintage book that says "The Legend of Secret Lake" where the narrator says "A family's quest will illuminate a world of wonder and adventure".
The book is opened to a page that features a "Wilderness Pass" map that illustrates the rides and features of Wildwood Grove.
It then cuts to scenes of "flying" through the woods and sky before diving into a rushing river where the narrator says "Join Dollywood as we dive into the unexplored".
Then we see an aerial view of "Secret Lake" as the narrator says "Take the Plunge 2026".
Wow! Ok, so the original teaser that Dollywood released at their media event finished with "Take Flight 2026". Now they have changed it to "Take the Plunge 2026".
Is it a bit of misdirection? Is it "course-correcting" of the swirling rumors? Will it be a motion similuator? An indoor "roller coaster"? An immersive dark ride that combines a boat & flying with video elements? One thing Dollywood has mentioned is that it is unlike any current attraction that anyone has done. So the possibilities are wide open…and that's exciting!
On their page, they also have a form to sign up to be the first to find out anything new that they release about it. So check out the new page and video to see Hidden Hollow Aviation!
https://www.dollywood.com/hiddenhollowaviation/
When will is be revealed?
Dollywood has historically shared their biggest announcements on one of the first Fridays in August, which was true for Big Bear Mountain, Wildwood Grove, and Lightning Rod. So that's when we expect to see the official marketing package with photos, videos, storyline, specs, etc. However, Dollywood's PR team has mentioned that all will be revealed in September, so we'll see if they can wait that long.
But if there are official hints between now and then, we'll keep adding them here!
One last thing
A Reddit user posted images of a survey that Dollywood sent out in the summer of 2024. We’re simply linking to it rather than sharing the details and images here…for a variety of reasons. But the survey requested feedback on a potential “thrilling new nighttime family ride”.
Could that be what Dollywood is cooking up? We’ll continue posting public hints and clues leading up to when Dollywood officially reveals it!
Whatever it is, we can’t wait to finally see it…and experience it!
