🟩🟩Dollywood's Project 2026 - What is it? Where is it? What I Know & Some Guesses🟩🟩

Hi Everyone,

Before we go to the video about Project 2026, I want to be clear that I do not have any official information about Project 2026.  I am a life-long amusement and theme park enthusiast, Dollywood enthusiast as well as a Dolly Parton enthusiast - and maybe a good guesser?   So, this is all 100% W.U.A.D. Speculation.  I will build my case for what I believe the ride system will be used for P'26.  Are you with me? GOOD.    

Dollywood teased Project 2026 at the Opening Day Media Event.   

Let's go to the video...

TRANSCRIPT:  In 2026 Dollywood is going further than we've gone before.

Up, over and through the Great Smoky Mountains and down to the heart of the ancient Wildwood Tree.  Follow the light to discover the unexpected.  What will you find when the sun goes down?

Take flight in 2026.

What is it?

"Further than we've gone before.''  What I think that really means is, ''We've written a gigantic check to a ride manufacturer.''  I'm coming around more and more to the Mack Inverted-dynamic-do-everything powered-coaster that will feature a few medium to high-speed roller coaster gravity driven moments.  I am thinking this will be similar in nature to Blazing Fury (meaning slow parts and fast parts using theatrical scenes to help tell the story, very family friendly), except brand new state of the art ride systems by Mack.  This is not a record-breaking thrill ride.

Where will it be located?

It is in Wildwood Grove.  It will be behind Big Bear Mountain as you walk through Wildwood Grove.  It is already under construction and at the time of publishing this article - the best way to see it is from the Dollywood Express.

Less likely possibility...

The Flying Theater Concept has come up amongst enthusiasts, and many of us who speculate on stuff like this, and I just don't see that concept happening at Dollywood.  For starters, it's sort of boring, in my opinion - compared to this fancy Mack coaster I'm about to try and sell you on, and I think Dollywood was rightfully sold on.  Two, the flying theater concept falls into the one-and-done category until the film changes, which cannot be inexpensive.  Theme Parks want people to want to ride over and over, AND they want to be able to change attractions in cost-effective ways to freshen them up from season to season...so, this detail just hammers the Mack system home for me. Dollywood wants to showcase the Smokies, per the video, so how many different movies about the Smokies can you really make - where they are different, unique and entertaining for flying theater audiences?   

Silver Dollar City opened Fire In The Hole 2.0 (link to blog article).  It is very well executed.  It's a modern-day version of Blazing Fury...that is what they replaced.   I'd encourage you to go to my blog post and look at the details in the scenes - the use of projected scenes is well done and uses the latest/greatest technology.  I think Dollywood will tap into whatever resource was used there - for Project 2026.  Dollywood said (I think)- we can use this Mack ride system to tell this story about the Smokies in a beautiful way.  We can utilize space better with these scenes with the rides capability to spin 360'.  We can get your feet close to waterfalls and streams.  

There may be a scene of fireflies taking over whole areas of the Smokies like they do in real life.  I imagine a big helix going around this ancient Wildwood Tree mentioned in the video.  We'll see how it plays out.

Here's something else that crossed my mind as I was writing this part - Puy d'fou is supposedly - the Cherokee Indian development at Exit 407, with the Phase 1 of Buc ee's - part of their massive plan included a "museum /play/entertainment/education center'' - by Puy d'fou.  THEY ARE AMAZINGLY DETAIL ORIENTED IN ALL THEY DO.  Honestly, it's like a near-perfect recreation of everything.  Google their theme parks or go to their website and dig around.  They confirmed their involvement in Exit 407, then there was a pause on the project from the developer about the order of the Phases.  That is the last update I recall - but this is on Dollywood's radar no doubt - this desire to be detail oriented now involves serious competition in your own backyard, where it did not exist.

Back to this amazing Mack Inverted Power Coaster...

There are a few examples of these Mack coasters- and their heavy theming - let's look at a few pics from RCDB.   I'll link to each pic below it - if you want to click on it and look at other pics - go for it.  

This is Arthur, at Europa Park in Germany - which happens to be an amusement park owned by - guess who?  MACK.  The park operates like a Showroom for amusement rides, as well as a theme park.   Side note:  Mack Trucks - Americans are more familiar with Mack Trucks, which is a separate division of the same German company.  Amusement rides are industrial equipment, jazzed up.

source: RCDB

Here's the ride vehicle.  It's a train with three of these cars.  Below is a closer look.

Source: RCDB

Features of this Mack Inverted Ride System, include:

• 8 trains with 3 cars per train. Not sure how many trains DW will opt to get, if they go this route.
• Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 12 riders per train.  
• Each car can rotate 360 degrees, so imagine the possibilities with looking at scenes in the dark ride portion of the experience.  Scenes can be bunched up together and the car spins around to reveal a different scene to you - another cost-effective possibility! 
• Variable speed as determined by the needs of the story and the parks choices.
• Gravity-driven sections.  Parts of the ride will likely be driven by gravity, just like we see on Blazing Fury.  I have to imagine we'll be flying over water features, forests with lightning bugs, big fields of flowers, barns and structures from the past, just like what you experience when you go to the Smokies - according to the teaser video I posted at the top of the article.
• On-board audio to help tell the story.  
• Note that Herschend's two most recent additions have both included on-board audio...
• SDC's brand new dark ride, Fire In The Hole 2.0, features on-board audio.
• As did DW's Big Bear Mountain...Herschend loves it.
• HIGH CAPACITY:  1,500 PPH (depending on amount of trains and other variables)
• Conveyor Belt Station - easy loading and unloading.

Source:RCDB

The layout can be customized to the needs of the park. Some of the existing models of this coaster feature indoor sections as well as outdoor sections.  All of the models have some gravity driven parts at some point in the ride - just like what you see on Blazing Fury - that's the kind of comparison I am referring to.  

Now, going back to the DW video, they said "Follow the light to discover the unexpected.  what will you find when the sun goes down?"  To me, it sounds like they want to keep this as a ''night experience'' - so, if that holds true then I am not sure popping out into the 98-degree hot summer day, will fit into that experience they are hoping to achieve.  They may choose to keep it entirely indoors to be able to have a consistent storyline for every ride.  OR that could mean ''follow the light'' as in, the light at the end of the ride tunnel.  We shall see!

Dragon Gliders, Motion Gate, Dubai.

Source:  Dragon Gliders - Motiongate (Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Dragon Gliders, seen above, does not feature an outdoor section, but does enter into a large room that includes smaller rides....and DW could benefit from more indoor rides, or even semi-covered rides for when its raining....if they went with an all indoor version.

Source:  Dragon Gliders - Motiongate (Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Above, we see the Conveyor Load/unload part of the station.  Stations like this really keep the people moving.  

JURASSIC FLYERS - UNIVERSAL Beijing

Source:  Jurassic Flyers - Universal Studios Beijing (Tongzhou, Beijing, China)

Above - much better look at the Conveyor Station.

Source:  Jurassic Flyers - Universal Studios Beijing (Tongzhou, Beijing, China)

Here we see an outdoor section of Jurassic Flyers.  Not sure what the interior scenes look like, but obviously they are dinosaur related, and no doubt highly themed per Universal's standards.

DELIA'S ADVENTURES

Source:  Delia's Adventure - BON Luxury Theme Park (Las Jarretaderas, Nayarit, Mexico)

Not a lot of info on RCDB about this one - it's under construction.  He does say it's similar, if not the same layout as Arthur....so two definitely are clones and I think the other two are custom layouts.

Let's check out some POV's from these attractions.  First up Arthur.

Dragon Gliders

Jurassic Flyers

So, that's a look at all the installations of this Mack Inverted Powered Coaster from RCDB.

Late Breaking Development:

Yesterday, I noticed someone found the shipping information for Dollywood - from Germany to the port of Charleston, South Carolina.  Hmmm - who is in Germany?? Mack is in Germany, and this is one more CLUE that this is what I think it is.  I haven't had a chance to confirm the shipping information, but I will naively believe it is real.  A Vekoma coaster would come from the Netherlands, a B&M - Switzerland.  So, this effectively rules out many other manufacturers.

Again, this is all speculation, however I can see many of my fellow speculators are also coming around to this idea of a Mack coaster more and more as seemingly insignificant details - like a shipping tag - can help paint a picture of what's to come.

Thoughts, ideas?  Let me know in the comments.