Wild Eagle

---

title: "Wild Eagle" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dollywood", "roller-coasters-in-tennessee", "roller-coasters-operated-by-herschend-family-entertainment", "hypercoasters", "best-new-ride-winners"] description: "Roller coaster at Dollywood" topic_path: "general/dollywood" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Eagle" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Roller coaster at Dollywood ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox roller coaster"]

Field	Value
name	Wild Eagle
logo	Wild Eagle Logo.png
image	Wild Eagle Partial Layout.jpg
imagedimensions	250px
caption	Part of Wild Eagle's layout
location	Dollywood
locationarticle
section	Wilderness Pass
subsection
coordinates
soft_opened
opened
year	2012
cost	$20,000,000
($ in dollars)
type	Steel
type2	Wing Coaster
type3
status	Operating
manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
model	Wing Coaster
lift	Chain lift hill
drop_ft	135
length_ft	3127
speed_mph	61
inversions	4
duration	2:22
angle
acceleration
acceleration_from
acceleration_mph
acceleration_in
restriction_in	50-78
trains	2
carspertrain	7
rowspercar	1
ridersperrow	4
virtual_queue_name	TimeSaver Pass
virtual_queue_image
virtual_queue_status	available
transfer_accessible	available
rcdb_number	10148
::

|name=Wild Eagle |logo=Wild Eagle Logo.png |image=Wild Eagle Partial Layout.jpg |imagedimensions= 250px |caption= Part of Wild Eagle's layout |previousnames= |location=Dollywood |locationarticle=
|section=Wilderness Pass |subsection=
|coordinates= |soft_opened= |opened= |year=2012
|closed= |cost=$20,000,000 ($ in dollars) |type=Steel |type2=Wing Coaster |type3=
|status=Operating |manufacturer=Bolliger & Mabillard |designer= |model=Wing Coaster |track= |lift=Chain lift hill |drop_ft=135 |length_ft=3127 |speed_mph=61 |inversions=4 |duration=2:22 |angle=
|capacity= |acceleration=
|acceleration_from= |acceleration_mph= |acceleration_in=
|gforce= |restriction_in=50-78
|trains=2 |carspertrain=7 |rowspercar=1 |ridersperrow=4 |virtual_queue_name= TimeSaver Pass |virtual_queue_image=
|virtual_queue_status=available |single_rider= |custom_label_1= |custom_value_1= |custom_label_2= |custom_value_2= |custom_label_3= |custom_value_3= |custom_label_4= |custom_value_4= |accessible= |transfer_accessible=available |rcdb_number=10148

Wild Eagle is a steel Wing Coaster built by Bolliger & Mabillard at the Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It is the first of its kind in the United States and opened to the media on March 23, 2012 before opening to the public on March 24, 2012. The roller coaster reaches a height of 210 ft and reaches speeds of 61 mph. In September 2012, the ride was voted as the best new ride of 2012 in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards.

History

Speculation of Wild Eagle began in March 2011 when plans to discuss Dollywood's 2012 attraction were submitted to the Pigeon Forge Planning Commission. On March 24, 2011, those plans were approved and though city officials could not tell exactly what the plans were, some believed it looked to be a roller coaster. By early June, blue Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster track pieces had already arrived at Dollywood. On September 4, 2011, Wild Eagle was officially announced to the public as the first wing coaster to open in the United States. On October 7, 2011, the lift hill was completed, and by the end of October 2011, the track layout was complete. On February 28, 2012, Dollywood unveiled a steel sculpture of an eagle with a wing span of 42 ft and a total weight of 8000 lbs that would be placed near the entrance of the ride. The ride soft opened to the media on March 23, 2012, before officially opening to the public on March 24, 2012.

Experience

After departing from the station, the train makes a left turn leading into the 210 ft chain lift hill. Once at the top, the train drops 135 feet (41 m), reaching a top speed of 61 mph (98 km/h). The train enters a 110 ft vertical loop followed by a slight left, then into a zero-gravity roll where riders experience the feeling of weightlessness. Upon exiting the roll, the train immediately enters an immelmann loop. The train then goes through a trim brake, before entering a corkscrew, then a camelback hill which is a common way of achieving air-time on roller coasters. The train then makes a sharp left turn before making a sharp right turn which leads into the brake run. The train then makes a left turn into another set of brakes before entering the station where the next riders board the train. One cycle of the ride lasts about 2 minutes and 22 seconds.

Trains

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/DW_Wild_Eagle.JPG" caption="One of Wild Eagle's trains entering the brake run."] ::

Wild Eagle operates with two open-air steel and fiberglass trains, each with seven cars which have four seats each, with two on each side of the track for a total of 28 riders per train. Riders are restrained by flexible over-the-shoulder restraints and interlocking seat belts. Also, because the seats are on the side of the track, a cantilevered steel arm is used to support the wings. The front of each of the seven train cars is shaped to resemble an eagle with outstretched wings adding to the theme of the ride.

Track

The steel track is 3127 ft in length and the height of the lift is approximately 210 ft. The track is painted blue and the supports are painted tan. Both friction and magnetic brakes are used on the roller coaster to control the trains speed.

Reception

Joel Bullock from The Coaster Critic gave Wild Eagle a nine out of ten for its unique experience. He also stated that, "It’s smooth, has some fun inversions, and is meant to be a wide-reaching crowd pleaser and it fully delivered" but mentions that the restraints can become uncomfortable from time to time.

In Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards, the roller coaster was voted as the best new attraction for 2012 and 15th best roller steel roller coaster in the world. In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, the ride placed 87th.

::data[format=table]

Golden Ticket Awards: Best New Ride For 2012	Year	2012	Ranking
::

| type = steel | access-date = September 5, 2013 | 2012 = 15 | 2013 = 24 | 2014 = 28 (tie) | 2015 = 31 | 2016 = 36

References

References

1. Hodges, Derek. (March 21, 2011). "Dollywood on planners' agenda; shrouded in secrecy, but 2012 park addition to be discussed Tuesday". The Mountain Press.
2. Hodges, Derek. (March 24, 2011). "Planners OK 2012 addition for Dollywood". The Mountain Press.
3. Stevenson, John. (June 7, 2011). "Confirmed: Blue B&M Track at Dollywood". Coaster101.
4. (September 4, 2011). "Dollywood Unleashes $20 million Wild Eagle Steel Coaster in March 2012". Dollywood.
5. Hodges, Derek. (September 4, 2011). "Dollywood goes huge in 2012 addition". The Mountain Press.
6. (October 7, 2011). "Wild Eagle's Lift Hill is Complete". Dollywood (Facebook).
7. (November 2, 2011). "Track Complete on America's First Wing Coaster; Dollywood Releases Wild Eagle Virtual Ride Animation". BusinessWire.
8. (February 28, 2012). "Dollywood unveils giant eagle sculpture". WBIR.com.
9. (March 23, 2012). "Crowds huge and ride leaves them wanting more as Wild Eagle takes flight". The Mountain Press.
10. {{Cite RCDB
11. (March 23, 2012). "Wild Eagle POV Dollywood REAL Roller Coaster Footage! Front Seat Ride! New 2012 Wing Rider". YouTube.
12. (March 27, 2012). "$20 Million Wild Eagle Takes Flight at Dollywood; First Wing Coaster in the U.S. Soars to Rave Reviews". Reuters.
13. Dyer, Nicole. (April 16, 2013). "Wing and A Scare". [[Popular Science]].
14. Bullock, Joel. (August 29, 2012). "Wild Eagle @ Dollywood". The Coaster Critic.
15. "Best Steel Roller Coaster Poll 12 year results table". BestRollerCoasterPoll.com.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::