Dollywood · Operating · 2014

FireChaser Express

63 ft · 34 mph

Photo: See Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Family rideDollywood Official park siteWilderness PassPremier Rides63 ft · 34 mph

Billed as the nation's first dual-launch family coaster, FireChaser Express sends riders forward and then backward through 2,450 feet of track at up to 34 mph. A firefighting-rescue storyline runs through show scenes with forest-fire lighting and smoke effects timed to each launch. It opened in 2014 on the former Adventure Mountain site in Wilderness Pass, giving younger guests an early taste of launched acceleration.

Specifications

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Ride profile

Scaled against Dollywood's operating coasters

LaunchFamilySteel

Park intensity

Height

63 ft

#6 of 10 at Dollywood

Height63 ft

Speed34 mph

Length2,450 ft

InversionsNone

Ride experience

Launch
Family
Gerstlauer
Steel

Specs from dollywood.com

Learn more

All guides

Launched coasters

Motors or hydraulics replace or supplement the lift hill for rapid acceleration.

Mine train coasters

Smaller trains, winding layouts, and family-friendly pacing — often themed as mining adventures.

Flywheel launches

Store energy in a spinning mass, then dump it into the train in one burst — classic hydraulic acceleration feel.

How launches work

LIM, LSM, hydraulic — different ways to shove a train from rest to serious speed.

History

Sourced timeline and background for FireChaser Express.

Timeline

2013
FireChaser Express announced
Dollywood reveals plans for a dual-launch family coaster to replace the Adventure Mountain attraction.
Source
2014
FireChaser Express opens to the public
Billed as the nation's first dual-launch family coaster.
Source

Background

Dollywood removed the aging Adventure Mountain ropes-and-tube-slide attraction from Wilderness Pass in the early 2010s and announced its replacement in August 2013: a family coaster built around a wildfire-response storyline, with riders cast as firefighters racing to contain a blaze spreading through the mountainside.

Gerstlauer engineered FireChaser Express with two separate launches — one forward, one backward — a configuration the park marketed as the first dual-launch family coaster built in the United States. The ride threads 2,450 feet of track past show scenes depicting a fire tower and forest-fire effects, with lighting and smoke cues timed to each launch to reinforce the rescue narrative without requiring riders to meet a steep height minimum.

FireChaser Express opened March 22, 2014, giving Dollywood a family-friendly launch coaster that could introduce younger guests to launched acceleration well before they were tall enough for Lightning Rod or Wild Eagle.

The ride remains one of Wilderness Pass's most consistently busy attractions, valued for bridging the gap between kiddie rides and the park's larger thrill coasters while keeping its firefighting theme fully intact since opening.