Wild Eagle

Bolliger & Mabillard introduced the wing coaster concept in Europe in 2011, seating riders on outward-facing gondolas attached to the sides of the track with nothing above or below them, and Dollywood moved quickly to bring the format to North America. Construction on Wild Eagle began in 2011 along the ridgeline above Wilderness Pass, a site chosen specifically so the open-air seating could take advantage of long views across the Smoky Mountain foothills.

Wild Eagle opened to season passholders on March 23, 2012, followed by a full public debut the next day. The layout climbs 210 feet before a 135-foot first drop, then carries riders through 3,131 feet of track and four inversions at up to 61 mph, with the wing-seat configuration making every drop and banked turn feel unusually exposed compared to a conventional sit-down coaster.

The ride's design and setting earned it Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride the same year it opened, cementing Dollywood's reputation for pairing new coaster technology with its mountain scenery rather than building for record-chasing statistics alone.

More than a decade later, Wild Eagle remains the park's only wing coaster and one of its most photographed rides, prized as much for the unobstructed views from its outboard seats as for the B&M smoothness of the ride itself.