Wild Eagle at Dollywood was America’s first Bolliger & Mabillard wing coaster.
However, this wing coaster is way different that the others.
While most wing coasters focus on floaty elements and near-misses, Wild Eagle has a layout more
reminiscent of a traditional B&M floorless or invert.
And is that a good thing?
Find out in this review of Wild Eagle.
Bolliger & Mabillard introduced their wing coaster a decade ago and their first installation
was Raptor at Gardaland in 2011.
And this has been one of their most popular models ever since.
Three more were built for the 2012 season and the first to open in the United States
was Wild Eagle.
This immediately became one of Dollywood’s most iconic attractions and it’s still one
of their most popular rides.
Perched atop a wooded hill in the center of the park, Wild Eagle looks fantastic.
This ride has a commanding presence no matter where you are in the park.
You can see that giant 210 foot or 64 meter tall lift hill from most places in the park
and you can hear the coaster roaring through the four inversions.
The bright blue track looks nice against the sky, but the presentation doesn’t stop there.
The entrance plaza has this massive 4 ton eagle statue with a 42 foot or 13 meter wing
span.
It’s one of the most picturesque shots at Dollywood.
I also love what B&M did with the trains.
They are designed to look like eagles.
The seats are the eagle’s wings and each row has this beautifully detailed eagle head
hugging the track.
They are some of the best looking trains out there.
The queue line and station don’t have too much to look at, but Dolly Parton recorded
a custom song for the ride that you can hear while you wait.
Although you probably won’t have to wait too long.
This ride typically is no more than a 15-20 minute wait.
This is probably Dollywood’s highest capacity coaster.
It always seems to run two trains, each seating up to 24 riders.
And the crew working the ride checks the restraints pretty quickly.
The next train is usually ready to go right after the previous one hits the final brake
run.
When you reach the merge point, you can either go right or left.
I prefer the view if you go up the right staircase or ride on the left side of the train.
But the ride feels identical whether you’re on the right or left side of the train.
As for seat selection, the back is my go-to seat on Wild Eagle.
This ride has an underrated drop and you experience it at its fullest in the back.
I also prefer to ride on the inside.
Wild Eagle tracks quite smoothly, but the outside seat is a little bouncier which is
the case with most wing coasters.
The restraints used to be the biggest issue with this ride.
Wild Eagle had the first generation B&M vests.
In general, I liked these restraints.
They eliminated any chance of headbanging and the soft vest hugs against your body.
However, the top of the vest could dig into your collarbone since they had no give.
In my recent visits, I’ve noticed the vests have been modified to have some slack like
the newer B&M vests.
This is a major improvement in my opinion since it eliminates any discomfort and makes
the hangtime on the inversions more potent.
Another positive with these restraints is that they make this one of the most accommodating
B&Ms.
Not only does it seem to be friendlier to larger guests, but it has one of the lowest
height restrictions on any B&M at just 50 inches.
That allows younger guests to ride this coaster a year or two earlier, which is really nice.
Most B&Ms have a 54 inch height requirement.
Once dispatched, you turn out of the station and ascend the massive lift hill.
This is a steep lift and it starts right up against the hillside.
At the top, you get a breathtaking view of Dollywood and the nearby Smoky Mountains.
It’s one of my favorite views atop any coaster.
But that beauty quickly turns into thrills as you descend down the 135 foot or 41 meter
tall drop.
This drop is significantly shorter than the lift hill since the main layout takes place
atop the hill.
Whereas you load at the base of the hill.
However, it’s one of the best drops on any B&M looper.
Rather than having a wingover drop like the latter wing coasters or a twisting drop like
their usual loopers, Wild Eagle has a straight drop more reminiscent of a B&M hyper.
And it delivers some really nice and sustained floater airtime if you’re in the back.
It’s the best part of Wild Eagle without a doubt.
The rest of the layout has similarities to other B&M loopers.
You then navigate four consecutive inversions in a familiar sequence.
You have a vertical loop, a zero-G roll, an Immelmann, a corkscrew, and some final helixes.
No other wing coaster has a layout like this.
That large vertical loop is decently forceful.
But I find the positive Gs entering and exiting the element even stronger.
They’re deceptively forceful and I start to greyout slightly here.
The second inversion is a very floaty zero-G roll.
I love how slowly you rotate as you gracefully levitate out of your seat.
This type of inversion works really well on a wing coaster with those wide trains.
The third inversion is an Immelmann.
You have some positive Gs ascending the element, but the flip over the top is pretty tame.
This is how I feel with a lot of B&M Immelmanns, so it’s not an issue specific to Wild Eagle.
The final inversion is a long and drawn out corkscrew.
Rather than whipping you through it like an old-school B&M looper, this corkscrew has
sustained hangtime as you crawl through it.
It may have more hangtime than the zero-G roll, which is quite the accomplishment.
Wild Eagle then climbs up a camelback that gives a tiny bit of floater airtime.
And then you navigate this figure 8 finale.
The first half of the figure 8 is pretty uneventful, but the second half has some nice positive
Gs as you dip downwards through the element.
You then hit the brake run, which is sloped pretty steeply downhill.
You then accelerate around one final turn faster than you may expect before hitting
the final brakes, ending this 3127 foot or 953 meter long coaster.
So what would I rate Wild Eagle?
I would give America’s first wing coaster a 7.5 out of 10.
Wild Eagle is a weird wing coaster.
It rides a lot differently, but I think it does a lot well.
That first drop is the standout moment, offering great airtime.
But you also have a mix of positive Gs and hangtime mixed into the layout.
The ride also offers some nice visuals because of its location atop that wooded hillside.
And it’s very smooth and super reridable.
This ride isn’t the most intense ride in the world, but it’s a really nice fit at
Dollywood and you may never see another wing coaster quite like this one.
I definitely wish the ride had more near-misses to utilize the riding position more, but it’s
still a fun experience.
I think it’s towards the middle of the pack of the B&M wing coasters and I seem to appreciate
the ride more each visit.
So those are my thoughts on Wild Eagle at Dollywood.
What are your thoughts on the country’s original wing coaster?
Do you like how different this layout is?
Or do you prefer the more typical B&M wing coaster layout?
Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.
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