PIGEON FORGE (WATE) - Dollywood's new Wild Eagle coaster will take visitors on a unique, high-in-the-sky ride when the park opens this season.
The park calls the ride America's first wing coaster.
It's perched 21 stories above Dollywood and designed to make riders feel like they're soaring above the Great Smoky Mountains.
Wild Eagle seats riders on either side of the track so there's nothing but air above and below them and travels at 61 miles per hour.
It was created exclusively for Dollywood by B&M, which bills itself as the maker of the world's top steel coasters.
Anxious riders like Matthew Lambert are ready for it's maiden voyage.
"I've never been on a coaster of this magnitude, of this manufacturer, of this type. The speed. It's basically in my backyard. I live in Knoxville, TN and I can basically come here every weekend if I want and get as many rides on it as possible," he said.
It will be the 600th coaster Lambert has ridden. He typically rides between 25 and 30 new rides each year. "I got 599 at the end of last year, made sure that I will not ride any new coasters until I get on this coaster," he said.
If the ride is as exciting as the plans, Lambert won't be disappointed.
Dollywood opens on Saturday, March 24.
The coaster is the first ride of its kind in the U.S.
Wild Eagle seats riders on either side of the track.
