Yes, you read that right. The bald eagles at Dollywood do not currently live at Dollywood, and for the second day in a row, the shows built around them are not happening.
A storm rolled through the Smoky Mountains overnight between Saturday and Sunday, and it did not leave Eagle Mountain Sanctuary in great shape. A tree near the aviary was uprooted and came down hard enough to compromise the building’s structure. The American Eagle Foundation, which partners with Dollywood to operate the sanctuary and care for the rescued birds that live there, made the call to pull the eagles out and move them to their own facilities while repairs are completed. That is exactly the right decision. These are not prop animals. They are real rescued bald eagles that cannot be released to the wild and live at Dollywood permanently. Their safety comes before the show schedule, full stop.
Sunday’s Wings of America shows were canceled. The areas of the park surrounding the aviary were closed. Dollywood put out an official statement that read: “Due to storms overnight, a tree near Eagle Mountain Sanctuary was uprooted, causing the aviary to be compromised. Staff from the American Eagle Foundation will remove the eagles from the aviary and will house them at their facilities until the netting can be repaired. The area of the park near the aviary will be closed, and all Wings of America shows for today (Sunday, April 19) have been canceled as necessary work is completed.”
And then Monday came around and Dollywood posted again on Instagram: “All Wings of America shows for today (Monday, April 20) have been canceled as repair work continues at the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary.”
So here we are. Day two. No timeline. No eagles. No shows.
What Is Actually Being Fixed
The specific issue is the aviary netting. Eagle Mountain Sanctuary is an outdoor enclosure, and the netting that forms the structure of the habitat is what got compromised when the tree came down. Until that netting is fully repaired and deemed safe, the eagles cannot come back. That is not a bureaucratic decision, it is a practical one. An eagle in a compromised enclosure is an eagle that could get hurt or get out, and neither of those outcomes is acceptable.
The American Eagle Foundation is handling the bird care side of things while Dollywood works on the physical repairs. These are two separate organizations with two separate jobs, both of which need to be completed before Wings of America can return. There is no shortcut to that process and no way to put a firm date on it until the work is actually done. The park has not announced a reopening timeline, and until the netting passes inspection and the Foundation signs off on returning the birds, it is not going to.
For guests who have seen Wings of America before, you already know why this matters. For guests who have not, the short version is that it is one of the most genuinely special live experiences at any theme park in the country. Watching trained handlers work with rescued eagles that have real histories and real injuries that brought them to the sanctuary in the first place is not something you can replicate with a different show or a different day. It is worth waiting for.
Everything Else at Dollywood Is Completely Fine
And there is actually a lot happening right now.
Dollywood launched its annual Flower and Food Festival on April 18, which is almost poetic timing given that the storm hit the very next morning. The festival runs through June 7 and the park is absolutely in full bloom for it. The floral installations are up, the Umbrella Sky is doing its thing, and the seasonal food and beverage program is live. A Tasting Pass gets you up to five select culinary offerings from the festival lineup, and if you have not eaten your way through a Dollywood festival before, this is a genuinely excellent introduction. The food at this park punches well above what most theme park kitchens produce, and the festival format gives you a reason to try things you might not otherwise order.
NightFlight Expedition is also coming this spring to the Wildwood Grove area of the park. Dollywood is billing it as the world’s first indoor family hybrid coaster and whitewater river raft ride, which is a sentence that takes a second to fully process. The attraction combines four separate ride experiences: a soaring flight segment, a whitewater river raft section, a roller coaster mountain traverse, and a lake navigation sequence, all within one indoor ride. No hard opening date yet, but it is expected sometime this spring and the anticipation in the Dollywood fan community is real.
Everything else at the park, rides, live music, entertainment, dining, all of it is running without interruption. The aviary closure is contained to Eagle Mountain Sanctuary and the surrounding areas.
The Part That Matters for Your Trip
If you are visiting Dollywood today or later this week and Wings of America was a priority, the honest answer is to check Dollywood’s Instagram before you leave for the park each morning. That is where both updates came from and it is the fastest way to know whether the situation has changed overnight. The park has not given a reopening date, so the Instagram account is genuinely your best source of real-time information.
If you have not booked yet and the eagle shows are specifically why you are going, waiting until the sanctuary confirms it is back open is the smarter move. The Flower and Food Festival runs through June 7, which gives you a wide window to visit after the aviary is repaired and catch both experiences in the same trip.
And if you are already in Pigeon Forge and the closure was news to you when you arrived? The festival, the rides, and whatever NightFlight Expedition is by the time you read this are all waiting for you. Dollywood is never not worth a full day, eagles or no eagles.
We are keeping this one updated as Dollywood posts new information, so bookmark this page if the aviary situation affects your travel plans. The moment they announce the sanctuary is back open and the shows are returning, it will be here. And if you have already been through this weekend and dealt with the closure in person, drop a comment. We want to know what the park was actually offering guests in the affected areas and whether they handled it well on the ground.
