FireChaser Express is a steel family launched roller coaster at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It opened on March 22, 2014, and is marketed by the park as the nation’s first dual-launch family coaster, sending riders forward out of the station and then backward through a second launch later in the course.
Built by German manufacturer Gerstlauer, the ride is themed around volunteer fire departments that once protected communities in and around the Great Smoky Mountains during the 1940s. Its firehouse station, smoke effects, and fire-red trains tie the coaster into Dollywood’s broader mountain-heritage storytelling, while its two tire-propelled launches make it a standout family-friendly ride with genuine thrill-coaster pacing.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
- Manufacturer: Gerstlauer
- Opened: March 22, 2014
- Height: 78 feet
- Top speed: About 34.5 mph
- Length: 2,427 feet
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
Riders board seven-car Gerstlauer trains inside a firehouse-themed station before being launched forward out of the building via a tire-propulsion system. The coaster winds through wooded terrain with airtime hills and banked turns before a chain-lift-assisted climb sets up a second, reverse-direction launch that sends the train backward through part of the course again.
At about 78 feet tall and roughly 2,427 feet long, FireChaser Express is modest in scale compared to Dollywood’s bigger thrill coasters, but its dual-launch gimmick and roughly two-and-a-half-minute ride time give it a distinct identity. With no inversions, it’s built to welcome younger and first-time coaster riders alongside families.
Theming and History
The coaster’s story imagines a volunteer fire brigade responding to a blaze in the Smoky Mountains, with smoke effects, fire-engine red trains, and firehouse set pieces reinforcing the narrative throughout the queue and station. It replaced the Adventure Mountain area of the park and was part of a wave of family-oriented expansions at Dollywood in the mid-2010s.
FireChaser Express was installed with support from Ride Entertainment Group, which handles Gerstlauer’s operations in the Western Hemisphere, and it remains one of the park’s signature family attractions alongside larger thrill coasters like Lightning Rod and Wild Eagle.
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FireChaser Express FAQs
What makes FireChaser Express unique?
Dollywood markets it as the nation’s first dual-launch family coaster, featuring two tire-propelled launches that send riders forward and then backward during the course. Larger, non-family coasters like Cedar Point’s Wicked Twister had used forward-and-backward launches years earlier, but FireChaser Express brought the format to a family-friendly ride.
How tall is FireChaser Express?
The ride reaches about 78 feet at its highest point.
Does FireChaser Express have any inversions?
No, it has zero inversions, making it a family-friendly coaster suitable for younger riders.
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Photo: Martin Lewison / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.