The damage from an overnight storm at Dollywood has now stretched into a second day, and guests visiting the Pigeon Forge theme park on Monday are walking into the same situation that caught Sunday visitors off guard.
Eagle Mountain Sanctuary is still closed. The Wings of America shows are still canceled. And Dollywood confirmed on Instagram this morning that repair work at the aviary is ongoing with no reopening timeline in sight.
For anyone who booked a Dollywood trip specifically to see those shows, or who is arriving today expecting to check the aviary off their list, the update is not what they were hoping for. For everyone else, the park is fully operational, the Flower and Food Festival kicked off just days ago, and Dollywood in the Smoky Mountains in spring is still one of the better places to spend a day in American tourism.
But the eagle situation is real, and it deserves a full explanation.
How It Started
Overnight between April 18 and April 19, storms moved through the Smoky Mountain region and uprooted a tree near Eagle Mountain Sanctuary. The tree caused damage to the aviary building itself, compromising the structure that houses Dollywood's resident rescued bald eagles. The American Eagle Foundation, which operates the sanctuary in partnership with the park, responded by removing the eagles from the damaged structure and transporting them to their own facilities for safekeeping until repairs can be completed.
Dollywood put out an official statement Sunday morning: “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.”
The surrounding park areas near the aviary were closed for safety, covering guests, employees, and the eagles themselves while the damage was being assessed. No other attractions or park experiences were reported as affected.
Then Monday arrived and the work was not done.
Dollywood posted again on Instagram this morning confirming the continuation: “All Wings of America shows for today (Monday, April 20) have been canceled as repair work continues at the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary.”
No timeline has been given. No estimate on when the netting repairs will be complete or when the eagles will be returned from the American Eagle Foundation's facilities.
Why This Matters More Than a Standard Closure
Eagle Mountain Sanctuary is not a ride. It cannot be shut down and reopened with a maintenance crew and a reset button. The aviary is a working wildlife habitat housing bald eagles that were rescued and deemed non-releasable, birds that live at Dollywood permanently because they cannot survive on their own in the wild. The Wings of America shows built around those eagles are live demonstrations of conservation work, not scripted performances with understudies waiting in the wings.
When the netting that enclosures the aviary is compromised, the eagles cannot safely return until it is fully repaired and inspected. The American Eagle Foundation is the professional organization managing that process, and their timeline is driven by what is actually safe for the birds, not by what is convenient for a park schedule. That is the right call. It also means the reopening happens when the work is done, not on a date anyone can commit to right now.
For guests who came specifically for Wings of America, that context is worth having. This is not a situation where showing up earlier in the day or on a different day of the week would have made a difference. The closure is driven entirely by the condition of the aviary structure and the welfare of the animals inside it.
What Dollywood Looks Like Right Now Without the Aviary
The Flower and Food Festival opened April 18, one day before the storm damage was announced, and it runs through June 7. The festival brings floral installations, landscaping displays, and the Umbrella Sky feature throughout the park alongside a seasonal food and beverage program. A Tasting Pass is available for guests who want to work through the limited-time culinary offerings, covering up to five select items from the festival lineup. Dollywood's food has become a genuine draw in its own right over the years, and the Flower and Food Festival is one of the better windows to experience it.
NightFlight Expedition is also on the horizon. The new attraction in Wildwood Grove is described as the world's first indoor family hybrid coaster and whitewater river raft ride, combining four separate ride experiences into one. Guests will move through a sequence that includes soaring flight, a whitewater river raft section, a roller coaster ridge traverse, and a lake navigation segment, all indoors and within a single attraction. No opening date has been officially announced but a spring debut is expected.
The rides, live music, and the rest of Dollywood's entertainment lineup are all operating without interruption.
What to Do If the Eagles Were Your Plan
If Wings of America was specifically what you came to Dollywood for, the park has not given a reopening date and the repair timeline depends on work that is still in progress. The most useful thing to do right now is follow Dollywood's official Instagram account, which is where both updates came from, and check it before you travel if your trip is still a few days out.
If you are already in Pigeon Forge and the closure caught you off guard, the Flower and Food Festival gives you a full day of content to work with. The park is in its best seasonal form right now regardless of the aviary situation, and a day spent eating through the festival booths and hitting the rides is not a consolation prize.
For guests who have not yet booked and were building a trip around the eagle experience, holding off until Dollywood confirms the sanctuary is back open is the safest call. Once the repairs are done and the birds are back, the shows will return, and visiting during the Flower and Food Festival window means you can see everything together.
Check Dollywood's Instagram before you leave for the park if Wings of America is important to your trip. That is the fastest source of updates on the repair progress and it will tell you more than calling the general guest services line. If you are flexible on dates and want to wait for the all-clear, we will update this article when Dollywood announces the sanctuary is back open.
