Opryland USA

Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially "Opryland") was a theme park in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally (generally March to October) from 1972 to 1997, and for a special Christmas-themed engagement every December from 1993 to 1997. During the late 1980s, nearly 2.5 million people visited the park annually. Billed as the "Home of American Music," Opryland USA featured a large number of musical shows along with typical amusement park rides, such as roller coasters.

History

Origin

The impetus for a theme park in Nashville was the desire for a new, permanent, larger and more modern home for the long-running ''Grand Ole Opry'' radio program by the ''Opry'' owners, the National Life and Accident Insurance Company. The Ryman Auditorium, its home since 1943, was suffering from disrepair along with the downtown neighborhood's increasing urban decay since the mid-1960s. Despite the shortcomings, the show's popularity was increasing as its weekly crowds outgrew the 3,000-seat venue. Organizers sought to build a new air-conditioned venue with a larger capacity and ample parking in a then-undeveloped area of the city, providing visitors a safer and more enjoyable experience than was possible at the Ryman.

During a 1969 visit to the Astrodomain in Houston, Texas, WSM, Inc. (a subsidiary of NL&AI, later NLT Corporation, and then owner of WSM-AM- FM- TV and the ''Opry'') President Irving Waugh was inspired by the presence of AstroWorld. Waugh noted in particular that the theme park was able to draw visitors to the property on days when the Astrodome and related facilities were dormant. Waugh decided that an amusement park adjacent to a new Grand Ole Opry House, which itself only operated two days per week, would be a profitable venture. As a result, WSM, Inc. purchased a large tract of riverside land (Rudy's Farm) owned by a local sausage manufacturer in the Pennington Bend area of Nashville along the Cumberland River, adjacent to the newly-constructed Briley Parkway, a four-lane highway with access to the interstate system. Plans for the Opryland complex were announced on October 13, 1969.

1970s

The theme park opened to the public on May 27, 1972, well ahead of the Grand Ole Opry House, which debuted on March 16, 1974, with a visit by President Richard Nixon. The park was named for WSM disc jockey Grant Turner's early morning show, "Opryland USA", itself a nod to the stars of the ''Grand Ole Opry''. However, despite the nominal connection to country music, the park's theme was American music in general; there were jazz, gospel, bluegrass, pop, and rock and roll-themed attractions and shows in addition to country. Opryland's focus was more on its musical productions than its rides and other attractions, which helped attract adults as much as children, the target of other similar venues. As such, it was billed as a "showpark", instead of an "amusement park" or "theme park" in its early days. Major thrill rides at the park's opening included the Timber Topper (later renamed Rock n' Roller Coaster) roller coaster and Flume Zoom (later renamed Dulcimer Splash) log flume.

In its fourth season in 1975, Opryland added the "State Fair" area on land formerly occupied by the buffalo exhibit. The expansion featured a large selection of carnival games, as well as the Wabash Cannonball (named after the famous Roy Acuff tune) roller coaster, Country Bumpkin Bump Cars, and Tennessee Waltz (a song made popular by Patti Page) swings. However, shortly before opening, the Cumberland River flooded most of the park, as deep as in some areas. The park's opening was delayed by a month, and several animals in the petting zoo died in the floodwaters.

Opryland became very successful during the mid-1970s. By the 1977 season, the park was the most popular Nashville tourist attraction, drawing nearly two million guests annually, mostly from Tennessee and adjoining states. The park also drew upon the continued appeal of the ''Opry'' show to country music fans from the Southern United States and the Midwestern United States, who often brought their families for several-days' vacation in Nashville. The nearest theme parks comparable to Opryland were four to six hours away, in places such as Cincinnati ( Kings Island), St. Louis (Six Flags over Mid-America), and Atlanta (Six Flags Over Georgia). Attendance continued to climb into the 1980s.

Initial plans had called for a commercial corridor called Oprytown to be built on the land, but due to the overwhelming popularity of the complex in its early years, the master plan was altered to include a hotel and convention center which could house ''Opry'' and Opryland visitors on weekends, and also draw convention-related business during the week. In 1977, Opryland Hotel (now Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center), a large resort-style hotel, opened next door to the park and later expanded several times to become the largest hotel in the world not attached to a casino.

On March 31, 1979, Opryland opened the Roy Acuff Theater, named after the beloved traditional-country singer and pillar of the Opry. The theater was located next door to the Grand Ole Opry House in the Plaza area outside the park gates. It normally hosted the theme park's premier musical production. Due to its location, tickets to the theme park were not needed to attend shows at the Acuff, which usually required a separately-purchased ticket. This allowed the general public to attend shows at the Acuff without having to pay for park admission, like the ''Opry'' itself.

Ownership change

Beginning in 1980, Houston-based insurer American General began acquiring NLT stock, eventually becoming its largest shareholder and setting the stage for an outright takeover. American General was not interested in NLT's non-insurance businesses and opted to sell the WSM division, which included WSM-AM- FM- TV, The Nashville Network (later The National Network, Spike TV and now the Paramount Network), the ''Grand Ole Opry'', the then-decrepit Ryman Auditorium, Opryland Hotel, and Opryland USA. Unable to acquire television and radio assets due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s ownership restrictions of the time, American General influenced NLT to sell WSM-TV to Gillett Broadcasting (operated by George N. Gillett Jr.). Gillett bought the station on November 3, 1981, and its call sign was officially changed to WSMV-TV on July 15, 1982.

By 1982, the takeover was complete and American General approached prospects such as Music Corporation of America (MCA), Marriott Corporation and Anheuser-Busch attempting to sell the remainder of WSM, Inc. While some of the companies showed interest in one asset such as the theme park or the radio station, none was willing to buy the entire group. American General began to think that the only way to sell WSM, Inc. would be to split it into separate entities.

Unexpectedly, Gaylord Broadcasting Company of Oklahoma City stepped in and purchased the entire package in September 1983 for . After the purchase, the Opryland assets were organized into a subsidiary holding company called Opryland USA, Inc. Ed Gaylord, then the controlling figure of Gaylord Broadcasting, had become involved with the hit country music television show ''Hee Haw'' when his company had purchased the rights to the program in 1981 and moved production to a studio inside the Grand Ole Opry House. Gaylord quickly developed relationships with its stars, many of whom were members of the ''Grand Ole Opry''. His close friendship with Sarah Cannon (portrayer of Minnie Pearl) heavily influenced the decision to purchase the ''Opry'' and its associated properties.

Also included in Gaylord's acquisition of the Opryland assets was WSM's fledgling cable television network, The Nashville Network (TNN), and its production arm, Opryland Productions. TNN was dedicated entirely at first to country music. For years, its offices and production facilities were located at Opryland, and a nightly variety show (originally ''Nashville Now'', later ''Music City Tonight'' and ''Prime Time Country'') was broadcast live from the Gaslight Theatre inside the park. The theme park was often featured on the network as a concert venue for country music stars.

1980s and 1990s

In 1981, Opryland expanded its footprint for the second and final time. The new area, entitled "Grizzly Country", was built on the extreme north end of the park to house the Grizzly River Rampage, a river rafting ride. The ride was promoted by a band called the Grizzly River Boys, later known as the Tennessee River Boys. The band was originally intended to promote the park via a one-time television special, but became popular enough that they became an ongoing attraction at the park for several years. The band's membership originally included Ty Herndon, and after several personnel changes, grew to become the band Diamond Rio.

In 1984, Opryland added a third roller coaster, The Screamin' Delta Demon (an Intamin bobsled roller coaster), in the New Orleans area of the park. This project also added a second park gate adjacent to the parking lot, primarily used as a group entrance/exit.

In the mid-1980s, "Trickets" (three-day admission tickets for one price) were introduced and large numbers of season passes were sold to residents of the Nashville area.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, two new competitors to Opryland would emerge: Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, and Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (which had recently been converted and expanded from its previous incarnation as Silver Dollar City). These two parks grew into regional destinations, contributing in part to a decline in Opryland attendance. Partially in response to the competition, and to entice out-of-town guests, package deals including hotel rooms, Opryland tickets, and admission to the ''Grand Ole Opry'' were developed and marketed throughout the region.

Annual changes were made to the park to continue to attract local Nashvillians as well as out-of-town visitors. Large attractions such as the General Jackson Showboat, new roller coasters, and water rides were installed on a biennial basis until 1989, with the opening of the Chaos roller coaster. The final large attraction to open would be The Hangman roller coaster in 1995.

Gaylord Broadcasting spun off Opryland USA, Inc. as a public company and renamed it Gaylord Entertainment Company on October 24, 1991.

The park took possession of Nashville's StarWalk and continued its tradition of adding commemorative plaques for country-music Grammy winners. In 1992, the Chevrolet- Geo Celebrity Theater (renamed Chevrolet Theater in 1997 after General Motors' retired the Geo brand) was constructed on the site of the former Jukebox and Flip-Side theaters. With the construction of the park's new flagship venue, Opryland began attracting top country music acts for nightly concerts, included in the price of park admission. In 1994, Opryland began upcharging for the concerts and added two venues (Theater By The Lake and the Roy Acuff Theater) to the series, billing it as "Nashville On Stage". As part of this, the Chevrolet-Geo Theater and Theater By The Lake venues were expanded and partially enclosed. Alabama, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Tanya Tucker, and The Oak Ridge Boys took up residency during the summer of 1994, occupying the Chevrolet-Geo Celebrity Theater and Theater By The Lake, while the conventional concert series, featuring traveling artists, moved to the Roy Acuff Theater. During the day, the Roy Acuff Theater hosted a live version of "Hee Haw" based on the long-running TV series. After lackluster ticket sales, the multi-venue series was significantly scaled back after 1994. By Opryland's final season in 1997, only the Chevrolet Theater was hosting concerts.

During the summer of 1993, the popular Mark Goodson game show ''Family Feud'' traveled to Opryland and tape
several weeks of episodes
at the Chevrolet-Geo Celebrity Theater, which opened the show's sixth and final season with Ray Combs as host. These syndicated episodes began airing in September and featured some of country music's best-known stars including Porter Wagoner, Boxcar Willie, Charley Pride, Brenda Lee, the Mandrells, and the Statler Brothers, as well as at least one week of resident Nashville families playing against each other. , it remains the only time in the history of the long-running series that episodes have been taped on location.

Also, beginning in the early 1990s and continuing through its final season, as a nod to TNN's NASCAR coverage, as well as Opryland's official designation with NASCAR, the annual "TNN Salute to Motorsports" event would take place over a week-long period. This included numerous motorsports exhibits as well as "meet-and-greets" with stock-car racing personalities.

In 1994, Gaylord Entertainment invested heavily in the renaissance of the entertainment district in downtown Nashville. The company converted an old Second Avenue building into the Wildhorse Saloon (unlike Opryland, an adults-only venue serving alcohol), renovated and reopened the Ryman Auditorium as a premier concert and theatre venue, and began to provide water taxi service along the Cumberland River between the docks adjacent to the amusement park and a dock downtown. The amusement park's official name was changed to "Opryland Themepark". "Opryland USA" was then designated as the destination name, to encompass all of Gaylord Entertainment's Nashville properties.

In September 1995 and September 1996, the Grizzly River Rampage was used as a course for the NationsBank Whitewater Championships, which in 1995 served as a qualifier for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Following those events (as well as 1997), the course was drained and a temporary Halloween attraction—Quarantine, tied into the storyline of the neighboring indoor roller coaster Chaos—was constructed in its bed.

In 1996, a third park gate was added near Chaos, which allowed pedestrian traffic between Opryland Hotel and Opryland Themepark for the first time. Previously, hotel guests wishing to visit the amusement park had been shuttled between the two on buses.

Shuttering and demolition

Opryland was profitable from the beginning, and remained so even in its final years. From its inception, however, Opryland was handicapped by its location. The park was located on a triangular shaped tract having the Cumberland River on one side, and Briley Parkway on another. Opryland Hotel was built in 1977 on the third, shortest leg of the triangle. This not only exposed the park to occasional flooding like in 1975, but hampered its ability to expand for new attractions as consumer preferences changed. Opryland was forced to remove older attractions to add new ones, as was the case with the Raft Ride in 1986 for the Old Mill Scream, and the Tin Lizzies in 1994 for The Hangman. In 1993, Gaylord Entertainment embarked on the largest construction project in Nashville's history so far: the Delta. This project, which opened in 1996, added an enormous atrium, over 1,000 guestrooms, and a new convention complex to Opryland Hotel. By this time, Opryland had grown to in size. However, the Delta project tied up all of the remaining land contiguous to the park, leaving it with no room to grow.

Nashville's climate, with frequent winter cold, made year-round operation nearly impossible; seasons were restricted to weekends in the late fall and early spring expanding to daily in the summer. Seasonal workers became hard to find because of the Nashville area's booming economy beginning in the 1980s, and Gaylord found itself with a labor shortage. Also, attendance plateaued through the first half of the 1990s.

In 1997, Gaylord Entertainment CEO E.W. "Bud" Wendell retired. Wendell was a holdover from previous WSM, Inc. management, and he had been involved in Opryland management from the beginning. Wendell was replaced by Gaylord's Chief Financial Officer, Terry London. Unlike Wendell or Ed Gaylord, London had no sentimental ties to the facility or to the other Gaylord country-music properties. One of London's first acts as CEO refocused the company on its core hospitality businesses. London came to the conclusion that Opryland Themepark would not deliver the desired rate of return. He and his team decided the amusement park should be replaced by a property usable year-round, rather than being closed for several months of the year (despite the next-door ''Opry'' holding weekend shows year-round).

Rumors began to surface during the summer of 1997 that Gaylord was considering selling or demolishing the theme park. The decision to close the park and replace it with a shopping mall named Opry Mills was made public that November, about a week after the end of the park's regular season.

Gaylord management, in conjunction with Mills Corporation, announced in November 1997 that the entire property would close for two years for a $275 million renovation branded as "Destination Opryland". The property would include Opry Mills, as well as a marina on the Cumberland River near the General Jackson's dock, a TNN/CMT broadcast center with studio tours, a renovated Grand Ole Opry House (including a new stage design and new seating), and a revamped Opry Plaza that was to include retail, dining and entertainment options. Gaylord announced that around two-thirds of Opryland Themepark would remain, including existing rides and shows. However, none of these plans, except Opry Mills, came to fruition. Company filings later showed that Opryland had quietly put 13 of its most popular attractions up for auction several weeks before the Destination Opryland announcement. On November 4, 1997, it was announced that the amusement park would be replaced by the Opry Mills Mall, instead of the previously-planned Destination Opryland.

The 1997 "Christmas in the Park" season was billed as a "last chance" for Nashvillians to see Opryland, though only a small portion of the park was open for the season, and many of the larger attractions were already being dismantled. The park closed permanently on December 31, 1997. In early 1998, the park's remaining merchandise, signage and fixtures were offered to the public in a parking-lot tent sale.

All five roller coasters and many other large attractions were sold to Premier Parks as part of the auction for $7.034 million. The Hangman was relocated immediately to Marine World in Northern California, where it became known as Kong. The remainder of the attractions were moved to a field near Thorntown, Indiana, where the company was prepared to revive the dormant Old Indiana Fun Park. Those plans were soon scrapped when Premier Parks purchased Six Flags and adopted its corporate name. The pieces of Opryland's attractions sat rusting in the Indiana field until 2002, when the site was sold. By 2006, the site was cleared, and it is now farmland. Some of the flat rides were sold for scrap metal, while the fate of many of the larger attractions remained unknown. However, in 2003, The Rock n' Roller Coaster was reassembled at Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury, New York, where it became known as Canyon Blaster. One of the Wabash Cannonball's cars also appeared at a park in Belgium as part of a Halloween display.

The Opryland Themepark site was cleared and paved as a parking lot for Opry Mills and the Grand Ole Opry House by July 1998, while construction of the mall took place primarily on the site of the theme park's parking lot.

Post-demolition

Opry Mills opened May 12, 2000, under the ownership of Mills Corporation (later acquired by Simon Property Group). Gaylord Entertainment initially had a minority stake in the new shopping center, but later divested. When the arrangements for the future of the Opryland property were made public in 1997, Gaylord announced its intention to construct a new entry plaza for the Grand Ole Opry House with shops and restaurants, as well as a public marina and entertainment complex at Cumberland Landing (the General Jackson's port). However, these plans were abandoned as Gaylord focused less on entertainment and more on its hospitality assets.

The long low concrete levee wall which once separated the park's New Orleans, Riverside and State Fair areas from the Cumberland River is still part of the mall grounds, and visitors who enter the mall property from the McGavock Pike entrance can view remnants of the graded railroad embankment which once supported the tracks of the park's short-line railroad.

The Southern Living Cumberland River Cottage became a training center for hotel employees (Gaylord University), and was moved intact to the former location of Chaos until being torn down in 2010. The large administration building that briefly sat outside the park gates became the offices of the General Jackson and Music City Queen riverboats, and was moved intact to a location near the Cumberland Landing docks.

Much of the Opry Plaza area remained untouched and open for business. The Grand Ole Opry House, Roy Acuff Theater (later renamed BellSouth Acuff Theater), and the Grand Ole Opry Museum remained in constant use throughout and after demolition of the park. The buildings that once housed the Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl museums eventually became the administrative offices of WSM radio. The Gaslight Theater became home to Gaylord Opryland's annual ICE! exhibit, and was utilized as a rental facility for television production, banquets, and other events. It was the only building left standing that once occupied the gated theme park.

Though much of the hardware had been removed, the course of the Grizzly River Rampage water ride was visible along the path between Opry Mills and Gaylord Opryland for 14 years after the ride entertained its final guests. In the fall of 2011, Gaylord Entertainment built a new events center designed mainly to hold the hotel's yearly "ICE!" exhibit nearby, clearing the old Grizzly River Rampage site in the process. By November 2011, all recognizable remnants of the theme park were gone.

In 2004, ''The Tennessean'' newspaper published a statement by Gaylord Entertainment, claiming that current company executives had found no evidence that previous management ever had a business plan for Opryland, let alone any strategic analysis that led to closing it. No compelling reasons had been found for the park's closure. Most of the Opryland-era executives left Gaylord Entertainment early in the decade, when it was refocused into a more hospitality-oriented company. In 2012, Gaylord CEO Colin Reed called the closing of Opryland "a bad idea". He said that he had spent much of his first year at Gaylord fielding complaints about the decision (he arrived at the company eplacing Terry Londonin 2001, more than three years after the park was demolished).

On January 19, 2012, Gaylord Entertainment announced plans to open a new theme park in Nashville near Opryland's former location. The plans called for a park that could be used nearly year-round, as a water park in the summer and snow park in the winter. It was planned to be a joint venture with Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment (owners/operators of Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) and was expected to open in 2014. Parton and Herschend backed out of the plans a few months later, citing Gaylord's decision to sell the rights to operate its hotel chain to Marriott International as a reason for exiting. As a result of the joint venture's collapse, the project was scrapped.

As the company transitioned into a real estate investment trust in 2012, Gaylord Entertainment was renamed Ryman Hospitality Properties in October 2012. In 2018, Gaylord Entertainment's former CEO Bud Wendell talked about Opryland's closure, saying "Opryland was successful. And it was successful when they shut it down. We weren't losing money." Wendell also said that the decision was "the dumbest thing I've ever seen."

2010 Tennessee floods

The Opryland site was flooded in early May 2010, after two days of torrential downpours in the Nashville area caused the Cumberland River to overflow its banks.

The flood did not destroy any buildings on Gaylord property, but they were all severely damaged. Buildings that were demolished—rather than repaired—after the flood include the former TNN/CMT broadcast center, Roy Acuff Theater, Gaslight Theater, the Gaylord University building, the WSM administration buildings (former Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff museums), and the former Opryland Hospitality Center.

Gaylord Opryland, the Grand Ole Opry House, and the General Jackson were closed for several months and all reopened in late 2010. The Grand Ole Opry Museum did not reopen. Since then its structure has served as a training facility for new company employees. Many of its contents were lost in the flood, returned to their owners from loan, or relocated to a new museum space inside Ryman Auditorium. Opry Mills became entangled in a legal battle over flood insurance payout which was ongoing as of March 2015, stalling its flood repairs for several months, and finally reopening on March 29, 2012.

As of 2021, the Grand Ole Opry House, Roy Acuff's former home, and the building that once housed the Grand Ole Opry Museum are the only theme park-era structures remaining on the property. The Cumberland Landing building was relocated from the gates of the theme park to the riverbank upon demolition of the park. It was vacated following the flood and beginning in November 2020, is home to Paula Deen's Family Kitchen after extensive renovations and a sizeable addition.

Park Areas

Opryland contained nine themed areas, most of which featured a motif centered on various types of American music.

Opry Plaza

Opry Plaza served as the main entry and exit point for Opryland, and contained the park's three primary gates. The majority of Opry Plaza sat outside the gates, meaning it was accessible to guests with or without park tickets. It had an antebellum-inspired architectural theme, and featured music from ''Grand Ole Opry'' members playing on the speakers. Its centerpiece was the Grand Ole Opry House. Opry Plaza housed no thrill attractions, but was home to the park's ticket booths, as well as the Roy Acuff Theatre, Grand Ole Opry Museum, Opryland Hospitality Center, Southern Living Cumberland River Cottage, WSM-FM studio, and the Gaslight Theatre/TNN Studio. Opry Plaza connected to Hill Country, Doo Wah Diddy City, and the parking lot.

During and after the park's demolition, portions of Opry Plaza remained undisturbed and open for business. Today, it continues to serve as the area surrounding the Grand Ole Opry House, though many of its remaining buildings were demolished following the 2010 Tennessee floods.

Hill Country / Opry Village

Hill Country (renamed Opry Village in 1994) was themed around bluegrass and folk (acoustical) music and was designed to resemble the Appalachia region of the United States. It featured the Folk Music Theatre, which was sponsored by Martha White, and later C.F. Martin & Company. The main attraction of Hill Country was the Dulcimer Splash log ride (originally named Flume Zoom, and briefly called Nestea

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