Theme Park Souvenirs

Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and typically called simply Opryland) was a theme park located in Nashville, Tennessee. It operated from 1972 until 1997. During the late 1980s nearly 2.5 million people visited the park annually. more...

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History

1970s

Billed as the "Home of American Music," Opryland USA featured a large number of musical shows along with the typical rides such as roller coasters, carousels, and the like. It was opened by the now-defunct National Life and Accident Insurance Company, a Nashville insurer best-known for operating WSM-AM-FM-TV and the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry itself moved to an adjacent site, the Grand Ole Opry House, from downtown's Ryman Auditorium in 1974. (However, music at the park was not limited to country music; there were jazz and pop-themed shows as well).

Shortly before opening for the 1975 season, Opryland, located along the banks of the Cumberland River, fell victim to a large flood that covered most of the park and was as deep as sixteen feet in some locations. The park's opening was delayed by a month and several animals in the petting zoo were killed by the floodwaters.

Opryland became extremely successful during the mid-1970s, and by the 1977 season the park was drawing nearly 2 million guests annually. Attendance continued to climb into the 1980s.

In 1977, a large, resort-style hotel was built next door to the park, and the Opryland Hotel (now called Gaylord Opryland) has expanded several times to become the largest non-casino hotel in the world.

1980s - 1990s

In the early 1980s, National Life was taken over by Texas-based insurer American General (now part of the American International Group). American General, not at all interested in operating a theme park or broadcasting interests, attempted to sell all of the National Life properties including WSM-AM-FM-TV, Opryland, Opryland Hotel, and the Grand Ole Opry as one, approaching companies such as MCA, The Marriott Corporation and Anheuser-Busch. While many of the companies showed interest in one aspect of Opryland, such as the theme park alone or the radio station, none was willing to buy the entire complex. American General began to feel that the only way to sell Opryland would be to split it up into separate entities.

Suddenly, the Gaylord Broadcasting Company of Oklahoma City stepped in and purchased the entire Opryland property in 1982. It also bought the WSM radio stations; it would have bought WSM-TV (now WSMV) as well had it not already been at the television ownership limit at the time. After the purchase, the company changed its name to "Gaylord Entertainment Company". Ed Gaylord, the then controlling figure of Gaylord Entertainment, was a huge fan of the Opry and weighed in on the decision to purchase Opryland.

Read more at Wikipedia.org