Opryland USA
Opryland USA logo in the 1970s & 1980s
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| Slogan | "Home of American Music" "America's Musical Showpark" "Great Shows! Great Rides! Great Times!" |
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| Location | Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Coordinates | 36°12′30″N 86°41′43″W / 36.20833°N 86.69528°WCoordinates: 36°12′30″N 86°41′43″W / 36.20833°N 86.69528°W |
| Owner | Gaylord Entertainment Company |
| Opened | May 27, 1972 |
| Closed | December 31, 1997 |
| Area | 120 acres (0.49 km2) |
| Rides | |
| Total | 27 |
| Roller coasters | 6 |
| Water rides | 3 |
Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially referred to simply as Opryland) was an amusement park located 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, carousels, and the like.
The genesis 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. The Ryman Auditorium, its home since 1943, was beginning to suffer from disrepair as the downtown neighborhood around it was falling victim to increasing urban decay. Despite these shortcomings, the show's popularity was increasing and its weekly crowds were outgrowing the 3,000-seat venue. Organizers were seeking to build a new air-conditioned venue with a greater capacity and ample parking in a then-rural area of town, providing visitors a safer and more enjoyable experience.
WSM, Inc. (a subsidiary of the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, later NLT Corporation), the operator of WSM-AM-FM-TV and the Opry, purchased a large tract of riverside land (Rudy's Farm) owned by a local sausage manufacturer in the Pennington Bend area of Nashville, adjacent to the newly constructed Briley Parkway. The new Opry venue was to be the centerpiece of a grand entertainment complex at that location, which would come to include the theme park and a large hotel/convention center.
The theme park opened to the public on May 27, 1972, well ahead of the Grand Ole Opry House, which debuted nearly two years later, on March 16, 1974. 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 obvious connection to country music, the park's overall 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 rather than its rides and other attractions. As such, it was billed as a "showpark", and not 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.
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