Question??? (Pigeon Forge: amusement park, hotel, house)

[Godsentone78]

I have a question for the locals of Nashville. I remember amusement/theme parks that you had like Opryland, Cumberland, & Nashville Valley. Can someone tell me a little about each of these parks and what they were like?

[alleycat]

Opryland was torn down several years ago. They replaced it with a giant outlet mall named Opry Mills.

Strange, but I don't even remember a Cumberland or Nashville Valley (were they opened in, say, the fifties or sixties?). As far as I know, there are no theme parks here anymore. People now go to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, or Six Flags in Kentucky.

There are things like Nashville Shores, a water park.

[Godsentone78]

Originally Posted by alleycat

Opryland was torn down several years ago. They replaced it with a giant outlet mall named Opry Mills.

Strange, but I don't even remember a Cumberland or Nashville Valley (were they opened in, say, the fifties or sixties?). As far as I know, there are no theme parks here anymore. People now go to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, or Six Flags in Kentucky.

There are things like Nashville Shores, a water park.

Thanks. I have been to the Opry Mills Mall. That is a huge mall that I will have to bring my kids to the next time I go. They have alot of cool places that I'm sure they will enjoy like Rainforest Cafe (think that's the name).

I found this about Cumberland:

Cumberland Park was a fixed park that operated on the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. The amusement rides at the fair are now provided by traveling carnival companies. Don't know when it opened, but it closed in 1986.

[artemis]

A lot of the rides at Opryland are now at Dollywood.

Most of the locals will tell you getting rid of the rides at Opry Land was a huge mistake. There has been talk of putting an amusement park downtown next to the stadium, but nothing has happened yet. It would be a lot better than the baseball field they want to build.

[ADG15]

Originally Posted by artemis

A lot of the rides at Opryland are now at Dollywood.

Most of the locals will tell you getting rid of the rides at Opry Land was a huge mistake. There has been talk of putting an amusement park downtown next to the stadium, but nothing has happened yet. It would be a lot better than the baseball field they want to build.

What kind of baseball field are they thinking about building? Minor League team or MLB team???

[artemis]

Minor League, the Nashville Sounds. They currently play at Greer Field.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Godsentone78

Thanks. I have been to the Opry Mills Mall. That is a huge mall that I will have to bring my kids to the next time I go. They have alot of cool places that I'm sure they will enjoy like Rainforest Cafe (think that's the name).

I found this about Cumberland:

Cumberland Park was a fixed park that operated on the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. The amusement rides at the fair are now provided by traveling carnival companies. Don't know when it opened, but it closed in 1986.

I've never heard of Cumberland Park, but Fair Park was the name of the amusement park located at the state fairgrounds. I did a Google search for an amusement park in Nashville called Cumberland and found nothing, but there are all kinds of articles about Fair Park.

Valley Fair is the name of a small amusement park located in Music Valley near the Opryland Hotel. I haven't been that way in a while so I don't know if it's still there.

And artemis, I'm one of those people who was outraged when Opryland closed. I mean, they didn't even give us a chance to go one last time because they announced it was closing AFTER the end of the season. I grew up going to Opryland, we always had season passes every year. It was sooooo wonderful, my parents would head for the shows, and we kids would ride the Wabash Cannonball a dozen times before the day was up!

It didn't help, either, when I read in the Tennessean that the new head over at Gaylord said that his predecessors made a mistake in closing Opryland. GRRRRRRRR

[artemis]

My husband totally agrees with you JMT. He's got great memories from his youth.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by JMT

It didn't help, either, when I read in the Tennessean that the new head over at Gaylord said that his predecessors made a mistake in closing Opryland. GRRRRRRRR

You know what they wanted to do with the Ryman Auditorium when they first built the new Grand Ole Opry House . . . tear it down and use some of the bricks to build a gazebo at Opryland.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by alleycat

You know what they wanted to do with the Ryman Auditorium when they first built the new Grand Ole Opry House . . . tear it down and use some of the bricks to build a gazebo at Opryland.

That is outrageous!!! Thank goodness that cooler heads prevailed and the Ryman is still there. I can't imagine Nashville without the beloved Ryman! Besides being a beautiful, historic building, it's a great concert venue, too.