Opry Mills is [edited], please bring back my childhood. (Memphis: sales, movie theater)

[Brian]

I remember going to Opryland several times as a child. It was somewhat better than Silver Dollar City/original Dollywood. I preferred several Six Flags parks.

Nashville is not what it used to be. It is one of top-10 most-dangerous cities in the nation, it won't be long before it overtakes Memphis as Tennessee's most-dangerous city.

[lala27poodles]

Originally Posted by mad fiddler

We go there pretty regularly, too, and have never had any trouble. IMAX, B&N, Bass Pro, and a good place to walk when it's too hot or cold outside.

The OP criticized Opry Mills by saying it's only for the rich (or gullible), but earlier said Green Hills was a better mall. I'm a little confused by that.

Green Hills is a better mall. But what if I'm not looking to go to a mall? That's what I meant.

Opryland provided actual entertainment. Yeah, you had to buy a ticket or season pass, but once you bought the ticket that was it, you could have fun. The only way I can have "fun" at a mall is if I'm buying something, because window shopping gets reallllly old, quick. When you go to a mall do the kids look super happy like they are having a great time? The disobedient ones might......the well behaved ones look like they are bored to tears and ready to go home.

It was a bad trade off, and no one can convince me that any aspect of Opry Mills was/is worth tearing down Opryland. As far as driving 2 hours to Six Flags, I guess.....but to me two hours is still a heck of a long time, and gas costs money these days.

[oakland2nashville]

The drive to Kentucky is sooooooooo boring. The two hours seems like 4.

[Coney]

Please forgive this out-of-towner for joining in. I am sorry about the demise of the amusement park. I can sympathsize with everyone's loss.

When I was in Nashville, a local resident advised me not to visit the mall because it was dangerous, especially at night. I went anyway on a Saturday late morning. With my out-of-town eyes, it looked nice to me, but what do I know. I liked the touch tank for the kids, the little train for the kids, and the idea that there was a movie theater and it even had an IMAX. I was surpised, however, that there were no large anchor stores. Does anyone know why?

[Carol McCullough]

1) The only reason I posted about this at all is because the heading of the original thread said Opry Mills is "horrible and dangerous" (that would suggest to a reasonable person that you think it is a "bad mall")

2) I tried at the very front end of my post to make it clear that I am not trying to justify tearing down the theme park to put up the mall. I simply wanted to say that I do think the mall has appeal and value. I NEVER said I preferred the mall to the amusement park.

3) I don't know what you are talking about with the $16 a pop comment. It costs around $3 to get into Stingray Reef (with a handstamp that lasts all day) and that includes unlimited carousel rides. We don't actually eat at the restaurants in the mall, so I can't speak to that or the other overpriced money traps.

Originally Posted by lala27poodles

Congratulations on being the first person I've ever met that was "bored" by some aspect of the theme park, and prefers the mall. I'm glad your kids enjoy sting ray reef, because at over $16 a pop, they better. They probably enjoy all the other overpriced, rip off money traps they have, such as the "Rainforest Cafe" lol. Not all of us can afford to go all the way to Six Flags, that's a day trip for most people. You forget that Opryland served everyone, Opry Mills mainly serves the rich (or gullible).

I'm not saying it's a bad mall, I'm saying it was a horrible decisions. The current CEOs don't even have a clue as to why that happened, and I'm sure they would rethink that decision if they were given a do-over.

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by lala27poodles

It was a bad trade off, and no one can convince me that any aspect of Opry Mills was/is worth tearing down Opryland. As far as driving 2 hours to Six Flags, I guess.....but to me two hours is still a heck of a long time, and gas costs money these days.

Well I guess you hit the nail on the head. No one from Nashville's neighboring cities like Knoxville, Louisville, etc. was willing to drive to Opryland either.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by vivelafrance

Well I guess you hit the nail on the head. No one from Nashville's neighboring cities like Knoxville, Louisville, etc. was willing to drive to Opryland either.

Why would they want to drive that far when they have theme parks close to them?

[MiddleTNresident]

Only theme park warriors are willing to drive the long distances between the various U.S. parks. Then you have the major theme parks in Florida and California which become week-long vacation destinations. That's what Opry could have been since it also has the resort/hotel configuration and close proximity to the airport. Nobody is going to treat a MALL like Opry Mills as a vacation destination. It has to be more like Mall of America.

Where Opryland is located is part of the problem, too, so close to the river. Nice for the riverboat, bad for expansion, not to mention the occasional flood. Once you are in a 4-season city, theme parks become tricky.

If a 4-season theme park could be developed that could operate (in full or in part) even in the peak of winter, I suppose it could be a successful concept. It also needs ample hotel space and airport proximity to bring in out-of-state tourists that will stick around for a few days. Relying on local patrons within driving distance alone is not enough for the higher end theme parks.

I never saw Opryland (got here after it closed) but it doesn't sound like it could compete with the bigger players, suffered from maintenance and flood issues and most likely wasn't managed very well. That's not to say it wasn't loved by those who visited it, though. It's a real gap in our tourist draw to not have a theme park, but it would have to be built on much roomier acreage than where the previous park stood. Simon Properties owns Opry Mills mall now and they are not exactly going to tear it town.

Opry Mills is mostly a tourist mall. I never was able to buy anything meaningful there and my main interest is in conservative business/office attire (and what they do have has not been on par with the other malls). For me, it's a place to find novelty and gift items only and has enough quirkiness to amuse tourists in a weather controlled environment, but never to the level of how a theme park provides entertainment. I never considered it unsafe. I know of TWO incidents that made it to the news in recent years and it was among people that knew each other. You can get that at any public place.

So while malls have their own security/maintenance issues, it has to be much more manageable than a theme park. You need an expert team on board to keep a theme park in tip top shape, competitive and provide NEW attractions on a regular basis (that costs major bucks to accomplish). In this economy, even the BIG theme park operators are having issues. Even when you have an experienced team, it doesn't guarantee succees (now I'm thinking of the Hard Rock park in Myrtle Beach, SC that shut down 9 months after opening).

Whatever happened to the talk about Dollywood building a sister park over here? I don't know how they are faring in East TN in this economy but they do have something going on there in each season that brings in the tourists, although there must be times they are closed, too. Maybe they got worried they would cannibalize their attendance by having another park in Nashville. That happened in Florida when Disney and Universal built more of their own parks....attendance started to drop at the older parks and it required a lot more spending to refresh the older ones and get more people to return to them. Then employees lose their jobs because the parks become property rich but cash poor until the new attractions bring in tourist revenue.

It looks like the Bible Park might get resurrected (pun intended) in Rutherford County. That concept flopped elsewhere and I don't see it working here, either. They got the right idea (build a theme park) but the wrong theme. It stirs people up too much.

I'd love to see a (non-bible) theme park here but I can't imagine any company willing to fork out the money to build one right now or any investors willing to finance the project. Too many people are unemployed and are not going to pay the overblown attendance, parking, food and merchandise prices (not to mention travel and lodging) that are typical of a trip to the big parks.

[jabogitlu]

I don't know how they are faring in East TN in this economy but they do have something going on there in each season that brings in the tourists, although there must be times they are closed, too

Dollywood is still doing excellent -- at least attendance wise. Every time I'm there (season pass holder!) it's so packed you can't hardly walk around. They've just opened a new wing in the last year or two which has some awesome new rides, an intense wooden coaster and Mystery Mine.

Of course, Dollywood has two really great things going for it - an obvious theme in Appalachian Mountains (what would Nashville's be? Country Music just doesn't cut it) and a huge tourist base that automatically visits Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg each year anyway.

[lala27poodles]

*sighs*

I plan to go to Dollywood soon. I would love to take a weekend off and check it out, haven't been since I was about 15 or 16.

Money is just so tight these days, it's hard to save for things like vacations lol.

Here are the things I remember and miss the most about Opryland:

Screamin Delta Demon
Hangman
Original Chaos, before it got all craptastic....remember the trippy line, with all the ticking clocks and stuff lmao? I felt like I was in a Pink Floyd video.
The fruit drinks in the fruit shaped cups
The petting zoo! And the deer world! And the giant monkey cage! I LOVED bottle feeding the baby animals, everytime we went......had to do it.
The teacup ride, Doo wah city in general. They had the little 50's diner..... and then there was the high swings, the airplane, tin lizzies, the sky lift,
I just miss it all lol!