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News Archive

It’s a Thrill-Ride of Great Memories in NPT’s Nostalgic Visit to Opryland, USA

Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Popular “Memories” series Revisits Famous Tennessee Theme Park NASHVILLE, Tennessee – November 18, 2008 -- For more than 26 years, a 212-acre area of eastern Davidson County in Tennessee was “The Home of American Music” and so much more to millions of music and thrill-ride fans. Opryland, USA, which opened in 1972, was the first major theme park dedicated to live performances, and as any kid who rode the Grizzly River Rampage or the Wabash Cannonball can attest to, howls of laughter and screams of joy were an important part of the experience. Nashville Public Television gives fans of the park, and viewers throughout Middle Tennessee, a chance to journey back to the park with MEMORIES OF OPRYLAND, the latest installment in the Memories of Nashville series, premiering on Sunday, November 30 at 7:00 p.m. on NPT-Channel 8. It’s “a thrill-ride of great memories” as writer and producer Justin Harvey (Nashville WWII Stories, Memories of Sulphur Dell) offers viewers an opportunity to relive the rides, shows and fun that made the park a favorite until its closing at the end of 1997. “We put a call out into the community for memories, photos and video, and I was overwhelmed by the response we received,” said Harvey. “So many people called me or wrote to me to share their fond memories of summers spent at the park. For many, Opryland was their childhood. For many of the performers, it was their first big gig and entrance into the entertainment industry. Everybody, it seems, loved Opryland.” It was Irving Waugh, then president of WSM, and his associate Elmer Alley, that first conceived of the park. Waugh wanted a new home for The Grand Ole Opry, which at the time was at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, and as his successor E.W. Bud Wendell explains, Waugh “became fascinated with the idea of not just a new Opry House, but because of the draw that the Opry had, the idea evolved to build an attraction and give these people that came distances something more than just coming to a country music show.”
Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 January 2009 )
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