Mark's Postcard Paradise

Here's a magazine ad from 1975...

$5.25 !!!! Now that is what I'm talking about. More parks should charge this much admission LOL!

Good morning, it's cereal time, but where's Boo Berry?!

Opryland 1977-1979

This is what theme park advertising looked like 35 years ago...artistic renderings of an Arrow corkscrew and flume, 70's outfits, and Richard and Karen Carpenter!

Who needs a discount?

Opryland's quality 11 music shows vs. SFOG's measly few was why my parents always took my family to Opryland instead not to mention it was a much closer day trip.

1978

Opryland was always more about the music than anything else.

The Showboat Theater!

Bradley & Kaye's "Barnstormer" (not pictured) airplane ride, sort of a forerunner to the modern day Starflyers, appeared at the park in 1978. I always imagined how far a plane would sail over the park if the chains ever broke LOL!

The Rock n' Roller Coaster found a new home as Canyon Blaster at Great Escape in New York.

The carousel on the lake was especially gorgeous at night.

Lush landscaping

Old skool.

Be sure to tune in your CB radio!

1979 Advertising...much more to come soon!

I <3 the 80's.

Now finding out there was once a

Honey Nut Boo around my cereal...

is scary enough.

Moving right along through the earlier years of Opryland, here's the 1980 park guide and the '81 & '82 "brochures"...

I love it...

"Do Wah Diddy City" on the map.

^ Bill, I think that was always my favorite area of the park. It was 1950's rock and roll themed with one of the first Arrow mine trains, Rock n Roller Coaster, and enclosed (later) Intamin Drunken Barrels ride, Little Deuce Coupe (never understood that name until I got older and realized it's a Beach Boys song). I can still remember smelling the wafts of fresh, hot pizza from Julio's while exiting the coaster and running back around to get in line and ride again.

Rock N Roller Coaster was my first (non-kiddie) coaster. Great stuff!

^ I think it was my first coaster too. Have you ridden it at The Great Escape? As much as I rode it as a kid growing up, I'm sure that would probably feel pretty weird riding it in a different setting with different theming and all.

Nope, never rode its reincarnation.

As I was growing up, my mom always subscribed to the magazine, "Southern Living", which on occasion had articles about southern US theme parks. It was always exciting when each new edition came in the mail to see if there were any parks featured. Remember this was back in the day before the internet, and park information was nowhere near as readily available as it is now. Here's one of those "Southern Living" articles I saved which featured Opryland in the early 80's.

Performers at Opryland's Showboat Theater

The Juke Box Theater was located in the Do Wah Diddy City area of the park. It was two-sided, and the other side of the theater was called The Flip Side, an obvious reference to flipping over a vinyl record.

Very sneaky of you Six Flags!

Kings Dominion had to get in on the act too.

1988-89

INTAMIN!

We see you, Chaos.

Look there, see?

It's Brenda Lee!

Great retro stuff, Mark.

Wish I'd gotten to Opryland at least

once in it's lifetime.

Look there, see?

 

It's Brenda Lee!

 

 

Great retro stuff, Mark.

Wish I'd gotten to Opryland at least

once in it's lifetime.

Thanks, Bill. I do believe you're right, and Brenda's well...umm not rockin' around the Christmas tree, but nonetheless there she is. Good catch, and you may have recognized Randy Travis too. I think Opryland was a park that would've been right up your alley with all the musical productions.

Anyone remember when you could buy a drink that came in one of these plastic containers? Yep, still got mine.

Loving all this Opryland stuff. One of those parks I really wish I had been able to visit.

dt

Loving all this Opryland stuff. One of those parks I really wish I had been able to visit.

 

dt

Thanks Dave. I think you would have enjoyed the park a lot.

December 31, 1997 was Opryland's last day of operation, and it's hard for me to believe it's been defunct 15 years as of today. Finally, I'm tapped out of Opryland memorabilia, but here's one last glimpse of the park. Thanks for looking, and I hope you have enjoyed this trip down the Opryland memory lane!

I recently found this 1989 postcard at a Nashville Wal-Mart...15 years after Opryland closed!

Though the park is gone, you can still ride the General Jackson paddlewheeler showboat today.

Here's another recent find from Wal-Mart...a 1992 aerial photo postcard of the park.

The 1993 brochure featuring the sequined country music legend himself, Porter Wagoner!

R.I.P. Opryland

With love from Music City, USA!

I remember when Porter Wagoner had a syndicated variety show when I was a kid.

Thanks for the flashback to Opryland. Like most have stated I wish I could have visited the park during its heydey.

Those aerials give a very good view of how landlocked the park was. Did the hotel really need to get as big as it became? Seems to have greatly hindered any future growth of the theme park.

^Yeah, you can clearly see from those aerial photos how the hotel pretty much cut off any park expansion to the north. They still could of easily gotten creative with space as you see other small parks do, but it wouldn't of hurt if they could of built that wooden coaster north of the bumper cars like they had planned to at one time.

Was the wooden coaster ever more than a rumor? I don't remember hearing a thing about it. Do you have any details?

I thought I remember someone actually posted some plans on here one time and that it was going to be out-and-back CCI. Of course, my memory sucks and I could just be imagining that.

^You're not imagining it. I recall seeing some drawings for the wood coaster somewhere on the net.

Valentease