44 replies to this topic

[mjtinmemphis]

satalac, on Jan 29 2005, 07:39 PM, said:

i agree dukeis#1, dollywood is run very well. they have gotten several big attractions too lately. that waterpark has really helped them. i think that nashville should start looking at getting an amusement park. i honestly don't think that kentucky kingdom or six flags atlanta or st. louis would hurt any ticket sales if we had one again. think of all the money that nashville is loosing by having nashvillians go to these parks instead of staying home. the big question would be where to put one though. i doubt one could happen in davidson county, and people in williamson county would freak. i do however think that wilson county would be a good place. i dunno, maybe in gladeville by the nashville superspeedway? that could help the superspeedway also.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think that other parks within a 300 mile radius would hurt sales at Nashville amusement park. If they put some state of the art thrill rides similar to cedar point or majic mountain, they could probably take some of the thunder from six flags. An amusement park would have to draw just as much from the local area as out of town to function. Nashville is in a perfect situation because of its location. they are within 500 miles of St. Louis Memphis Atlanta Louisville Knoxville and Chatanooga. People are not going to come unless it kicks the hell out of six flags.

[rocket9561]

Wasn't the latest rumor of a park to be located by Nashville Shores? That would be the ideal location.

Edited by rocket9561, 29 January 2005 - 09:52 PM.

[BrandonTO416]

Dollywood is an avowed hillbilly theme park, and d@mn proud of it. So yeah, it goes in line with the Silver Dollar City theme park idea, and Dollywood originally started out as Silver Dollar City @ Pigeon Forge before Dolly bought it out and remarketed it in the 1980's.

So far as the LRT argument goes, why in the world would LRT need to go by Opry Mills? There is absolutely no density to that area, its 100% car-oriented, and its so out of the way of urban neighborhoods and LRT-functionable corridors that it would be total waste.

And heavy-commuter-rail is best for Nashville to start with?? Not quite. The East Corridor commuter rail project will be nothing more then a small time mover having maybe 1,000 riders a day at its best for many years to come. It will do very little to enhance Nashville.

Nashville is ready for LRT, and its ready for it down the West End corridor into downtown, as well as extensions down certain streets like Murfreesboro Pike or maybe East Nashville so that those areas could be revitalized.

And if the leaders and metro-wide population of Nashville isn't ready to pay for LRT, they should start Bus Rapid Transit as a start. Having a workable BRT system with maps and platforms to stand under at each stop with regular service (no more then 10 minutes between buses, as well as reliable 24 hour service on select routs) then that would be the beginnings of truly usable transit services.

I'm almost beginning to think that with Nashville's overall mentality, its probably best to start with BRT. People around here don't like to think of the evil word tax, BRT wouldn't be out of line with the pro-roadway mentality of Middle Tennesseans so you wouldn't get the Williamson County yahoos and Marsha Blackburn on your @ss trying to tear you down every time you wanted to build something.

So I vote for scrapping rail altogether for now and building a good BRT network. If BRT ever got overwhelmed, it could be transitioned to subway instead of having LRT. That'd be a great idea, but a bit glossy-eyed for sure.

Regardless of what happens, BRT or LRT, none of it is useful unless the metropolitan region starts acting together to promote urban growth and business/housing growth in urban districts.

For some reason, I just don't see this happening in Nashville. I hope that I'm proven wrong in time.

[Dukeis#1]

heckles, on Jan 30 2005, 12:08 AM, said:

Dollywood is an avowed hillbilly theme park, and d@mn proud of it. So yeah, it goes in line with the Silver Dollar City theme park idea, and Dollywood originally started out as Silver Dollar City @ Pigeon Forge before Dolly bought it out and remarketed it in the 1980's.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, its history goes back further than that. In the 1960s, Dollywood started out as Rebel Railroad (With the steam train as the only ride). In the early 70s it was renamed Goldrush Junction, and in 1976 the people that own Silver Dollar City in Branson bought it and change it's name Silver Dollar City-Tennessee.

Dolly Parton became a part-owner of the park in 1985, and in 1986 its name was changed to Dollywood to reflect her interest. Dolly doesn't solely own the park. She is a part owner, with Silver Dollar City Inc owning the other part.

It's not quite as "redneck" as it use to be, but it still has a lot of its "country charm", which is what sets it apart from all the other amusement parks.

[rocket9561]

heckles, on Jan 29 2005, 10:08 PM, said:

Dollywood is an avowed hillbilly theme park, and d@mn proud of it. So yeah, it goes in line with the Silver Dollar City theme park idea, and Dollywood originally started out as Silver Dollar City @ Pigeon Forge before Dolly bought it out and remarketed it in the 1980's.

So far as the LRT argument goes, why in the world would LRT need to go by Opry Mills? There is absolutely no density to that area, its 100% car-oriented, and its so out of the way of urban neighborhoods and LRT-functionable corridors that it would be total waste.

And heavy-commuter-rail is best for Nashville to start with?? Not quite. The East Corridor commuter rail project will be nothing more then a small time mover having maybe 1,000 riders a day at its best for many years to come. It will do very little to enhance Nashville.

Nashville is ready for LRT, and its ready for it down the West End corridor into downtown, as well as extensions down certain streets like Murfreesboro Pike or maybe East Nashville so that those areas could be revitalized.

And if the leaders and metro-wide population of Nashville isn't ready to pay for LRT, they should start Bus Rapid Transit as a start. Having a workable BRT system with maps and platforms to stand under at each stop with regular service (no more then 10 minutes between buses, as well as reliable 24 hour service on select routs) then that would be the beginnings of truly usable transit services.

I'm almost beginning to think that with Nashville's overall mentality, its probably best to start with BRT. People around here don't like to think of the evil word tax, BRT wouldn't be out of line with the pro-roadway mentality of Middle Tennesseans so you wouldn't get the Williamson County yahoos and Marsha Blackburn on your @ss trying to tear you down every time you wanted to build something.

So I vote for scrapping rail altogether for now and building a good BRT network. If BRT ever got overwhelmed, it could be transitioned to subway instead of having LRT. That'd be a great idea, but a bit glossy-eyed for sure.

Regardless of what happens, BRT or LRT, none of it is useful unless the metropolitan region starts acting together to promote urban growth and business/housing growth in urban districts.

For some reason, I just don't see this happening in Nashville. I hope that I'm proven wrong in time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But what about Opryland Hotel and the tourist draw that Opry Mills has? I think an LRT line would be reat to run to to that area if only targeted at tourists and convention traffic going to the hotel.

[mjtinmemphis]

rocket9561, on Jan 30 2005, 10:19 AM, said:

But what about Opryland Hotel and the tourist draw that Opry Mills has?  I think an LRT line would be reat to run to to that area if only targeted at tourists and convention traffic going to the hotel.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do you believe that the line would generate 50k ridership per day?

If Im not mistaking, DT Nashville has a workforce of around 50k with a residentual population of just under 4k. That is relatively small compared to other cities that have made lrt work. LRT should never be used as something to move tourist and conventioneers through the region. Although Nashville has a booming tourism industry it isn't enough to generate the ridership needed and convince the region of a tax increase.

Lets look at the St. Louis metrolink. The system generates ridership of 60k per day. Downtown has a workforce nearing 100k. Downtown residentual population is 10k and will probably hit 12k before the end of 2005. The system runs through the central corridor hitting St. Louis University, Central West End, through some high dense areas with over 6k per sq miles. They are also finishing touches on the south corridor extension that will run through Washington U campus and Clayton that has a population of 5k workforce of 50k. through some high dense areas of south county.

St. Louis along with Denver, Portland, Minneapolis and Seattle all have progressive initiative for lrt. Nashville, Birmingham and IMO Charlotte are not designed for lrt. Their cores are yet big enough at this time to support lrt. like Heckles said, BRT would be perfect start to enhancing the transit system for Nashville and other cities of the same size. When the region show they can adjust to that type of system they can upgrade based upon demand. It would be a big mistake for nashville to make such an investment because charlotte is doing it or just to have something to put in chamber brochures.

[brewerw]

Its not like the tourist cant get downtown. Gaylord has a better bus servive than the City of Nashville!!!

[Dukeis#1]

I found this website that has two old Opryland TV commercials along with some other old commercials from the Nashville area in the 80s. (Anyone remember Fountain Square?) There is also one of the old "Tennessee is Playing You're Song" commercials. I thought it might be interesting for people who can remember some of them:

Old Nashville Area Television Commercials

Also an Opryland tribute website:

www.thrillhunter.com

Edited by Dukeis#1, 08 March 2005 - 07:34 PM.

[doormanpoet]

Thank God it is gone! Theme parks are junk to me. They sometimes bring in a bad element.

[it's just dave]

A bad element? I don't recall seeing gangs of old women from tour buses stirring up the crap we saw at Opry Mills a few weeks back.

I think the area needs a theme park, Wilson or Rutherford Counties would be perfect. And as long as someone else pays for it, it's fine by me.

And as long as there's still Cedar Point a reasonable drive away, I'm content.

[satalac]

it's just dave, on Mar 13 2005, 12:56 PM, said:

A bad element? I don't recall seeing gangs of old women from tour buses stirring up the crap we saw at Opry Mills a few weeks back.

I think the area needs a theme park, Wilson or Rutherford Counties would be perfect. And as long as someone else pays for it, it's fine by me.

And as long as there's still Cedar Point a reasonable drive away, I'm content.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i think wilson county would be ideal for a theme park. maybe put a big one next to the superspeedway. that place would take off in the summer.

[doormanpoet]

There was some crime such as robberies out in the area. There were some car break ins. Theme parks according to Plants, Sites, and Parks magazine are having financial troubles.

[satalac]

doormanpoet, on Mar 14 2005, 07:04 PM, said:

There was some crime such as robberies out in the area. There were some car break ins. Theme parks according to Plants, Sites, and Parks magazine are having financial troubles.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

at least there weren't all out brawls like there were at the mall that replaced it.

[sleepy]

I don't remember Opryland at all.

I only remember the Grand Old Opry downtown.

[Dukeis#1]

doormanpoet, on Mar 14 2005, 09:04 PM, said:

There was some crime such as robberies out in the area. There were some car break ins. Theme parks according to Plants, Sites, and Parks magazine are having financial troubles.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Theme Parks are one of the most profitable industries out there. Why, in 1997, Opryland USA brought in $80 million dollars alone. (That's not including all the money it put into the Nashville economy) Considering that was during it's last year of operation, I imagine Opryland made evan more money than that in the late 80s when the park's attendance was at it's best.

I've never heard of theme parks bringing in a bad element. A Theme Park brings tourists into the area that it is located in, there by generating money for the local economy, because the tourists will stay at hotels and resturants while they are on vacation. Most of these tourists are either families or senior citizens, and I wouldn't call them an undesirable demographic.

Perhaps you are thinking of Wal-Marts and Outlet Malls...


This is an interesting article about Gaylord Entertainment and it's current feelings about Opryland:

"What Gaylord says now about Opryland USA"

"Current Gaylord Entertainment Co. executives say they've found no evidence that former decision-makers even had a business plan for Opryland USA theme park, let alone any strategic analysis that led to closing it.

It's clear that the closing of the park negatively affected the number of tourists that visited Nashville in the summer, Gaylord spokesman Greg Rossiter said, noting that it affected the number of leisure travelers staying at its Opryland Hotel, as well as every other hotel nearby.

The current management team has found no compelling reasons why the decision to close the park was taken in the first place.

None of the Opryland-era executives are still at Gaylord, he said. The current team is headed by President and Chief Executive Officer Colin Reed."


From the Tennessean, 8/14/2004.

Edited by Dukeis#1, 16 March 2005 - 09:48 PM.

[tnthemepk]

Dukeis#1, on Jan 26 2005, 02:21 AM, said:

Does anybody remember the Opryland USA theme park that use to be in Nashville?  I was so sad when they closed it down to build that damn mall!  All that's left is the hotel and the Grand Ole Opry. 

Now Tennessee's only major theme park is Dollywood in Pigeon Forge.

I will NEVER forgive Gaylord Entertainment.  It was because of it's bad management that the park's attendance started slipping.  I was happy to hear that their new mega-mall was loosing money.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dukies.... Where did you get the $80 million number that Opryland grossed the year it closed?

[satalac]

i heard something about a 300 plus acre theme park being talked about in the percy preist area. apparently there are some serious businessmen talking about it. has anyone else heard of this?

[Dukeis#1]

tnthemepk, on Jun 17 2005, 04:38 PM, said:

Dukies....  Where did you get the $80 million number that Opryland grossed the year it closed?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The total was actually $75 million, my bad

Anyway, the information was passed onto me in the Opryland Yahoo Group, by a guy named Stephen Phillips. He got it from an old Tennessean article. You could probably find it on Tennessean.com, but you have to pay for their archived articles.

The number came in during a discussion about Gaylord Entertainment selling out its part in Opry Mills. Gaylord Entertainment had spent nearly $230 million building the mall in 1998, but after it was up and running in 2000, Gaylord only regained $75 million of that thru the mall's revenues and the sale of the companies' shares in mid-2002.

The irony in all this was that $75 million was exactly what the Opryland theme park grossed during it's final year of operation. (1997) The bottom line was that Gaylord would have actually ended up better off if the theme park was never closed to begin with. Needless to say it raises some questions...

Edited by Dukeis#1, 26 June 2005 - 11:27 PM.

[cdarr]

mjtinmemphis, on Jan 29 2005, 04:51 PM, said:

Yes.  Liberty Land is still open.  I would consider that as a big fair that operates all summer. instead of an amusement park.  They are pretty much land locked and cant expand to accomodate the hyper coasters of today.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Libertyland could be expanded if they moved the Mid South Fair out to Shelby Farms, demolished the Coliseum and expanded the park into the existing parking lots. But there would be traffic problems, and the neighborhoods on at least two sides (south and east) do not have a real aura of safety.

I'm surprised Libertyland has lasted as long as it has. It is essentially the same place I went to 25 years ago. I can't think of anything they've added. It will be interesting to see what happens to it if they build the indoor theme park now being proposed for the Pyramid.

On the topic of Opryland, I think Gaylord gave up on it too quickly. Used to be that when you thought of a vacation trip to Nashville, Opryland was the first thing that came to mind. I went there several times in the late '80s when I lived in Nashville and thought it was pretty good. It could have been larger, I thought.

[cdarr]

mjtinmemphis, on Jan 30 2005, 01:05 PM, said:

St. Louis along with Denver, Portland, Minneapolis and Seattle all have progressive initiative for lrt.  Nashville, Birmingham and IMO Charlotte are not designed for lrt.  Their cores are yet big enough at this time to support lrt.  like Heckles said, BRT would be perfect start to enhancing the transit system for Nashville and other cities of the same size.  When the region show they can adjust to that type of system they can upgrade based upon demand.  It would be a big mistake for nashville to make such an investment because charlotte is doing it or just to have something to put in chamber brochures.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They are working towards adding LRT here in Memphis...essentially, hooking it up with the trolley line to connect downtown with the airport. I have my doubts about it. Our downtown trolley loop has decent ridership whenever downtown is crowded (weekends, ball games, etc.) but it seems to be more of a novelty rather than practical. As for the new line they ran from downtown about 2-3 miles east to Midtown - I can't say I've EVER seen any more than 2 people on a trolley at any time. I'm afraid it would be the same for a line run to the airport. Just don't know who will ride it.