Kid friendly attractions in Nashville?

[skhermsmeyer]

Hi! Having to take a trip to Nashville in a few weeks and trying to find some kid friendly activities. DS is almost 3 and I don't think he'll be into the Grand Ole Opry. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[southcarolinagirl]

Nashville Zoo

 

[MSSANDRA]

Opry Mills has a build -a bear and a rain forest cafe.

 

[teacup princess]

We went to Nashville for a couple of days over Spring Break. My kids are 8, 6, & 4 and I was surprised how much they liked it. We did not do the Grand Ole Opry either because I just couldn't see them being in to it. Here is what we did:

1). Duck Tour (as in amphibious vehicle tour, not the two-legged kind.) - My kids really enjoyed that. It doesn't go very far into the water, it just kind of circles around a bit because Nashville isn't set up very well for the Duck to go into the water downtown, but the kids didn't care.

2). General Jackson Showboat - This was alot of fun, although a bit pricey. The entertainment (Tim Watson) was great and kept my three entertained. They also liked just watching the big paddlewheel on the boat.

3). Broadway Ave- My kids just enjoyed walking around the main drag. We spent most of our time here. We bought them each a Cowboy Hat and Cowboy Boots (check out Boot Country for Buy 1 get 2 pair of Boots free). They really enjoyed going into the stores and searching for their hats. They also just liked walking around town looking like a Cowboy. Most of the bars with live entertainment are kid-friendly until 7pm. I don't know how you'd feel about going into a bar with a child but every place we went into during the day had tons of children in them (it was Spring Break though) and the entertainers were really great with the kids and let them do the "Boot Scoot Boogie" on the dance floor as much as they wanted.

Also, be sure to check out the indoor river at the Gaylord Hotel. Eat at Monelle's for some great family style Southern cooking. It was amazing and not too expensive.

 

[jmartinez1895]

The zoo there is wonderful ( at least compared to ours here in Birmingham) and I think the duck tour is good. I know both have already been mentioned, but I just wanted to confirme that they are worht the time.

 

[mommalissa]

I agree with the zoo and the Adventure Science Center is great for little ones. My kids can spend hours in their doing all of the interactive things...their favorite is the digestion area and the play area on the top floor.

Downtown can be entertaining but they are doing major work there right now and it hard to find parking and some of the sidewalks are closed. If decide to head downtown anyway then I would suggest eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory. (don't know if you have one in your area but the kids love going in and sitting in the trolley to eat)

Opry Mills can be fun...they have an AMS Character Warehouse there right now so you might be able to pick up some fun Disney stuff. If you do Opry Mills, you might want to walk over to the hotel and walk around the indoor gardens. They also have an indoor river with a boat ride.

 

[tessieg]

Hi!
We went to Nashville for a weekend in December and enjoyed the zoo, Science Center, and a kid's museum(play center) called Discovery Center at High Springs--about 20 min south of the city.
Have a great trip!

 

[skhermsmeyer]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'll make sure to mention it to my DH when he gets home!

 

[jodifla]

I second the zoo and the Adventure Science Center. There's also a nice playground by the Parthenon Park, and we find ourselves a lot at the Grand Old Golf center just south of the Grand Old Opry. They have 3 mini-golf cources, a game room, and go-karts.

 

[LWatson]

Nashville Zoo, Frist Center, Adventure Science Center, Cheakwood Botanical Gardens, Opry Mills, Centennial Park, BiCentennial Park, Country Music Hall of Fame, Opryland Hotel, General Jackson