Opryland U.S.A. ????

[live4christp1]

Anyone here remember the name of the gospel group that used to perform at Opryland U.S.A. on a daily basis?

 

[TLHB70]

I remember that we saw Chosen Few perform either at Opryland or Silver Dollar City. I cannot remember which one. Does that help at all?

 

[live4christp1]

I remember that we saw Chosen Few perform either at Opryland or Silver Dollar City. I cannot remember which one. Does that help at all?

I found another site and it said most of the time it was the Cumberland Boys. You were closer than I was. I was thinking Kingdom Heirs but maybe they are the group at Dollywood.

 

[Mom loves Disney]

I so miss Opryland!!!! I wish they would have left it alone. I had great times there. I was friends with one of the preformers who made it big from Opryland.

 

[Scurvy]

I found another site and it said most of the time it was the Cumberland Boys. You were closer than I was. I was thinking Kingdom Heirs but maybe they are the group at Dollywood.

The Kingdom Heirs are definitely at Dollywood. I think I remember seeing the Cumberland Boys at Opryland a few times.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

The Cumberland Boys were the regulars at Opryland. There was a summer concert series when I worked there (1993-1994) and different artists were there each week.

 

[hereyago]

OMG! My DF's friends used to work there, probably no one knows their names, but it was Russ and Becky Jeffers, they were more blue grass, she played a stand up bass.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

OMG! My DF's friends used to work there, probably no one knows their names, but it was Russ and Becky Jeffers, they were more blue grass, she played a stand up bass.

Names sound very familiar. I can bet I know several people in Nashville that would know them.

 

[PK Disney Dork]

I moved to Nashville right after Opryland closed so I never got to experience it. However my wife who is a Nashville native is still extremely bitter about it! To this point where she refuses to go the mall they built on the site.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

I moved to Nashville right after Opryland closed so I never got to experience it. However my wife who is a Nashville native is still extremely bitter about it! To this point where she refuses to go the mall they built on the site.

Take her to the parking lot in the back near the hotel and you can see some of the rocks from the Grizzy River Rapids ride. Ah, memories...

 

[johnsontrio]

OMG! My DF's friends used to work there, probably no one knows their names, but it was Russ and Becky Jeffers, they were more blue grass, she played a stand up bass.

I remember them!! I saw them perfom many times at Opryland. Count me among the folks here that have fond memories of Opryland, and I was at the time a young and single 20something with no kids...

They always had great live entertainment there and that park was clean.

 

[hereyago]

That was my family's first real vacation and I was early 20's , we went to where I was born in Clarksville, stayed in Nashville went to Opryland and saw my parents friends-they were stationed abroad together.

 

[asta]

I moved to Nashville right after Opryland closed so I never got to experience it. However my wife who is a Nashville native is still extremely bitter about it! To this point where she refuses to go the mall they built on the site.

You can count us in with your wife. We still miss Opryland and are quite bitter about losing the park and getting a lousy shopping mall in exchange. I think that this is what you get with an owner located out of state who couldn't care less about what was good for Nashville.

 

[DonaldTDuck]

I moved to Nashville right after Opryland closed so I never got to experience it. However my wife who is a Nashville native is still extremely bitter about it! To this point where she refuses to go the mall they built on the site.

You can count us in with your wife. We still miss Opryland and are quite bitter about losing the park and getting a lousy shopping mall in exchange. I think that this is what you get with an owner located out of state who couldn't care less about what was good for Nashville.

Me three. I went to RFC there once because an ex insisted, and felt so dirty. I won' stay at Gaylord Palms because I don't want to put a cent in the pocket of that company. BTW, the Wall Street Journal called closing Opryland the second most stupid mistake in corporate history, first being New Coke.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Just have to chime in - while the park WAS clean and wholesome, it was quite outdated. I was hired by Gaylord from Disney in middle management and it was like going back in time 20 years. The stores did not have point of sale so all inventory was done BY HAND! The rides safety systems were very archaic - they still had skid brakes and had to "catch" the vehicles on the 50's coaster. Their undercover security consisted of a retired cop and 2 older female school teachers that would lurk in the stores to try and catch shoplifters. Their way of running that park was a joke.

Gaylord let the park get so rundown and refused to spend any money to update their systems. If they really wanted to keep the park open then they would have had to spend millions to get it up to date safety and efficiency wise. The park just flat out didn't generate the revenue to do that.

While I am sure that many people have fond memories of the place, from a business standpoint I can see exactly why the decision was made to shut it down.

 

[PK Disney Dork]

Just have to chime in - while the park WAS clean and wholesome, it was quite outdated. I was hired by Gaylord from Disney in middle management and it was like going back in time 20 years. The stores did not have point of sale so all inventory was done BY HAND! The rides safety systems were very archaic - they still had skid brakes and had to "catch" the vehicles on the 50's coaster. Their undercover security consisted of a retired cop and 2 older female school teachers that would lurk in the stores to try and catch shoplifters. Their way of running that park was a joke.

Gaylord let the park get so rundown and refused to spend any money to update their systems. If they really wanted to keep the park open then they would have had to spend millions to get it up to date safety and efficiency wise. The park just flat out didn't generate the revenue to do that.

While I am sure that many people have fond memories of the place, from a business standpoint I can see exactly why the decision was made to shut it down.

Not to play the role of Mr Contradiction, but there have been multiple reports released since the closure of Opryland and the opening of OpryMills that have proven that Gaylord has spent more money on Oprymills than would've been needed to update the park and the mall hasn't come close to making the revenue the park made even fifteen years earlier! The upper management of Gaylord has gone so far as to admit that closing the park was a mistake especially with their desire to grow the Opryland Resort. Truth be known...they could've developed both as the mall sits where Opryland USA's parking lot sat!

On a slightly different note...if Nashville wants to be taken seriously as a destination city...they need a themepark again.

 

[DonaldTDuck]

Another point of how bad a decision it was is that the Opryland Hotel was built after the park opened and was in a constant state of expansion with a 96% occupancy until the day the park closed. After that construction stopped and they only now fill it at holidays and a few conventions. No one comes to NashVegas just to shop and Briley Parkway has nothing for tourists.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Not to play the role of Mr Contradiction, but there have been multiple reports released since the closure of Opryland and the opening of OpryMills that have proven that Gaylord has spent more money on Oprymills than would've been needed to update the park and the mall hasn't come close to making the revenue the park made even fifteen years earlier! The upper management of Gaylord has gone so far as to admit that closing the park was a mistake especially with their desire to grow the Opryland Resort. Truth be known...they could've developed both as the mall sits where Opryland USA's parking lot sat!

On a slightly different note...if Nashville wants to be taken seriously as a destination city...they need a themepark again.

Oh I don't doubt it. Gaylord made some horrible decisions - they permanently laid off 100 members of middle management in 1994 (some had been with the company over 20 years!) then expected those that were left to add that workload for the same pay. The park started going downhill and they did nothing to try to revive it and update it. I am sure they overestimated the revenue generated by the commercial properties at Opry Mills and are now hurting.

It is surreal to go to the mall there now - I usually only go as far as Mac Grille or the movie theater. And yes, you are correct -the bulk of the mall sits in the old parking lot of the theme park.

 

[PK Disney Dork]

Oh I don't doubt it. Gaylord made some horrible decisions - they permanently laid off 100 members of middle management in 1994 (some had been with the company over 20 years!) then expected those that were left to add that workload for the same pay. The park started going downhill and they did nothing to try to revive it and update it. I am sure they overestimated the revenue generated by the commercial properties at Opry Mills and are now hurting.

It is surreal to go to the mall there now - I usually only go as far as Mac Grille or the movie theater. And yes, you are correct -the bulk of the mall sits in the old parking lot of the theme park.

I think the only thing we use at that place is the movie theatre since it's the only IMAX in town.

I know there has been talk bantered about for another theme park but nothing has ever come of it. There was even talk of a Dollywood-Nashville happening...but it died as soon as the rumors started.

Ooh..we do have Bible Park USA coming!!!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Gaylord actually had plans for a huge water park (this was before Nashville Shores was around) that never came to be. The company claimed to be competition for Disney but wouldn't do the simple things like update their parks and open new attractions like the water park.

I have fond memories of the place because the people there were the nicest in the world. They would find out you were new in town and invite you home for dinner.