I was recently at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and took some photos of one of the few visible remnants of the park: the Grizzly River Rampage.
The ride opened in 1982 inside a new area named “Grizzly River Country.” The ride was a hit and instantly became one of the most popular rides at the park.
After the park closed in 1997, nearly everything was cleared to make way for an outlet mall. However, the Grizzly River Rampage rockwork and troughs were left untouched, except for the ride’s machinery. I don’t believe there has ever been any reasoning behind sparing what was left of the ride, but it’s nice to see a small part of the park remain.
As seen in this satellite image, the ride’s remnants almost act as a buffer between the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and the OpryMill Malls, which, as of this posting, remains closed due to the May 2010 floods.
Unfortunately, the walkway that runs from the hotel to the mall is fenced off, so I was only able to get a couple shots of the area.
Feel free to comment below if you have any memories of Opryland USA.
I rode the Grizzly River Rampage a hundred times I bet! What a blast! I sure do wish the park was still there! A lot of very good memories!
I remember that ride was the best ride and the park was packed and the lines to get into Opryland. Great memories. It’s a shame it’s all gone now but have great pictures.
Just thinking about Opryland gives me such a great feeling. I wish it was still open so i could take my kids and show them what a great place it was! So family oriented! There is no place like it! Nothing but great memories remain. So sad Opryland is gone forever!
feeling nostalgic and googled opryland. i lived in alabama, right on the tennesse border, as a child. every summer we bought season passes and my family would go at least once a week. opryland was a big part of my youth, and when i was 14 it closed. and i cried. now with two children of my own, i wish it was still there. i would love to take them. i have been to opry mills once, and i wasn’t impressed at all. i miss the hangman, the old mill scream, and especially the chaos! i remember the first weeks it was open when you got to wear the glasses and everything seemed so futuristic. “your time is running out.” and halloween at opryland! now that was the best. hah. ok. now i’m in an opryland trance. 🙂
They paved paradise and put in a parking lot. 🙁
Ahhh, the G.R.R. I used to love that ride (especially on hot days!) I remember how they just kinda eventually let the grizzly bear inside the cave “die.” When the ride first opened, the bear would move back and forth waving his claws in the air as he roared and strobe lights flashed. Then the bear stopped moving. After a while, they let the strobe lights stop working. Then he would only roar every once in a while. By the end of Opryland’s era, the grizzly was just a stationary stuffed bear standing in a quiet, dark hole.
But I’d still take that motionless grizzly over another unnecessary, stupid shopping mall ANY DAY. 🙁
Opryland was where I road my first looping coaster, in the late 70’s
Remember the Wabash Cannonball? And the Tennessee Waltz? And the House that Defies Gravity? And the Gaslight Theater?
#Opryland