Opryland USA Theme park '89

[@EdTignor]

Thank you. Man, this brought back so many great memories. I had the best childhood ever. My grandparents had season tickets and took me all the time.

[@professormarvelsamusements1360]

The Rocking Roller Coaster at the END! My supervisor Janet operating the panel and my friend Rhonda with the blonde hair is unloading on the platform. This actually made me cry. Thank you for the memory.

[@WristwatchAddiction]

Thanks for posting. I graduated HS in 89 and spent a ton of time in the park that summer. I had worked there in previous years and I was my home away from home most of my youth and teen life all the way through 97 when they shut it down. Miss it everyday.

[@stephenbrand5661]

Moved to Franklin that year, lots of great childhood memories at Opryland as a 90's kid and I remember how horrified everybody was when they turned it into a mall!!

[@ColeConquerstheWorld]

Been waiting forever to see footage from Grizzly River. Thanks for sharing!

[@MiddlePath33]

Such a clean fun park. The shade from all the trees and the windy paths made it feel so different than other parks. Dollywood has a similar vibe but nothing really beats Opryland.

[@wanderlotstravel]

I appreciate you posting this! It was so cool to relive Opryland again. I was 7 in '89, and probably went more than once that summer. I miss it so much.

[@reneemay781]

Absolutely love this home movie! It makes me feel like I’m right there again! Amazing place to have grown up at.

[@HoustonRunion]

Thank you so much for posting this video. It brought back a lot of great memories! Kudos on carrying a camcorder on your shoulder throughout the whole park in 1989 too!!

[@UNDERWOODTRUTH]

Love the 1980's

[@Jonathanedward2010]

I worked at the Riverside Plantation Restaurant that summer.

[@GT1004]

Seemed like a beautiful park with lush woodlands. Good thing now most a huge mall parking lot. Precious family Memories

[@jessicav-]

Thanks for sharing. I was born in the 70s and so my parents always found a way to take us to theme parks like this... My best memories. Sorry I didn't get to see Opryland like this.

[@jessicav-]

We need these again for our kids & grand kids ! From Nebraska... Grandma loved Nashville ❤

[@hillbill1958]

Loved Opryland! We were season ticket holders! Pathetic that they replaced it with a mall! Thx for sharing!

[@cliles6764]

What a wonderful family time and brings back such wonderful memories for me. It was the first time that my father enjoyed something with us kids. Thank you for posting. By the way, does anyone remember a show that was in "Frontier Land" that had the song, "Yacky hoop hoop hoop yacky yack squon satchee, yacky doodle dee dee, yacky doodle dee doop, Yacky hoop hoop hoop yacky yack squon satchee yacky doodle dee doodle dee HOOP HOOP HOOP! it was hilarious for the time. I'll never forget it. It was the first time I saw my father laugh at a show.

[@hwaynecook]

The show you are referring to was in 1975, maybe 1974 as well. The theatre was across from the Casa de Linda Restaurant and the Tin Lizzies and was right by the exit from the El Paso Railroad Station. By 1989, the space became the location where you could record your own recordings Karaoke style.

[@cliles6764]

@@hwaynecook Oh yes! And you could buy those beautiful tissue paper flowers on a stick that all the girls wanted. I'm so glad someone else remembers this! Thank you! :)

[@jaytoday10]

Thanks for uploading this footage! What a blast of nostalgia! One of my favorite places of my childhood. All the sounds and visuals were blowing my mind in a great way!! This was awesome! From the Flume Zoom to “I will be right here waiting for you” playing by ski ball! Lord, what a great time to be alive!!

[@MTRAdmiralty]

Great video! I worked in Riverside area that year.

[@Jonathanedward2010]

I worked at the Riverside Plantation Restaurant that summer.

[@mikefeltner4216]

I Love this

[@nicholasbivins740]

I miss people sounding like they were from Tennessee.😢

[@jamesmathis380]

Great memories

[@Fit_By_Gods_Grace_Alone]

I miss Opryland soooo bad. Kids these days would ruin it anyway.

[@johnalcock2694]

That was probably my last year working there!

[@AbsurdJANGO]

Was there actually a bear in the Grizzly River cave, or was it just a sound effect? I've searching for this for awhile and this is the best footage I've found lol

[@jamiefox1045]

Yeah there was a huge mechanical bear just inside the cave entrance, this was my favorite ride as a kid

[@valecrassus7835]

There was a big animatronic bear standing on its hind legs in an alcove recessed into the cave wall. It would turn side-to-side and raise and lower one arm while a strobe light flashed and the sound effect played. Later on, it was very hit and miss if it would move at all or even be lit by the strobe, but the sound effect usually went off regardless.

[@bradlitchford476]

Pretty sure Chaos had not been thought of yet. It came later.

[@popslops2188]

Chaos was a cool concept but everytime I went it wasn't functioning right. You'd basically just take a roller coaster ride in a dark building. I still enjoyed it and I despise that mall to this day lol

[@DangerKennyB]

@@popslops2188 The very first year everything was running correctly and it was glorious. We were there the day they'd closed the ride off so one of the Coreys (Haim? Feldman? Haim i think) was riding it. Want to say it was near the launch of the ride or perhaps even day 1. At any rate you wore special glasses, both screens were working, the music was intense and ominous, and with the glasses it 'scattered' the images so it looked like you were flying through glass, fire, etc. It was awesome! I didn't find out until many years later, after the park was long gone, that some idiot kid had thrown his drink out on Chaos and hit the bottom screen with it, ruining it. At any rate Chaos was obviously ahead of its time and an inspiration for so many interactive coaster today like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Aerosmit Rock n' Roller Coaster, Escape from Gringot's, and many many more. I will always have a soft spot for Chaos. I remember going to the park every year and thinking, "is this the time they'll have most of the stuff working again? Maybe next time?" I think, on some level, I'm still waiting.

[@wanderlotstravel]

Yeah Chaos was added later.

[@WristwatchAddiction]

@@wanderlotstravel chaos opened in May of 1989

[@WristwatchAddiction]

It opened on the 25th of May 89. The same year this was filmed.

[@vinnycamarata4907]

Part of CHAOS have been shown but no footage found inside or out?

[@planetshadow]

I hate to yell ya this but the log flume broke the camera

[@aerickmccullough350]

I really thought that there was going to be lots of Chaos footage in this one video, but my luck is not going that great. The search for chaos footage continues.