Opryland USA was one of the most popular theme parks in the country drawing close to 2 and a half million people each year. Its role as a music venue has also been tremendous to the local community. It has been the Home of American Music for decades, and attracted a large number of fans to the concerts held there.

It operated as a theme park for 25 years before its closing in 1997. One of the most exciting rides in Opryland was a suspended looping coaster that kind of plays prelude to the enclosed roller coaster. Coaster rides were one of the most frequented facilities at Opryland Nashville. However, other interesting types of rides came from the boats, rafts, air planes and cars. These are the biggest attractions that constitute rides for kids today at places like Edwin Warner Parks and Randor Lake Natural Area. The airplane ride can be one of the scariest, yet the most enjoyable as it is a spinning ride over a 100 feet column.

Old-timey car rides were amongst the classic favorites. So was the train ride around the park. The assortment of children's entertainment was just too many for anybody to run out of rides. Opryland had over 30 different rides the notable one of which were The Hangman, Opryland Railroad, Chaos and Tin Lizzies.

After the closure of Opryland USA, there are a few theme parks located around 2 to 3 hours drive from Nashville. These parks are similar in scale with some offering up to 40 rides. Some popular parks closes to Nashville are Dollywood, Stone Mountain Park, Six Flags Georgia, and Lake Winnepesaukah.

If you feel that the experience of staying in Nashville hotel rooms would turn out to be a discouraging one, then you need to have a glimpse at the various restaurants near Opryland. Most restaurants near Opryland are rich in basic facilities and provide top amenities, trying to make the visitors enjoy a pleasant stay.

These restaurants near Opryland are different from others such as good discounts, no booking fees and a guarantee of the rate.

Let us have a look at what all these restaurants near Opryland promise to give.

http://hotel-guides.us/tennessee/nashville-opryland-tn-hotels.html

What are the names of some of the famous restaurants near Opryland, Nashville?

There are many restaurants near Opryland Nashville that would give the experience of staying in a hotel such as Bob Evans, Home Town Buffet, IHOP, Chili's, Papa John's, Wendy's, Hardee's, Fazoli's, Taco Bell and many more.

http://nashville.diningguide.com/dl1op.htm

What kind of food items are served at the restaurants near Opryland?

The various types of cuisines served at these restaurants include Latin, Mexican, Spanish cuisines and American. Fast food items, casual dining items, coffee and deserts are served by almost all the restaurants.

Opryland USA was one of the reasons why Nashville has become so popular today. Aside from luxury Nashville Tenn Hotels and other natural wonders, Opryland stood as the focal point among all the attractions in Nashville. To be in Opryland before means you've been to a place that not everyone can afford to go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opryland_USA

Opryland USA Theme Park was one of the most beautiful theme parks all over the world until it was closed in 1997 to give way to the largest shopping mall in Nashville; Opry Mills.

To give you a better idea how the Park looked like, here are the themed areas before:

Plaza - a wide space to stroll around. Most of the area has been outside the park which leads to ticket entry.

NewOrleans - there used to have a theater, two restaurants as well as the Sky Ride Station.

Riverside - an antique carousel was featured in the area; it was over a hundred years old

HillCountry - the log ride was the most popular in the area together with the train station called Grinder's Switch.

AmericanWest - the train station of El Paso was featured in the area with antique cars (Tin Lizzies).

Lakeside - a theater and a restaurant were popular in the area but the raft ride was the very enjoyable part. Kiddie rides were also available in the area.

TheModArea - Timber Topper, Little Deuce Coupe and a sky ride station were used.

Due to a lot of Nashville Tenn Hotels found the place nearby more conducive for business, they built hotels leaving the Theme Park no place to expand and caused its closure in 1997.

You may follow the links below to be able to gather more information about the Opryland USA theme park:

http://timelines.home.insightbb.com/ol_years.htm

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=489245