The impetus for a theme park in Nashville was WSM, Inc.'s desire for a larger and more modern venue for its long-running Grand Ole Opry radio program.

[1] The company sought to build a new, air-conditioned auditorium with a larger capacity and ample parking in a then-undeveloped area of the city, providing visitors a safer and more enjoyable experience than was possible at the Ryman.

Waugh decided that an amusement park adjacent to a new Grand Ole Opry House, which itself would only operate two days per week as originally planned, would be a profitable venture.

As a result, WSM, Inc. purchased a large tract of riverside land (Rudy's Farm) owned by a local sausage manufacturer in the Pennington Bend area of Nashville along the Cumberland River, adjacent to the newly-constructed Briley Parkway, a four-lane highway with access to the interstate system.

[3] The theme park opened to the public on May 27, 1972,[4] well ahead of the Grand Ole Opry House, which debuted on March 16, 1974, with a visit by President Richard Nixon.

[5][6] The park was named for WSM disc jockey Grant Turner's early morning show, "Opryland USA", itself a nod to the stars of the Grand Ole Opry.

Beginning in 1980, Houston-based insurer American General began acquiring NLT stock, eventually becoming its largest shareholder and setting the stage for an outright takeover.

Unable to acquire television and radio assets due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s ownership restrictions of the time, American General influenced NLT to sell WSM-TV to Gillett Broadcasting.

[14] After the purchase, the Opryland assets were organized into a subsidiary holding company called Opryland USA, Inc. Ed Gaylord, then the controlling figure of Gaylord Broadcasting, had become involved with the hit country music television show Hee Haw when his company had purchased the rights to the program in 1981 and moved production to a studio inside the Grand Ole Opry House.

For years, its offices and production facilities were located at Opryland, and a nightly variety show (originally Nashville Now, later Music City Tonight and Prime Time Country) was broadcast live from the Gaslight Theatre inside the park.

In the mid-1980s, "Trickets" (three-day admission tickets for one price) were introduced and large numbers of season passes were sold to residents of the Nashville area.

[18] Partially in response to the competition, and to entice out-of-town guests, package deals including hotel rooms, Opryland tickets, and admission to the Grand Ole Opry were developed and marketed throughout the region.

These syndicated episodes began airing in September and featured some of country music's best-known stars including Porter Wagoner, Boxcar Willie, Charley Pride, Brenda Lee, the Mandrells, and the Statler Brothers, as well as at least one week of resident Nashville families playing against each other.

Opryland was forced to remove older attractions to add new ones, as was the case with the Raft Ride in 1986 for the Old Mill Scream, and the Tin Lizzies in 1994 for The Hangman.

Nashville's climate, with frequent winter cold, made year-round operation nearly impossible; seasons were restricted to weekends in the late fall and early spring expanding to daily in the summer.

[24] Gaylord management, in conjunction with Mills Corporation, announced on November 4, 1997 that the entire property would close for two years for a $275 million renovation branded as "Destination Opryland".

The long low concrete levee wall which once separated the park's New Orleans, Riverside and State Fair areas from the Cumberland River is still part of the mall grounds, and visitors who enter the mall property from the McGavock Pike entrance can view remnants of the graded railroad embankment which once supported the tracks of the park's short-line railroad.

The Southern Living Cumberland River Cottage became a training center for hotel employees (Gaylord University), and was moved intact to the former location of Chaos until being torn down in 2010.

The large administration building that briefly sat outside the park gates became the offices of the General Jackson and Music City Queen riverboats, and was moved intact to a location near the Cumberland Landing docks.

In 2004, The Tennessean newspaper published a statement by Gaylord Entertainment, claiming that current company executives had found no evidence that previous management ever had a business plan for Opryland, let alone any strategic analysis that led to closing it.

It was planned to be a joint venture with Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment (owners/operators of Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) and was expected to open in 2014.

[33] Parton and Herschend backed out of the plans a few months later, citing Gaylord's decision to sell the rights to operate its hotel chain to Marriott International as a reason for exiting.

[36] The Opryland site was flooded in early May 2010, after two days of torrential downpours in the Nashville area caused the Cumberland River to overflow its banks.

Today, it continues to serve as the area surrounding the Grand Ole Opry House, though many of its remaining buildings were demolished following the 2010 Tennessee floods.

Hill Country (renamed Opry Village in 1994) was themed around bluegrass and folk (acoustical) music and was designed to resemble the Appalachia region of the United States.

The main attraction of Hill Country was the Dulcimer Splash log ride (originally named Flume Zoom, and briefly called Nestea Plunge).

The Tin Lizzie antique car ride was located here until 1994, when it was replaced by The Hangman inverted roller coaster, the last major attraction to be installed at Opryland.

Also located in this area was the park's petting zoo, the Country Bumpkin Bump Cars, the Tennessee Waltz swing ride, and a large stable of carnival-style games.

State Fair also contained a picnic pavilion, typically closed to the general public, designed to host functions for large groups that were visiting the park.

Grizzly Country connected to State Fair and was part of a three-way intersection with American West Area and Doo Wah Diddy City.