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[shavethewhales]

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120119/NEWS/301190061/Dolly-Parton-Gaylord-Opryland-announce-new-Nashville-amusement-park?odyssey=nav|head

Sounds like a sure-hit for the chain. This will turn into a major operation I'm sure, maybe even the largest water park in the chain. It also sounds like the could potentially add on a dry park of some sort. We'll be watching for more details. Expect this park to be themed out the wazoo and top-notch in every way.

[Injun Joe]

"Gaylord chairman and CEO Colin Reed said closing the original Opryland theme park was a bad idea. He said he spent his first year as CEO fielding letters of complaint."

That's how I felt about it.  I used to love visiting Opryland and riding the Screamin Delta Demon bobsled and their cool Chaos indoor coaster.  It's where my affection for coasters began on the Rock 'n Roller Coaster.  That site looks big enough for a fair sized park.  This should be fun to follow.

Here's a easy link to a good tribute site to the old Opryland for any interested:
http://www.thrillhunter.com/Opryland.html

They had some good theming there (their big boat splash ride, The Old Mill Scream was a real beaut) and I enjoyed the place quite a bit.  I wish HFE the best of wishes in resurrecting some good memories.

[SDC#1fan]

I dont know if this is a hfe project because it only mentions Dolly partons company which is separate from hfe.

[Junior]

I always thought it was too bad Opryland was torn out...I've got fond memories of the place. The shopping mall put in there never did live up to expectations, and that did surprise me...a Mall of America right in Nashville? I thought it would be great. Guess not. So, the new park sound exciting. I would not be surprised if we didn't see another theme park of some sort developed there.

[thelarsonsix]

I dont know if this is a hfe project because it only mentions Dolly partons company which is separate from hfe.

On the second page of the article it goes in depth about HFE. However it does say, it's unclear whether HFE will have a role in the new park.

I've been looking for an excuse to take a Nashville vacation ever since we drove through it (actually around it on Briley Parkway coincidentally enough) on our way to Gatlinburg. This looks like a pretty good one.

[shavethewhales]

I haven't been able to find out much info myself. It specifically states in the press release from Dollywood that The Dollywood Company would be the operating partner, not HFEC. TDC is based out of Pigeon Forge, and it's always puzzled me whether it's a subsidy of HFEC or a separate company owned by Dolly. The HFEC site says nothing about it so far, but sometimes they are a few weeks late getting press releases on there.

[Injun Joe]

It does say clearly that it's not clear who is the partner.  I read that line and than promptly forgot it amidst all the HFE history.  I  just hope they bring back Chaos.  That ride was very fun.  It was kind of like a smooth Space Mountain. 

[SDC#1fan]

I watched a pov of chaos and it definitely looks intersting!

[DollarCityBoy]

Received an E-Mail from Dollywood today that states this:



"Two of the biggest names in Tennessee tourism are teaming up to bring family entertainment back to Nashville. Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET) and Dolly Parton's Dollywood Company have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a 50/50 joint venture to develop a 105-acre family entertainment zone adjacent to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The Dollywood Company will serve as the operating partner. Phase one of the project is a yet unnamed $50 million water and snow park, the first of its kind in the U.S. A fall 2012 groundbreaking date is expected with the park opening slated for summer of 2014.

The water and snow park will anchor the project which offers room for future expansion. The park will provide a mix of high energy water activities for the summer season and designated snow activities for winter play. Once open, first year attendance is projected at 500,000, a large portion of which will come from out of state, bringing in substantial tourism revenue to Tennessee and Nashville. Dollywood expects to employ 450 full- and part- time employees, including the construction phase and once the facility is operational.

This proposed attraction furthers Gaylord's focus on growing the leisure side of its business and continuing to drive revenue through its top-notch entertainment attractions throughout the year. The Dollywood Company is responsible for managing Dolly Parton's Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, as well as her dinner theatre attraction, Dixie Stampede. Annually, these attractions attract approximately four million visitors and have won some of the industry's most coveted awards including "world's best theme park" and "America's most beautiful water park."

"I'm so excited about this opportunity," Dolly Parton said. "I am confident that partnering my Dollywood Company with a great company like Gaylord will create something truly special. We're all working on new types of entertainment to do in the daytime and nighttime for the whole family so we bring new folks to the area year round."

"We are thrilled by the prospect of bringing to Nashville a family focused entertainment center with one of the preeminent theme park owners and operators in the country," said Colin V. Reed, chairman and chief executive officer, Gaylord Entertainment. "I am confident this proposed attraction, which will be a destination not only for our hotel guests but for the entire Nashville community, will meaningfully enhance our transient and leisure strategy by introducing a fun, family environment to the region. With Dolly Parton's country music legacy and strong ties to Nashville, we can think of no better partner for this venture than Dolly's Dollywood Company."

"We hope that some other developers with great ideas will join us in creating this new area. We're saying the water and snow park are the first phase, but who knows, if we see some great ideas we could be developing the entire zone by the time the snow and waterpark open. Wouldn't that be great for Nashville and the state," Parton said.

We are in the early stages of planning and will make certain that any project we pursue is done so under the appropriate economic conditions and provides the appropriate returns for our shareholders," said Reed. "We are looking forward to working on the next steps of this project and to it becoming a valuable part of the Nashville community."

[thelarsonsix]

Does Nashville get that much snow?

[shavethewhales]

^ The snow is produced by machines in the same manner that the chain makes a 'snow park' at Stone Mountain in Georgia every year.

The snow park is what makes me think HFEC is in fact involved in this, unless TDC is merely copying them. It would be weird for a partnered company of HFEC to be doing all this if HFEC wasn't involved. A huge part of the reason DW has their name slapped all over this is because they would be in direct competition otherwise.

[biscuitcreek]

There is another article in the Tennessean that indicates HFE is involved. 

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120120/BUSINESS01/301200067/Nashville-amusement-park-expected-do-well-not-match-Opryland-s-economic-splash

[Junior]

I have always heard that HFE ran the show...Dolly has always just been an investor. Dolly, however, is the "face" of Dollywood, Splash Country, and Dixie Stampede, and there is a general belief by the public (probably due to the public relations machine) that Dolly owns everything. One of the current insiders will have to chime in here, though.

[betamike]

Not an uncommon arrangement.  For instance, Disney owns Tokyo Disneyland but it is managed by the Oriental Land Company.  As companies grow large and partner with other ventures to produce a more quality product (and sometimes to get around red tape), you see lots of this.

Watch any film now-a-days.   It used to be you knew exactly who to cheer or blame for a film, but more and more film companies partner to produce, distribute, etc.   I just watched "The Help" and although it is billed as a Dreamworks film, Touchstone (Disney) is the Distributor.   Odd!   Same with Harry Potter films.   You only see Harry Potter at Universal Studios, but Disney owns all the Distribution rights to the films....therefore you can catch them on ABC Family after-market during the holidays.

I think it makes a lot of business sense, and am glad to see the flexibility of Theme Parks doing the same thing.

[chittlins]

Snowpark in the future for Old CC site?