Opryland, USA was the brainchild of Irving Waugh, President of WSM, Inc. This was the Nashville radio station best known for the Grand Ole Opry, one of the most popular radio shows in the country. Irving pushed the company to build a theme park in order to help finance construction of a brand new Opry hall, since the old Ryman was on its last legs (and beyond). Long story short
We just released the latest episode of the Themed Attraction Podcast featuring Danusia Rogacki, Creative Services Manager at Canada’s Wonderland. It’s a fascinating interview that clearly reveals Danusia’s total love and dedication to the park. Go listen to that first…I’ll wait right here…
First off…rumor has it I may—or may not—have been working on a special project that will knock your socks off. But I got that from a source working on the inside with the Dippin’ Dots dude, so you know how that is. (Surely this whole Dippin’ Dots thing originated from some marketing genius at the company. Any of you run to the stand every time you hear park rumors?) I also was told on the sly that the corporate lawyers got busy figuring out what to do with it…but they waved their magic wand, blessed it, and
Continuing our series of early season park advertising, here are several newspaper ads from Six Flags Over Georgia, Angus Wynne’s second theme park that opened in 1967. He had sold 49% of the Great Southwest Corporation to the Pennsylvania Railroad, providing deeper pockets for continuing investment in the parks. it would also ultimately turn into
In Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Busch parks we saw how the rousing success of Tampa was followed by disappointment in Los Angeles and dismal failure in Houston. In the middle of all that drama, Busch was quietly working on a far grander plan along the mid-Atlantic coast. In a move similar to that of Disney in Florida, the company negotiated a massive
In Parts 1 and 2 of the Busch parks we saw how amazingly successful the Tampa brewery tour and gardens was…and how unsuccessful the Los Angeles version turned out. But before the California property started giving the company fits, they had decided to keep the momentum going. Three years after the Los Angeles gardens
Inspired by Grandfather Adolphus Busch’s lush gardens at his Pasadena home, the idea came up to develop a beautiful garden spot for visitors to enjoy along with a free tour of the company’s new brewery in Tampa, FL. It was instantly wildly popular, leading to the expansion of the idea at other locations such as Los Angeles, Houston, and Wiliamsburg. Some, of course
