Negative-G - The Remains Of Opryland U.S.A.

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The remains of Opryland USA, Nashville, TN

If you were standing at this spot in 1997 there would be an entire park ahead of you...

...but all we had was the ignored remains of a rapids ride surrounded by a hotel and a parking lot to mark what once was.

In the early 1980's the thought of freely floating down a rapids had a very out of control feeling and after Astroworld opened the first rapids ride in 1980 everyone wanted to ride one and every park wanted one.

Opryland's Grizzly River Rapids was either the fourth or fifth rapids ride as after Intamin after Astroworld opened rapids for Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1981 and then Six Flags Over Georgia and this one in 1982.

Most rapids rides theme it up but to me the first few really went out of the way to make the ride feel as if it was a natural part of the park instead of just another ride.