I'll admit it... I hold a grudge against the Opry Mills. I'm a Nashvillian, and I resent the fact that the powers-that-be determined Opryland, our only local theme park, was not profitable enough -- so they demolished it and built the Opry Mills Mall in its place.

That being said, I have visited the mall. I'm no fan of shopping myself (I tell my friends that I'm missing the "shopping gene" that so many women seem to possess), however my mother loves to shop, so when the Mills Mall opened I gave her a mall gift certificate and took her there to spend a day with her doing what she loves most. She adores Opry Mills. I've been there a few times since it opened, and went again just a few days ago -- I took a day off work in an attempt to get my Christmas shopping done.

So, what follows is a local yokel's view of Opry Mills...

The Mall:

Opry Mills advertisements claim that the mall has "shoppertainment". Within its walls are over 200 stores, unique restaurants, and various entertainment opportunities. The mall is 1.2 MILLION square feet, all under one roof!

The mall is quite a site to see. It is what you would call "sprawling". On the outside it is multi-colored with cool, fancy, visually interesting entrances for each of the anchor stores (stores that have their own openings to the outside of the mall).

Inside it is quite beautiful (for a mall), with gorgeous hardwood floors, super-high ceilings, skylights, etc. Large video screens play music videos, movie trailers, and advertisements as you wander through the hallways. Large sculptures decorate the space in various parts of the mall -- some of which are interactive and encourage your children to climb and play.

Opry Mills is located next to the Opryland Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry. I guess you could consider the mall to be within walking distance from the hotel, but it is quite a hike. It is also quite close to the Nashville International Airport, and a few miles from downtown Nashville.

The Stores:

Well, there are so many of them I really can't list them all, so here is a rundown of what I consider the cooler or most interesting stores.

~~ Fun/Entertainment:

For my friends and me, the biggest draw at Opry Mills is Jillian's! It's huge and it's fun! The Mills Jillian's has a great video arcade with new and unusual games, cool black-lit bowling lanes, a swingin' pool lounge, and 3 nice restaurants (we've frequented the "Video Cafe" with its huge television screens, as well as the wonderful Japanese cuisine at the "Hibachi Grill"). My co-workers and I sneak out to Jillian's all the time at lunch so we can eat and get in a few rounds of racing on the 8-player-linked NASCAR racing games.

Other fun places include the NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway (similar to a videogame, but you sit in a real-looking race car that vibrates and jostles you accordingly as you drive, and you compete with the other racers in the cars around you). The Sun & Ski Sports store has a huge rock-wall that you can climb (the wall is in their front window though, so everyone else can see you too). Also in the mall is a Regal Cinema, with 20 huge movie screens and an IMAX theater.

If you have kids (and you can pull them out of Jillian's), there is a nice new play area with places to climb and play. There is also the excellent Build A Bear Workshop, where you and your child can create your very own teddy bear.

The Gibson Bluegrass Showcase is also worth a mention because it is just a cool idea. It is a 35,000 square foot "store" where you can actually watch the craftsmen as they create the beautiful instruments (including banjos and mandolins). A glass wall separates the craftsmen from the viewing public -- you can walk through the store and see the different stages the various instruments go through as they are created. It is also a restaurant as well as a store.

~~ Huge/Anchor Stores:

Aside from those already mentioned above, there are some other really huge anchor stores that are interesting if only because of their massiveness. In particular is the Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World, which features fishing, hunting, camping, and outdoor gear. It is freakishly huge (125,000 square feet) -- complete with its own restaurant, a huge waterfall/fish tank, and a couple of life-sized shoot-em-up type games. Their wares spill over into the outside, where you can walk in the large boats and campers they also sell.

Other anchors include a huge Barnes & Noble bookstore, a Tower Records, and a Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

~~ Clothing & Accessories:

I hate shopping for clothes, so perhaps I'm not the best person to comment on the clothing stores, but here goes...

There are tons of "hip" clothing store outlets, including Gap, Guess, Banana Republic, Levis, Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger, and Van Heusen.

As much as I hate their commercials, one store I frequent is the Old Navy store. I ventured in because I had heard that they had some nice baby clothes, but ended up getting a few things for my husband and myself as well. The store is large, the prices are right, and I can shop for my entire family.

Another store I really like is Off 5th, the Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet. It is a great place to buy my work-clothes, and although some items are outrageously expensive you can also find great deals there. Another huge and surprisingly nice store is Hilo Hattie, a Hawaii-themed store where I was able to purchase some really cute sun-dresses.

If you have a small child (like I do), there are some wonderful outlet stores, including Carter's, Children's Place, Hartstrings, and OshKosh. As usual, there are some fantastic deals to be uncovered.

For men there are Perry Ellis and S&K Menswear stores. My father likes the Golf America store, which sells golf-related clothing and items.

As far as accessories go, there is simply an outrageous number of shoe stores (including a great Stride Rite Outlet, with great shoe selections for my son), tons of leather stores, and a lot of jewelry stores (I personally like the Fossil store). There is also a nice Platex/L'eggs/Hanes/Bali Outlet store.

~~ Other Cool Stuff:

I'm a fan of Blacklion. It is another huge store, but it is walled off inside and broken down into hundreds(?) of individual vendors. You can find just about anything in Blacklion -- from hand-crafted wares to furniture to toys to nostalgia. It's a great idea.

I'm also a fan of the Earthbound Trading Company. They are kind of new-age oriented (with mood rings and primitive statues), but there are some beautiful hand-crafted items (stone art and carved wooden boxes) at great prices. Kirklands is another store with some wonderful decorative items for the home at excellent prices.

I simply can't list all of the stores, but there are tons of other places to shop at Opry Mills. There is a Bose outlet, Lillion Vernon store, various furniture stores, toy stores (there used to be a huge toy store, but it is no longer there). Home-related stores (including Oneida, Mikasa, and Corningware/Corelle/Revere Factory Outlet stores) are everywhere.

Dining:

Aside from the restaurants in some of the anchor stores mentioned above, there are some great restaurants scattered throughout the mall.

One big draw is the Rainforest Cafe. A novelty restaurant with beautiful aquariums, animatronic displays, and an animal theme. The only downside to the Rainforest Cafe is that it is so popular there are long waits to get in.

Other restaurants include Johnny Rockets and the Alabama Grill (its theme is the Country Music group Alabama). There is a TGI Friday's and a Chili's in the Food Court.

The Food Court has a nice mix of unique eateries (my favorite is the Cajun Grill) and commonplace fast food (including a Burger King and Sbarros).

I really like the food court -- the ceilings are super-high, with support beams decorated to look like trees. There are skylights and fabric draped to give the impression of tree leaves. It is a wide open, very attractive area.

For desert we like to visit the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop -- pricy but delicious.

Entertainment:

Aside from the stores I listed in the "Fun/Entertainment" section above, special events happen at the mall all the time . These events usually having something to do with country music or a Tennessee sports team. For example, this month (December 2002) Patty Loveless will sign autographs at the Tower Records store.

Various television shows tape at the mall weekly. During football season a television show that features Titans football couch Jeff Fisher films every week at the Entertainment Court. CMT's "Most Wanted Live" tapes at the Gibson Bluegrass Showcase (you must make reservations to attend the Gibson tapings).

Local kids also perform at the Entertainment Court frequently (which can be cute or grating, depending upon your mood).

The Opryland Showboat (the General Jackson) sets sail right next to Opry Mills, so if you want to venture outside the mall and take a dinner cruise down the Cumberland River, it is certainly within walking distance.

What I don't like about Opry Mills:

My least favorite thing about Opry Mills is that they had to destroy Opryland to build it. Sure, Opryland wasn't the best theme park in the world, but it had some fun rides (including the relatively famous rollercoaster The Wabash Cannonball) and was a great way to spend a summer day. If I had to choose, I would definitely keep Opryland over Opry Mills. There are tons of other malls in Nashville, but we only had one theme park.

My second least favorite thing is the inconvenient floor plan. The mall's walkway is shaped like a giant "Q" (a very long and large oval with a tail at one end). When I visited again last week I had walked from the top of the "Q" to the bottom when I determined that my arms were too full and I needed to go back to my car and unload. To get back to my car I had to walk the entire length of the mall, then walk the entire length again to get back to my stopping point so I could continue shopping (and end up back at my car when I was done). Most other malls in Nashville have multiple stories/floors -- which is a more convenient use of the space and means that it is a much shorter walk to go back to your car for unloading. Even if there were a connecting corridor from one side of the "Q" to the other -- say right in the middle of the "Q", it would be much more convenient and give shoppers a short-cut to get from one side of the mall to the other. As it is now if you want to get from a store on the left-side of the mall to one on the right, you have a very long walk ahead of you.

Another negative is that the mall is usually extremely crowded. I last visited on a Monday, so it wasn't as bad, however if you go on the weekends there are an insane number of people crowding the stores and walkways. When the mall first opened you couldn't even find a parking space (and the parking lot is HUGE).

Also, some of the stores over-inflate their prices. I get the impression that many stores mark up their merchandise, then stick a 20%-Off sticker on it so you feel like you are really getting a bargain, when actually you are not. Just don't fall for the "sale" trap -- often you can find the items cheaper elsewhere, even if the store claims to be a "Factory Outlet" store.

One last thing, and this really isn't the fault of Opry Mills -- Tennessee has a very high sales tax (I think it is currently 8.75%, and will be going up soon). This is to compensate for the fact that we don't have a state income tax, but remember when you make a purchase that sales tax will add nearly 10% to the overall price.

What I like about Opry Mills:

For a mall it is really attractive. It has fantastic wood floors with intricate designs. The walkways and most stores have a very airy and open feel. There are skylights and real trees growing within its walls. The food court in particular is quite pretty. There are some cool/interesting sculptures scattered around the walkways.

Everything is still new-looking -- clean and spotless. High-tech touches are everywhere. The restrooms and drink-machines are plentiful. Even the dressing rooms in the clothing stores are larger and nicer than what you find in most malls.

There are indeed unique stores. I do my Christmas shopping there because you can generally find something for everyone -- even people who already have everything.

Although some stores inflate their prices, other stores do have some excellent deals. There are some fantastic sales on cool items.

The mall is huge. I'm a very quick shopper (I'm usually in & out of a store in no time), however when I did my Christmas shopping I was literally in there all day! I didn't even go into every store. I was able to cross almost everyone off my shopping list, and got a few items for myself as well. It is definitely a place where you can spend an entire day.

Final Thoughts:

As a Nashville resident, I find Opry Mills to be a bit too overcrowded with an inconvenient floor plan, so I do most of my shopping at other malls in the area. I try to limit my Mills trips for special shopping occasions.

While I'm still bitter about the loss of Opryland, I must admit that Opry Mills is a pretty cool place. If you are visiting Tennessee and enjoy shopping, you should probably give it a look.


Web Sites of Interest:
Opry Mills Site: http://www.oprymills.com/index2.html
Mills Malls Homepage: http://www.millscorp.com/index2.html
General Jackson Showboat: http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylordopryland/gjack/
Jillian's: http://www.jillians.com/
Silicon Motor Speedway: http://www.smsonline.com/
Gibson Bluegrass Showcase: http://www.gibsonshowcase.com/bluegrass
Build A Bear Workshop: http://www.buildabear.com/
Outdoor World: http://www.outdoorworld.com/site/index.cfm




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