SoundWaves at Gaylord Opryland – Nashville, Tennessee

This past spring, we took our first family road trip to Nashville, Tennessee and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to SoundWaves, the beautiful new water park at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Centre. Our family loves waterpark vacations and SoundWaves at Gaylord Opryland is one of the best waterparks we have visited.

How long does it take to drive to Nashville from Toronto?

It’s about an 11 hour drive to Nashville from the Toronto area. We did the drive in two days as we had a few stops we wanted to make along the way (see my post on the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky). The drive from the GTA to Nashville is fairly straightforward. We took the slower route and crossed the border into the United States from Fort Erie, ON into Buffalo, NY. We chose this route based on a few stops we wanted to make along the way. However, the fastest route to drive to Nashville from Toronto is to take the 401 to Windsor and cross the border into Detroit, MI. From there, you would take the I-75 south towards Cincinnati. Then it’s the I-71 south to Louisville and finally the I-65 to Nashville.

Staying at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center

This was our first time staying at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, and the hotel is huge. There’s a massive atrium with lush gardens throughout – several restaurants, shops and even a river boat cruise – all right in the hotel. It is truly a spectacular place. While it’s not downtown Nashville, our package included a free shuttle to the downtown area and other popular tourist attractions. If you are planning to visit the Grand Ole Opry during your stay, the good news is that it is right next door!

Because we absolutely love water park vacations, I upgraded our reservation to a “SoundWaves” package. SoundWaves is the water park in the hotel and it is not included in a regular stay. The indoor water park opened in November 2018, and the outdoor water park in May 2019 (the weekend before we arrived). When booking your stay, you need to add on the water park package. I always recommend booking reservations directly with the hotel on Marriott.com or through the BONVOY app to get the best price. SoundWaves packages can be pricey… I always look to see if there are any current marketing promotions that apply as well as checking for CAA or corporate discounts for Marriott Hotel Stays. Marriott also offers a special Breakaway Rate which is a 30% discount for employees who work at many large North American companies.

In my opinion, SoundWaves is one of the best waterpark hotel destinations. This is an absolutely beautiful water park. May was also a great time of year to visit Nashville. The weather was warm (especially given we’d had such a long, cold winter in Ontario). The indoor water park had some nice features including both a lazy river and a “fast” river, plus a “FlowRider” surf simulator – all with a music theme.

The outdoor area has an elegant resort-like feel. There was live music playing in the afternoon – and then a large video screen playing music videos above the wave pool. SoundWaves is described on the Gaylord Opryland website as an “upscale” water park – and that’s exactly what it is.

The only draw back was that the water slides at SoundWaves were just okay. The thrill factor didn’t compare to either Kalahari or Great Wolf Lodge, however, the ambiance at SoundWaves was amazing. We truly felt like we were on a relaxing resort vacation.

If you are looking for a relaxing resort-like water park experience, we highly recommend SoundWaves at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Driving to Nashville from the GTA was definitely worth it for this trip!