Comedian Nate Bargatze is looking to build a theme park and it’s slated to be called Nateland! The park is inspired by Bargatze’s childhood memories of the former Opryland and looks to blend in aspects of his childhood and career. For example, the entry plaza will resemble a 90’s shopping mall (a modern take on Main Street USA), a Tennessee section and a section dedicated to Times Square. Nate is partnering with Storyland Studios, a group who specializes in the master planning, architectural modeling and full project delivery of themed environments filled with former Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Creative folks. At first some saw Nateland as a publicity stunt or a joke, but now with Storyland Studios involved and some actual park renderings, it appears to be becoming more real by the day.

I attended the 2025 IAAPA talk about Nateland and admittedly I didn’t come away very hopeful. It was basically, “so we’re going to build a park in Nashville based on Comedian Nate Bargatze, Any questions?” There was essentially zero detail, but the park had just officially been announced that week, so there wasn’t much more for Storyland Studios to say other than that they were working on it. There were questions about the IP being essentially about one person, but this is somewhat similar to “Dollywood” where Dolly Parton is the “name”, but the attractions and lands aren’t necessarily themed after her, but more the era and places of her childhood. In many ways a “Nateland” could match the 90’s mall life and Opryland theme park experience of Nate Bargatze. I had a chance to visit Opryland as a child and remember it fondly.

Nate was a guest on the Theo Von Clips podcast recently and he mentioned a trip to Hershey Park for “roller coaster shopping” with one of Storyland Studios creators. He said he rode a coaster that was the same design and from the same manufacturer as one they were considering costing $30 million. Nate also mentioned riding a new Tilt-A-Whirl style ride that costs $850,000. In news releases there has also been mention of a “Donley Dive” ride based on one of Nat’s comedy bits, which could potentially be a log flume. In the IAAPA video Nate seemed a little “green” in regard to the theme park industry, but in the podcast it seemed like he’s coming up to speed nicely. He seems to be a big fan of theme parks with a flair for nostalgia in rides mixed, but mixed with modern. Who knows, maybe Nateland could buy ArieForce One?

The only thing that gives me pause here is the budget of $350 million. Universal Kids Resort in Frisco, Texas opened recently and was built with a budget of $550 million. Reviews have noted the quality may be a level below Universal’s main parks, which is totally fine for its target demographic of small kids and its desired local audience. However, Nateland may not be offered the same grace by its intended audience. That budget may simply not provide the high level nostalgic experience that guests in that demographic guests may demand. It does appear they have identified a 100 acre site, which is a big step, but perhaps not purchased it yet. Nashville is booming and one of the fastest growing areas in the country. This is good and bad for Nateland as land probably isn’t cheap (estimated between $3 million and $10 million depending on exact location), but it does mean there’s a large local population to serve with no real other local theme park alternative. The key here will be calibrating expectations as this will not be Epic Universe with its $7.7 billion budget.

The road of history is littered with parks that were announced, but never came to fruition for one reason or another. American Heartland in Oklahoma had similar buzz and credibility a couple years ago and now is no more. Nate Bargatze seems like a sincerely good guy who really wants this, but there’s so much more work to do before it becomes a reality. On the Theo Von Clips podcast he mentioned they are currently trying to raise the money (his net worth is estimated to be ~$40 million). Therefore, building the park isn’t completely his decision, he’s going to need help and a dream can sometimes run straight into a wall called reality with things like financing. It would be fun to see a nostalgia park like this happen though, so hopefully the news about Nateland continues to be positive!