Opryland was a famous theme park in Nashville that closed almost 30 years ago. It had a nice group of rides which you probably need to be almost 40 to remember riding. Remarkably though, several of the rides from the park were relocated and are still operating today. One of those is Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, a classic Arrow mine train, which is now operating as Canyon Blaster at Six Flags Great Escape (Enchanted Parks) in Queensbury, New York. There were a few modifications to fit the space, but it’s essentially the same ride. The signature moment for Canyon Blaster is the huge 900 degree helix at the end.

Opryland closed permanently on December 31, 1997 due to a multitude of factors. It wasn’t necessarily that it was unprofitable, but the company felt the land could be better used for year round attractions as opposed to a seasonal one. There was also new competition from Dollywood and Kentucky Kingdom and Opryland was essentially landlocked with no room to expand to respond to these growing competitors. It’s lot of coasters was sold to Premier Parks, but only Kong at Discovery Kingdom made it to active operations initially. The rest were stored at Old Indiana Fun Park in Thorntown, Indiana. They were all eventually scrapped with the exception of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster which in 2003 would move to Great Escape in Queensbury, New York and be reassembled as Canyon Blaster. Other than Kong and Canyon Blaster, the only remnants of the park still operating are the water rides.

Relocated Opryland Rides Still Operating

• The Hangman: Now operating as Kong at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: Now operating as Canyon Blaster at The Great Escape in Queensbury, New York.
• Old Mill Scream: Now operating as Lumberjack Falls at Wild Waves Theme & Water Park in Federal Way, Washington.
• Grizzly River Rampage: Relocated and operating as Raging Rapids River Ride at Kentucky Kingdomin Louisville, Kentucky.

It’s ironic that Canyon Blaster resides in the Ghost Town area of the park which is fitting as it’s filled with ghosts of former theme parks. Next door is Desperado Falls, a log flume that resided at the defunct Busch Gardens Van Nuys and across the way is Steamin’ Demon which operated at the also defunct Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans. The theme park industry is great at recycling rides from properties that close and Great Escape has been a beneficiary of this many times over. In another quirk, this ride shared the Canyon Blaster name with an indoor roller coaster in Las Vegas, but they’re of no relation to each other although ironically both are made by Arrow. Canyon Blaster is a reminder that what sometimes appears to be a simple family mine train attraction can have a fascinating history!