When anyone living in Nashville thinks of the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, the word luxury comes to mind and their new water experience, SoundWaves, does not disappoint! SoundWaves is a 4 acre, 3-level indoor/outdoor water park in Nashville. 
It offers recreation areas for families, young children, and adults.
We were invited to the SoundWaves opening ceremony and were able to explore the indoor water park for the day. The outdoor section will be open select dates in May through Labor Day and will include a wave pool and multiple water slides.
When you walk through the SoundWaves water park entrance to the experience, the bright hallway lets you know you are crossing into another world. The room is warm and inviting, being 84 degrees at all times so you can enjoy swimming regardless of the season or temperature outside. The specialty roofing system at SoundWaves does allow UV rays into the facility year round. Be sure to bring some sunscreen!
With so many attractions, it’s hard to know where to start –
- There is an activity pool with an adventure area to rock climb, cross huge lily pads, and play basketball.
- A slide tower with five indoor slides.
- If you have young children, there is an upper area with two different areas built with the littlest ones in mind. This area with a toddler pool and splash pad is separate so you don’t have to worry about the babies and toddlers being mixed in with big kids and adults. The toddler area has lots of fun things to climb on and allows them to run out their energy so you can both get in a good nap!
The most amazing ride for me was the Crowd Surfer Flowrider. We watched in amazement as people rode the waves on surfboards, standing and sitting. Experiencing this was like riding a wave in Hawaii or California. I had always wanted to try to surf and now I have! If you haven’t traveled to the coast, this is your chance to try to surf and experience what it is like.- My favorite part was the lazy river where you can relax and float your cares away on a tube, with cool lighting when going through the cave area. Or, if you want a step up from that but aren’t too adventurous, there is the rapid lazy river with no inner tube just rushing water to enjoy.
- The last area inside is for adults only! There is a small infinity pool next to the Status Cymbal bar and restaurant so the adults can take a break, relax, and talk among themselves.
- Cabanas are available to rent for the day on the pool floor. These are perfect for family to store their personal items while they are enjoying all the choices, a great place to nap and take a break, or a place to step it up and have a party! Designers are available to tailor one to your specifications whether you are celebrating a birthday, a bachelorette party, or a staycation. They are a bit of privacy in a public area. If you want more privacy, there are also party rooms available for a larger group or if you want to have some space of your own.
- If you want a break from the water, you can enjoy the game room where they have a 4D game where you can attempt to vanquish werewolves or zombies, or play an old school game of Pac-Man, Galaga, or Space Invaders on a huge screen. You can challenge a friend to air hockey or suit up and hit the climbing wall.
The indoor Sound Waves water experience is so beautiful and inviting, I cannot imagine how awesome the outside will be when it opens. There is greenery everywhere to add some warmth to the area and to camouflage all the working parts of such a huge attraction. I had the feeling of being in the rain forest, not in the middle of an urban area.
After all of the water play, you will be hungry. It’s a good thing the food here is amazing! There are so many interesting choices from the Decibels restaurant, some created especially to accompany your experience at Soundwaves, including burger sliders, mini-dogs, salads, lobster rolls, and specialty pizzas. Many of the ingredients are grown right here in Nashville at an offsite greenhouse used specifically for this purpose. The food is fresh and delicious. There are many options of drinks, including several developed by the chefs at Opryland and available exclusively in the Soundwaves area. The Status Cymbal brunch was amazing with shrimp cocktails, delicious Mimosas, apple cinnamon toast, chocolate croissants, and fresh donut holes. There were egg omelets with salmon and aperitifs with various cold salads.
To experience the SoundWaves water park, you will need to book the SoundWaves overnight package that includes room accommodations and daily admission for SoundWaves. Although this experience is not inexpensive, the luxury of this experience is everywhere you turn whether you are enjoying the infinity pool in the adults-only area, the huge dumping bucket in the toddler area, the people dryer, the unlimited towels, the lush greenery, or the numerous choices of water experiences for children and adults. It’s not just another water park, it’s an all-around resort experience.
For a limited time, Davidson County residents are eligible for up to 40% off the SoundWaves experience. Visit http://www.gaylordhotelsnews.com/SoundWavesLocalResidentOffer for more information.
Looking for more family fun in Nashville? Check out our Destinations & Entertainment blog for more ideas!
Ann Shaw is an avid consignor at many local consignment sales and loves Music City Moms’ consignment calendar!
