Madame Tussauds to Open Music-Themed Nashville Location
Popular worldwide tourist attraction Madame Tussauds plans to debut a wax museum next year at Nashville’s Opry Mills shopping mall. The 22nd Madame Tussauds location worldwide, the new attraction will be themed “Soundtrack of America” and will celebrate famous musicians from the past and present. Carrie Underwood, Stevie Wonder and Johnny Cash will be among the wax figures in Nashville—which bills itself as Music City USA—along with more than 45 other figures. Part of UK-based Merlin Entertainments, which is the number two operator of theme parks and attractions worldwide (behind only Disney), is slated to open in spring 2017. Madame Tussauds already has U.S. locations in Hollywood, Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco, Washington and Orlando, Fla. Opry Mills is owned by Simon Property Group, the largest shopping mall operator in the U.S. For more information, visit www2.madametussauds.com.
Newer, Larger Wheel to Locate at Chicago’s Navy Pier
The city’s Navy Pier, already Chicago’s most visited attraction, will open a new and larger Ferris Wheel on the 3,300-foot long structure that juts out into Lake Michigan and offers some spectacular views of the city’s skyline. Beginning May 27, the Navy Pier—it is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year—will be the site of a new wheel that stands 196 feet high and has 42 gondolas. The old wheel, which is 147 feet high and has 40 gondolas has been moved to Branson, Mo. To heighten the ride experience on the wheel, the new gondolas will feature interactive touch screens that will enable riders to interact online and post shots of the views afforded by the ride as it is taking place. For more information, visit https://navypier.com/
