Source: Storyville Gardens
Booklover alert! A new theme park is set to open in Tennessee featuring attractions inspired by books and stories from around the world.
According to Southern Living, Storyville Gardens is slated to open in Nashville, Tennessee in Spring 2025 and will also feature retail, dining, entertainment, and three different themed hotels.
The idea is the brainchild of Elde and DeLisa Guerrier, owners of full-service real estate development and investment firm Guerrier Development, who wanted to ignite and foster a desire to read in children.
“Currently in Tennessee, only 34.9 percent of students read at grade level,” DeLisa Guerrier said in a statement reported by Southern Living. “As a state, we can do so much better. While Storyville Gardens represents a significant economic opportunity for investors and the community where it will eventually be located, its mission is also to help jump start a movement where children in our state embrace and enjoy reading beyond what is required in the classroom.”
Storyville Gardens will span across 130 acres and is being designed by Storyland Studios, one of the world’s leading design and production studios whose clients include Universal Studios, Disney, Legoland, Marvel, and LucasFilm.
“The potential for Storyville Gardens is limitless, both in terms of its ability to become a global attraction as well as its expected impact on children and families that will embrace reading and stories through world-class, experiential attractions,” Storyland Studios Founder and Chief Creative Officer Mel McGowan said in a press release. “The theme park industry will have never seen a park quite like this one. Tennessee families and tourists to the region are in for an experience they won’t be able to get anywhere else.”