We had a grand ole time at our first time at the Grand Ole Opry during spring break! After watching this show my whole life, it was such fun to attend a Grand Ole Opry show for the first time and also get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Grand Ole Opry! Read on for our thoughts and tips for your first time to the Grand Ole Opry.
How to Purchase Tickets for the Grand Ole Opry
When purchasing the tickets for the Grand Ole Opry and any desired tours, I ordered online. Then, I was required to download a special AXS app to collect all of my tickets – Opry, tour, and parking – in one place. My tickets were scanned from the app when I arrived.
When selecting your tickets, you can see a floor plan for the Grand Ole Opry seating arrangements, and you can pick your seat. The prices range widely depending on the seat – much like at any other concert or show.
Book a Behind-the-Scenes Tour in Advance (Optional)
We booked a behind-the-scenes tour of the Grand Ole Opry for 4 p.m. Kids 12 and under get in free so we felt this was a great time for us to to do the tour – since we have a 12 year old and a 10 year old.
I will say I found the tour tickets page a bit confusing. On the page, it says that kids 12 and under get in free. But there is nowhere to actually reserve a “free” kid ticket. Therefore, I wound up just paying for two adult tickets and showing up with my party of four, hoping for the best. But when we got there, we were told we needed to report to the ticket booth and that it was a possibility the tour was sold out with no space for the two kids. Eeek!
At the ticket booth, we were told there was only one open spot. But they nicely added a spot for an extra tour member – 36 people rather than the normal 35 so that we could all still go.
The tour was so much fun! The people who work behind the scenes on the tours seem very passionate about their jobs. You can tell they love working for the Opry! One gentleman who works to check in the celebrities and keep up with their fan mail had the funniest stories to share. He had been working there over 30 years. He also told us all about these gold plaques on the walls which are presented to a Grand Ole Opry member when he/she is invited into the Opry group.
You are allowed to take still photos but no video.
We saw dressing rooms, learned about the process of Grand Ole Opry inductions, and saw the band practicing on stage. From what we were told on the tour, the Grand Ole Opry band – an award-winning ensemble of musicians – only rehearses each song one time with each artist that is performing that night! Wow! Can you imagine just practicing something one time and then playing live and on TV and radio?
I intentionally booked the tour on the latest slot offered – 4 p.m. This was because I wanted to be able to just wait around between the tour and the show and not leave and come back. It worked out well. The tour took about one hour. So we had one hour to kill between the end of the tour and when the doors open to the show (6:00). We spent time sitting around in the front park area of the property, listening to some high school bands that were giving a performance, and we used that time to take pictures in front of the Opry house. The mid-March weather was spectacular!
However, if you book your tour a little earlier, you can always walk over to the Opry Mills Mall – which is literally right next door, and kill time there.
We also wandered into the gift shop where we bought a couple of t-shirts and enjoyed looking around.
Kids at the Grand Ole Opry
While it seems to be more of an adult-centered atmosphere, there are kids at the Grand Ole Opry. There were probably 2 kids for every 15 adults that we saw. But the show is plenty fun for everyone. Our girls had a blast dressing up, picking out food, and listening to the live music. The show itself is about 2.5 hours with a 20-minute intermission. I don’t know that very young kids would make it through the whole show, but our 10 and 12 year olds had a blast!
Grabbing Food at the Grand Ole Opry
Once the doors opened at 6 p.m., we went in and went straight to the Sound Bites Cafe on the left to get our food. There are multiple Sound Bites Cafes – both selling grab and go style food – located on each side and each floor. We were the first ones to enter the cafe on the left. During our tour, we had smelled the popcorn popping, and we couldn’t wait to get in and get some! We also ordered two orders of nachos (so good and flavorful!), a hot dog, a sandwich, and some some sodas and waters. One of the workers described the Sound Bites food as a mix between ball game food and movie theater food.
- Doors to the Grand Ole Opry open at 6 p.m., and the food lines open at that time. The show starts at 7 p.m. so you have about an hour to get your food and eat. But you can also eat in the theater at your seat.
- The food lines at Sound Bites are surprisingly quick.
- The quality of the food is better than I expected too! They had flatbread pizzas, sandwiches, salads, nachos, hot dogs, drinks (bottled sodas, water, and alcoholic canned beverages), candy, and popcorn.
- There are also some bars serving wine, mixed drinks, and beer.
- There are only a few tables and counter seating spots near Sound Bites. (It seems it might be nice to have more available.) You have to be quick! Since we were the first ones to get food, we got seats too. But as I said above – if you miss out on seats, you can also eat at your seats in the theater.
- During the 20 minute intermission during the show, we dreaded going back out there for a drink because we thought it would be crazy like intermissions often are. But the Hubs and our daughters were back so quickly with our sodas and candy. He said the lines were moving fast.
- There was a food truck parked outside, but it was never open on the night we were there. According to the company website, the Grand Ole Opry food truck outside is open in the summer months.
The Format of the Grand Ole Opry Show
Our show started right on time at 7 p.m. Most people were seated already. We were in section 2, row 10 and it didn’t feel that far away from the stage. Apparently, the theater can seat up to 4,000 people. But sitting there in the mix of it all, it didn’t seem that large. Everything flowed pretty well in and out of the theater.
A vibrant emcee led the show from the stage. She was funny and witty and kept things moving. The first set of performers, Riders in the Sky, came out. These guys were so fun! They cracked jokes, drew some laughs, and entertained with three songs. I was surprised to learn Riders in the Sky had won a Grammy for one of the songs they made for Toy Story 2.
The next 3-4 performers were artists I had not heard of before, but I enjoyed each one! Midway through, there was a 20-minute intermission. During the night, we also saw Louise Mandrell, whom I grew up listening to along with her sister, Barbara. And the night finished off with Terri Clark, whom I use to jam out to as a teenager when I would watch CMT videos endlessly in my room.
Our show took place during the Opry 100 line up – leading up to the milestone of 100 years of Opry coming up in the fall. Apparently, the week before our show, Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire, performed at the show. We didn’t have any current-day mega stars at our show, but we had a fantastic line up of varied talented artists!
The Full List of Opry 100 Performers During Our Visit
- Riders in the Sky
- Kasey Tyndall
- Ryan Heard
- Sister Sadie
- Louise Mandrell
- Jimmy Fortune (from the Statler Brothers)
- Gary Mule Deer (comedian)
- Terri Clark
We all thoroughly enjoyed our first time at the Grand Ole Opry!
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