Soundwaves Nashville water park at Opryland

It’s summertime. Your kids are out of school but you’re still working. And that means your kids have even more energy. I did pretty well most of the summer, with vacations, activities, camps and classes and our amazing nanny, but as we get near the end I’m running out of steam and tricks. With another hot weekend looming and no plans - I had a brilliant idea - a family staycation at the Gaylord Opryland - where - they now have a WATER PARK! Soundwaves, to be exact.

I decided to make a weekend out of it - my daughter LOVES a hotel stay, this girl is high-maintenance (no clue where she gets that from) and she was so happy when I told her about our plans.

And then the cherry on top - a water park! Andi loves the pool and is fearless, so this place has her name all over it.
Here’s our itinerary, what we did and didn’t do, and tips for your trip!

-WHAT I PACKED: 2 bathing suits, 2 dresses for cover-ups, jammies, 2 dinner outfits and an extra outfit. No towels needed - the water park has plenty.

Normally I travel with a sound machine, but I recently found a way to turn on your iphone’s background noise to help sleep! Here’s that step-by-step.

Extra water bottles and snacks! Gaylord is amazing and you can get anything you need in the hotel. But if you want to save some extra money, bring some extra water bottles and snacks for long days at the pool.

Sunscreen - Yes the majority of the water park is indoors, but they do have a big outdoor section with a wave pool and several slides.

Water shoes! I must say I was SUPER impressed with how clean Soundwaves was. They really do a great job at keeping it clean and sanitized. Even the bathrooms were spotless. I still brought water shoes because you just never know.

If your little one is still learning to swim, you could bring swimmies or a life jacket, but they also have really great light-weight life jackets that worked perfect.

Don’t forge the goggles!

One thing I wish I packed more of - were long-sleeves or sweatshirts. I am always cold, and after being in the water I wanted nothing more than a cozy sweatshirt.

Gaylord Opryland Family staycation and visit to Soundwaves water park!

-BEFORE YOU GO: First, make sure you get the Soundwaves package. Hotel room only reservations do not include admission into Soundwaves.

-You cannot go to Soundwaves unless you stay at the hotel - UNLESS you book a party room. Booking party room will give you access for one day to the water park.

Davidson County and Tennessee residents do get discounts. Here those are:

- Tennessee Residents deal: Use offer code M16

-Davidson County residents: Use offer code L9Z

Make reservations at the restaurants. There are so many to choose from, but if it’s a busy weekend (and it’s almost always busy!) you will have trouble finding a reservation.

-ARRIVING: Hotel check-in wasn’t until 4pm, but we got to the Gaylord Opryland at noon and were able to get in early! But even if we couldn’t - the hotel will let you leave your bags at the concierge while you go play in the water park. Wear those kids out the first day so you can get a good night’s sleep! Pack an extra water park-only bag to take with you with a change of clothes & snacks.

-ITINERARY: After spending the first afternoon at Soundwaves, we showered and grabbed dinner at Wasabi in the main lobby. Then watched a movie before passing out.

On Saturday we ate breakfast (no reservation needed) at the main lobby restaurant in the Cascades. Then we were off to the water park which opened at 10am. We stayed in the water until I forced Andi to eat a snack, then right back in. We didn’t really eat lunch, so we left the water park around 3pm for a snack and shower before an early dinner at the Italian restaurant, Ravello. (reservations needed!) The gelato place and carvel ice cream store are both open later! Soundwaves closes at 10pm.

-CHECK OUT: We planned on doing another day at Soundwaves before we checked out, but we were all wiped and decided to head home. If you still have another round in you - get a late check out and go to Soundwaves again!

A few notes - depending on how little your little ones are, they won’t be able to do most of the rides. Andi is 36 inches and all of the slides - except for the kids-specific ones - were 42” and up. I will say the kids indoor and outdoor sections were perfect and she was very content to play there most of the day. We were able to go around the lazy river with her in my lap. TIP - there are 2 lazy rivers - one is fast-paced (with older kids raging) and the slow one is much better for chilling out or with little ones.

-No kids? There are 2 adult-only pools!

-There are seats and lounge chairs throughout the park, but they fill up FAST. If you are looking for a place to park your stuff, you can trust the masses or rent a locker. Or, you can rent a cabana to have a private place for you and your family to relax and store items.

This FAQ list is actually very helpful.

10/10 recommend this for a perfect family get away. Andi had the best time and this is definitely going to be an annual family trip!