Nateland, Bargatze’s production company, is teaming up with Storyland Studios to brainstorm the park—which would, presumably, be called Nateland. The California-based Storyland has worked on projects at Knott’s Berry Farm, California’s Great America, Legoland, and other parks, and has created immersive and interactive experiences for a variety of tourist sites and gaming companies. (They also designed the infamous Firefall bus, if, uh, that means anything to you.) Storyland has previously been connected to another Nashville-area concept, the literacy-themed Storyville Gardens, which was announced in 2021 but appears to be in limbo.
In a press release Nateland and Storyland state that their plans call for a park that’s over 100 acres, and that the kind of shops and restaurants and hotels typically built around theme parks are also being considered. And it’ll all be “good, clean family fun,” in line with both Bargatze’s focus on making comedy that all ages can enjoy and the fundamental nature of pretty much every theme park worldwide.
Although the partnership was only announced today, they’re already working on a feasibility study, which should wrap up in the first quarter of 2026. Any park would still be years away, but the study and partnership are more proof that this isn’t just a foolish lark by somebody who’s gotten a lot richer in the last decade than they probably ever expected to be, but an actual plan that Bargatze is genuinely serious about. And why shouldn’t he be? The major theme park that’s currently closest to Nashville is also named for a Tennessee entertainer who’s become a megastar: Dolly Parton’s Dollywood, which routinely wins “theme park of the year” awards within the industry. (Dolly herself was just inducted to the theme park hall of fame, at the same trade show as Bargatze’s announcement.) Dollywood proves that the right combination of celebrity and expertise can create a top-of-the-line, world class theme park, and if Nateland and Storyland can pull off something half as good as that, it’ll be worth driving to—even if it doesn’t have its own Hall Of Presidents with an audio-animatronic Bargatze George Washington.
