Our first stop this morning was Graceland. Graceland is split into 2 parts – the actual house and grounds on one side of the road and what I will call “Elvis World” on the other – where you park and enter.
As far as queues go, it was much worse than Disneyland ! We arrived about half an hour after opening – around 10.30 – then queued for at least 20 minutes – if not longer – just to buy our tickets. We then joined the queue for the shuttle bus that takes you across the road into the Graceland grounds. That was probably another 15 – 20 minutes. Across the road and up the driveway, we arrive at the front door of the house – along with the 2 busloads before us – so another wait. This is supposed to be off season so I would hate to be here at busy times !
Queue to Elvis’s grave
Once finally inside, the audio tour takes you through the downstairs portion of the house – although in big grounds, the house itself is quite modest really – well the living areas anyway. I suppose there aren’t many houses with their own racquetball courts come to think of it. The lines were long and the “Elvis tragics” tended to slow things down as they soaked in the atmosphere. This part of the tour ends at the Meditation Garden where Elvis and his family are buried. And yet another slow queue.
To be honest, Elvis Inc could take a few hints from Disney when it comes to organisation. After the Meditation Garden it was back on a bus back across the street to “Elvis World” (my cynicism slipped there – sorry all you Elvis fans!). Elvis World consists of a museum with all Elvis’ cars. bikes toys etc, his airport with his main plane, the Lisa Marie – decked out with lounges, dining room, bed, 14 carat gold plated seat belts and bathroom – and his runabout jet, various other exhibits, shops and so on. We had lunch at one of the cafes but I was disappointed that the Elvis favourite – bacon, banana and peanut butter sandwich – was not on the menu !
We “left the building” and headed to the National Civil Rights Museum. This museum is actually the hotel where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. The hotel – the Lorraine Hotel -, and the building across the street from where James Earl Ray fired the fatal shot, have been maintained and made into a museum depicting the path of african americans through the civil rights process.
The scene of Dr King’s shooting
It has various exhibits – from the story of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat for a white person, to the National Guard protecting 9 black students when they first attended an all white school, to Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream”
speech and the timeline of events paints a very powerful picture of the struggle
these people faced for equality.
The Peabody Ducks march to the elevator
We then had to make our way to our hotel to ensure we didn’t miss the show that occurs everyday at 5.00pm. We are staying at the Peabody Hotel. The hotel was built in the 1870’s and is in the grand old style of hotels. Since the 1930’s the “Peabody Ducks” have put on a show twice a day – at 11am they come down the elevator from the roof and follow the red carpet to the fountain in the middle of the hotel lobby. There they stay until 5pm when, with crowds on hand – both guests and others just in to see the show – they march back down the red carpet, into the lift and back to the roof. I can tell you it was hard to find a spot to get a good view with all the people there !
We were given a nice upgrade to the Club Level – similar to the facilities at the Beach Club at Disney – so again have a few free perks to enjoy. Our evening ended with dinner in nearby Beale Street, the hub of Memphis and its music scene, at B B King’s Blues Club. We thought this only fitting to start our tour down the “Blues Highway” into Mississippi tomorrow. So until next time – Thank you, Thank you Very Much