The second of 3 stories about my April trip to Graceland.
The autism conference started on a Thursday. I stayed with my wife while she checked into the conference so I would have an idea of her schedule and when we would try to check in to the hotel. After she checked in, I decided to go down to the mansion and scope out the visitor’s center to get a first look at the changes.
Boulevard Souvenirs
On my way to the mansion, I walked by Boulevard Souvenirs. This is the gift shop next to Graceland that sits between the mansion and the new hotel. It’s not an official Elvis Presley Enterprises business but has always been a great source of Elvis stuff. They tend to carry more cheap stuff, oddball stuff and items that have been discontinued or never carried at all at the official gift shops. You can get children’s Elvis jumpsuits at this store but not at the official stores. No trip to Graceland is complete without a stop at this store. It was about 9 in the morning and I was the only person in the store except for one clerk. The store is usually packed with fans. I found a restroom in the store that I swear I didn’t know was there before. Later in the weekend, I would take my wife to this store and she was appropriately impressed. There was a little more activity at the mansion with people stopping to take pictures and walking around the gates.
The Old Visitor’s Center
The old visitor’s center directly across the street was virtually a ghost-town. The buildings looked like the life was removed from them. They could have been that way for years. I noticed issues with the roof on one of the buildings that I’m sure was in the same condition when I was there in August. The only activity was a few workers who appeared to be removing awnings or other tasks related to dismantling or emptying the shops. I crossed the street to get a better look at what was going on and to figure out how to get to the new visitor’s center which was built behind the old one. I walked south on Elvis Presley Boulevard in the direction of where I saw shuttle buses delivering visitors to the mansion. I soon found out that only buses went through this way. Of course, the entrance was next to the parking lot that I had parked in for years during my annual visits. That parking lot is located on the other side of the old visitor’s center. While I on the property, I ran into several people that didn’t know how to get to the new visitor’s center. One had even been dropped off by a cab driver at the opposite end of the property from where they needed to be. So even cab drivers who should know this are confused. I assumed that they old facility would be torn down and I asked a couple of people but never got a good answer. I didn’t really ask the most knowledgeable people either. One said they would turn the old buildings into offices. Another said they were going to tear it down and landscape that area. If the options, something like the second one would be better. They need to do something to connect the two areas better. And it would make it clearer where you need to go when you show up. I’m sure this is in the works and will be worked out by this year’s Elvis Week.
The only part of the old visitor’s center that was being used was the gift shop and entrance to the airplane exhibit. The walkway from the new area to the front door of this building was roped off to keep people out of most of the old visitor’s center. We went through this area as part of the tour and it is where you see Graceland in transition the most. I have no idea about plans for the airplane exhibit but what they had during this visit will not work for long.
The shops in the area called Graceland Crossing didn’t start out as an officially endorsed part of the Elvis Week experience but had been taken over by Elvis Presley Enterprises over the last few years. This is where the tent was set up with Elvis performers during Elvis Week and became a focal point for my Elvis Week adventures. I had never seen the parking lot without the tent and stage so I didn’t realize that there was a grass barrier that ran through the middle of this area. It is usually covered by the stage when I’m there. The only reason that I noticed it was that they had one shop still open at Graceland Crossing and it was having a clearance sale. I think it was an attempt to have fewer things to move to the new stores and get rid of some inventory they didn’t really want to carry anymore. In addition to a few items from the 2016 Elvis Week and this year’s Birthday celebration, they had a few CDs and DVDs, music books, kids toys and shirts. They also had a wooden chess set with a picture of Elvis on the playing surface. I didn’t take a picture of it because I thought I might go back and buy it.