“Thank you, thank you very much.”
This oft-spoken phrase by Elvis Presley ran through my head after touring Graceland Mansion. Even as a fan, I wasn’t sure a visit to Elvis’ Memphis, Tenn., home would be worth the hype, but it was. In fact, it exceeded my expectations.
A visit to Graceland is actually a home tour combined with an entertainment complex featuring museum-quality, curated exhibits. Together they perfectly capture American culture during Elvis' reign as the King of Rock-n-Roll as seen through his movies, music, fashion, cars and more. The time capsule aspect of Graceland is why even the most causal fan will enjoy a day there.
Elvis' home is so significant to America’s cultural fabric that it was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 2006. The designation proclaims Elvis’ home is a site that “possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.”
There is no doubting Elvis' cultural influence. He was a superstar who changed the trajectory of popular music and entertainment on stage and screen. To put it in perspective, The Beatles were nervous to meet him for the first time in 1965. John Lennon even credited Elvis as the reason he fell in love with rock-in-roll. That really says a lot. To read more about the biggest rock legends of all time meeting each other, check out this LA Times article.
Elvis bought Graceland, officially called Graceland Mansion, and the surrounding 500 acre farm, in 1957 at the age of 22, about a year after his career took off, according to estate history. Elvis died in 1977 and Graceland Mansion tours started in 1982.
The mansion is in the Whitehaven suburb of Memphis. Over time, commercialism crept in around the mansion. At that time, Graceland's tour operations and the souvenir shops were based across the street in an ‘80s strip mall, which was a pretty sad situation and not worthy of Elvis’ shine.
Thankfully, over $137 million was poured into revamping the area and the result was Elvis Presley’s Memphis, a 200,000 square foot art and entertainment complex, which opened in 2017.
A Visit to Graceland: What to Expect
We were impressed with the overall quality of the tour and the exhibits. Everything from the landscaping to the air conditioned trams are well managed and maintained. The staff was friendly, too (a major plus for tourist sites). We learned a lot, saw cool memorabilia and most importantly, had a great time. Simply put, it was fun.
Graceland Mansion sits atop a beautiful hill that’s shaded by stately trees. The home’s first floor and the grounds are open for tours. The property also includes a pool, racquetball and exercise building, memorabilia building, a still active horse stable (managed by Elvis’ cousin), offices, family burial plot and another building housing special memorabilia only certain VIP tour levels can see.
Guarding the property is a stone wall and the famous metal gates adorned with music notes. You can walk and/or drive up to the wall and the gates, but only official tour trams are allowed through and up the hill.
Across the street from the Graceland Mansion is the Elvis Presley’s Memphis complex. This includes the main ticketing office, tram departing/arriving stop, Elvis’ airplanes and a collection of buildings featuring different themed exhibits related to Elvis' life (tickets required to see those).
This area is designed to look like a city street complete with a movie theater marquee and street lights.
The Elvis-themed museums and exhibits in the complex include:
• Entertainment career (music, movies, and television)
• Legacy and Influence on Other Performers
• Military Service
• Transportation Collection (cars, motorcycles and other vehicles)
• Airplane Collection
Additionally, there is a exhibit dedicated to “Elvis,” the 2022 biopic movie directed by Baz Luhrmann. The complex also hosted the movie’s premiere party. The exhibit is designed like a backlot featuring sets depicting historic moments in Elvis' life through various bio-pic TV series and movies.
Like any good tourist attraction, the complex includes gift shops and places to eat. Both are well-done with plenty of price points to pick from. Lots of visitors were donning replica gold sunglasses bought during their visit.
Inside Elvis' Historic Home
Personally, I think touring Graceland Mansion is a must. You can opt to buy tickets only for the collections across the street, which offer a TON to see and do. But, the mansion is a must to really capture Elvis and that unique time in America.
The mansion’s 1960s-70s decor is of its time and I loved every minute of it. Sure, some of it is gaudy, but some of it is quite nice, including the beautiful chandeliers, artwork and stained glass.
My favorite room was the basement TV room/den and bar that’s awash in yellow, navy and white. The entire room is lined with mirrors and features a bank of TVs, Elvis' signature lightning bolt and an unusual monkey figurine on the coffee table. Everything is so over the top, it's retro-fabulous!
This is also the room where Elvis listened to his record collection. Recreation continued just past the bar in the globally-inspired and fabric covered Pool Room.
The Jungle Room is probably the most talked about part of Graceland. With it's over the top Hawaiian-inspired theme, it's no wonder.
The Jungle Room's furniture and accessories were picked because they reminded Elvis of Hawaii, his favorite vacation spot. The room features shag carpet on the floors and ceiling, which provided soundproofing for at-home recording sessions.
The big round chair near the water feature was Lisa Marie's favorite place in the room as a little girl.
The mansion tour is definitely a way to appreciate a bygone era, but more importantly it gives every visitor a sense of what was important to Elvis, especially his family. The Trophy Room exhibits, for instance, focus on Elvis’ personal life as a father, husband, son and citizen.
Below are some interesting facts courtesy of Graceland followed by tips for making the most out of a visit.
Elvis and Graceland Fun Facts
• Elvis started making movies at age 21. His first film was “Love Me Tender” released in 1956. He starred in 31 feature films (plus two concert documentaries) and was one Hollywood’s highest paid actors for numerous years. His movies were usually box office hits and he worked with top directors, including Michael Curtiz of “Casablanca” (1942) fame who directed him in “King Creole” (1958).
• Elvis owned numerous TVs. There was even one in the dining room. In the basement den Elvis had three TVs because he read that President Johnson simultaneously watched all the major network news shows and he wanted to do the same.
• Elvis loved to read and took trunks filled with books onboard his airplane when he travelled.
• Elvis was nominated for 14 Grammys. He won three, which were all in the Gospel Category. Elvis feel in love with gospel music as a child in church.
• The Jungle Room didn’t get its name until after Graceland was opened for tours. Up until that point, it was simply called the den by Elvis and his family. The room was originally a screened porch.
• The second floor is not part of the tour because that’s where family members stay when they visit Graceland to this day.
• Elvis kept his 1955 pink Cadillac Fleetwood for his entire life. The paint job was custom and he used the car for touring until he gifted it to his mother. She couldn't actually drive the caddy because she didn’t have a driver’s license.
• The sink onboard the Lisa Maria airplane contains flecks of 25K gold.
• Stained glass is used throughout Graceland, including light fixtures and around the front door. The famous stained glass panels featuring peacocks in the living room, were made by a local company in Memphis. All of the work cost $9,345 in 1974. Elvis, who was a religious man, picked peacocks because they were ancient Christian symbols of eternal life and resurrection.
• Graceland features examples of beautiful, modern art pieces made during the 1970s by esteemed artists. Among them are Yigal Zemer and Marino Marini. Zemer's work was an abstract intaglio (printmaking technique) called "Yellow Corner." Marini's piece was an abstract figure drawing of three women.
• “Heartbreak Hotel was Elvis’ first # 1 single on Billboard’s pop chart and his first gold record. The record also charted # 1 on the country singles chart, # 5 on the R&B chart and # 2 on the British pop chart.
• Elvis enjoyed all kinds of sports, especially racquetball. In the 1970s, he added a racquetball court building to the backyard.
• The Pool (table) Room in the basement is lined floor to ceiling in approximately 400 yards of fabric. The design's intricate fabric pleating took a team 10 days to cut, piece together, fold and hang.
Tips For Visiting Graceland
Must See Highlights – In addition to Graceland Mansion, be sure to check out all the attractions in the Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex. Among the must sees is the Elvis The Entertainer Career Museum. These exhibits explore his music career, including his early days at Sun Records and his time making movies in Hollywood.
The Elvis: Dress to Rock exhibit featuring an incredible collection of stagewear, jewelry capes and jumpsuits is amazing! Every wall is lined, floor-to-ceiling with mannequins wearing Elvis' colorful and glowing performance costumes.
Movie fans will especially enjoy the areas dedicated to Elvis’ acting career featuring a variety of memorabilia, posters and props. The mock "Jailhouse Rock" set with the famous movie's namesake musical number playing on repeat is a fun selfie-spot!
Also be sure to see the Elvis ‘68 Enhanced exhibit, which is all about his famous television special, which marked a comeback in his career.
If you’re a car or airplane enthusiast, don’t miss the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum. His cars are beautiful and mint. Elvis is quoted as saying, "Life is too short to drive boring cars," and this museum collection proves he didn't. Elvis’ legendary 1955 pink Cadillac Fleetwood, called “The Special,” is a must see.
You can actually walk through his largest airplane, a 1958 Convair 880, named the Lisa Marie, after his daughter. Elvis bought the plane in 1975 and gave it a full renovation complete with gold touches everywhere, even on the seat belt buckles. The plane includes a dressing area, sleeping quarters, bar, game area and TV lounge.
Mansion Audio Tour – Listen to it! The audio tour, narrated by actor John Stamos, adds a richness to the mansion tour. It provides entertaining and informative details about every room in the house and how Elvis and his family lived there. The audio tour is loaded onto an iPad. Headphones are provided or use can use your own (standard jack).
All tours are self-guided unless you upgrade to a private tour led by a guide.
Tour Ticket Options – Graceland offers a multitude of tour options. We only had a few hours and were able to tour the mansion, the airplanes, several of the museums and have a relaxing lunch.
To save time and avoid waiting in long lines (can be extra hard in Memphis heat), get at least the first VIP level ticket, Elvis Entourage Ticket ($139 per person, children under 4 are free). It's worth it! This gets you to the “front of the line” for a special tram bus to and from the mansion and for entrance into the mansion. Having this VIP level also includes a special memorabilia room (that's air conditioned).
VIP level ticket holders meet at a special check-in desk in the main ticket building. From there you’re escorted as a group to the tour tram, passing by all those folks standing in the turn stalls. Again, worth it!!!
Visit here to see ticket offering from the basic to the ultimate VIP experience (see and hold exclusive memorabilia like Elvis' guitar), current pricing and available discounts for seniors, veterans and other groups.
Although a ticket is required, there is no set time for entering and walking around the various attractions in Elvis Presley’s Memphis. Once you enter that area you can freely go from one building to another exploring the exhibits.
Best Times to Visit – For less crowded visits, pick a weekday or the afternoon. We arrived Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend and the crowd was very manageable. But, Memorial Day weekend is more of a "stay home and grill out with friends" kind of holiday, so I’d expect other holiday weekends to be busier.
Book Tour Tix and Parking Online – Graceland is popular especially on the weekends and in the summer. Book in advance online to avoid waiting in line for tickets and insure a parking spot. The parking lot, which is adjacent to the entertainment complex, is large and there were plenty of spots when we arrived, but I can see how it would fill up quickly on a busy day.
Options to Change Tours – Tours booked in advance online are non-refundable and for set days/times. But, if your plans necessitate a change, you can make one. You’ll either get rebooked for the next available tour that works for your schedule or you’ll basically have a raincheck to claim within the year. Be sure to call and speak with a representative.
When booking a tour keep in mind that Graceland has limited hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The last mansion tour begins at 4 p.m.
Food Options – Onsite food options include a diner, an ice cream shop, a coffee shop and a BBQ restaurant. We chose Vernon’s Smokehouse and it didn’t disappoint. Really, I expected no less considering Memphis’s famous BBQ history.
The overall menu theme was Southern comfort foods and we choose chopped pork BBQ, mac-n-cheese, corn bread and broccoli casserole. The portions were generous and everything was clearly cooked fresh onsite.
Ease of Travel – Graceland is about 20 minutes after exiting Interstate-40. From there it’s an easy drive via a series of main highways.
Lodging – There is a brand new hotel, The Guest House at Graceland, right next door. The hotel has 450 rooms, a ballroom, pool, theater, fitness center and specially designed themed suites. There is also a campground and RV park near the entertainment complex.
Special Events – Concerts, designated theme weeks, shows, excursions and so much more fill the programming calendar at the Elvis Presley's Memphis complex. Check here to find out what's happening when you're planning to visit Graceland.
Day Visit Lockers – Don’t count on these. They are big, even big enough for small luggage, but good luck getting one. The ones with working locks were taken by the time we got there around 9:30 a.m. Either don’t bring valuables or place them in your trunk out of sight before you arrive. The parking lot does have a gate attendant.
No Video At All – Still photography (no flash inside Graceland) is fine, but no videos are allowed in or around the mansion or inside the Elvis Presley's Memphis museums. For more information, visit the Graceland FAQ.
For more information about visiting Graceland Mansion and the Elvis Presley's Memphis entertainment complex, be sure to visit the website. It’s packed with information. Or, call the customer service line and get a real live person on the other end. A real live customer service person on the phone – that’s even retro cool! Also, check out Graceland's FAQ for additional helpful details.
That’s about it for my tips on visiting Graceland. In the spirit of Elvis, I leave you with, “TCB!” If you know, you know!
This story is part of a series highlighting some of the historic, kitschy and beautiful sites to see when driving coast-to-coast along 1-40 and Route 66, a.k.a. the “Mother Road.”
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