“I’m caught in a tourist trap.
I can’t walk out.
I think paid too much for it, babyyyyy!“

Let’s ask the real question here – is visiting Graceland for the tour worth it? Especially if you’re not a fan of Elvis? Is Graceland a tourist trap? (oh yes, but we’ll get to that soon!)

Elvis passed away before I was born, but of course, I’m familiar with his songs and his legacy. My sister and I were passing through Memphis and when in Memphis, ‘ya gotta see Graceland. You gotta do the things. So we did.

But anyway, let’s get into it – I’m going to give you all you need to know if you’re thinking about visiting Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, as someone who isn’t into Elvis. At all…but felt compelled to visit.

A couple things to note:
We visited in January 2022 on a weekday in the morning, less than an hour after Graceland opened. There was hardly anyone here and some of the shops and all of the restaurants were closed for the season. This was a good thing, in that we didn’t have to wait in any lines, but with such few people, and closed off areas, it made it seem a little depressing. Any other time of year, and you’re going to likely spend a lot of time waiting in line, so keep that in mind.

Graceland – Location and Hours

Graceland’s hours can vary based on the season, but as a general rule, they open at 9am and close at 4pm.

To get here, you’ll want to put the Graceland parking lot into your GPS.

Address: 3717 Elvis Presley Blvd., Memphis, TN 38116

Can you take a day trip to Graceland from Nashville?

Graceland is over 3 hours (one way) from Nashville. It’s do-able, but you’ll want to get a very early start (especially if you’re visiting during any time other than the dead of winter – remember what I said about crowds and lines?!). Traffic can be an issue – we drove to Memphis from Nashville and ran into a lot of traffic as we were getting into Memphis (we weren’t doing a day trip though). Just be prepared for a very, very long day!

Graceland Prices – How much does a Graceland Tour Cost? Which Graceland Tour Is Best?

First off, before you even get like Elvis and enter the building, you will be charged $10 for parking. The parking attendant clearly hated her job and was more interested in playing on her phone than assisting us.

As for tours, there are four different levels of tours you can take at Graceland. For a rundown of these options, visit the Graceland website for detailed information.

We chose to do the Elvis Experience tour. This is where you get to do the tour of Elvis’ mansion as well as the planes, cars, and museums — and I highly recommend that if you come all this way to Graceland to do this particular tour – the Elvis Experience Tour is, in my opinion, the best Graceland tour option. Don’t cheap out and do the cars/museum tour only. If you’re here, see the mansion. That’s what you came here for!

Personally, I wouldn’t bother with either of the VIP tours – especially if you are here in January when there are no lines. It might come in handy during peak summer season though. Maybe if you’re a true Elvis fangirl or guy, then the VIP might be worth it.

In this case, VIP isn’t always better 😉

The tour cost $77 — to me, this is OUCH. I’m not a fan of tours, but being that Graceland is going to be a one-and-done for me, I sucked it up. I wish there had been an option to do the Graceland Mansion-only tour – apparently they used to offer this option for $40, but as of 2022, this is no longer available.

I highly suggest buying your tickets in advance if you are coming anytime other than winter. Or you may need to lolligag around in the museums, gift shops and cafes until your scheduled mansion tour time. Some people have to wait 3-4 hours for a tour!!

Graceland – First Impressions:

After we parked, we walked up to the building, went inside and bought our tickets. Immediately, this gave off a very Disney / theme park vibe. Which to me equates to “tourist trap.” It looked like a mall – expensive shops and overpriced restaurants with bad food.

Our experience on the Graceland Mansion Tour:

After purchasing our tickets, we were sent to a small theater where we watched a short, 7 minute film about Graceland in general. To be honest, I can’t remember what, exactly, the film was about so it clearly wasn’t that compelling!

When the film wrapped up, we were escorted out a side door and given iPads and headsets, and boarded the bus. You’re required to take the shuttle bus over to Elvis’ mansion, despite it being within easy walking distance, right across the street.

We toured Elvis’ mansion in mid-January, just a few days after the Christmas decorations were removed. However, there was still a nativity display in the front yard of the mansion. It looked pretty sad, to be honest.

With the Elvis Experience tour, your “tour guide” is Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) via the iPad and headset. Have mercy! Of course, you’re not required to use this, but in the rooms, there are no placards explaining what you’re looking at, so to get the most out of the mansion tour, I’d use the headset.

The shuttle will drop you off at the entrance to the mansion. An employee will greet your tour group (so everyone you were dropped off with on the bus will be going through the mansion with you), give instructions on operating the ipad and headset, and off you go.

You are welcome to take photos inside the mansion!

You’ll be brought through the main level rooms as well as the lower level rooms. Upstairs, where the bedrooms are, is off-limits. Overall, I thought the home was very unique and I loved the gaudy decor. My favorite room was the famous “jungle” room, which, well, you have to see to believe! The house is truly a product of its time.

Part of the mansion tour displays Elvis exhibits – and this is where they lost me. This part of the tour had no cohesion – it felt like they just wanted to slap up a bunch of papers Elvis signed and throw them on the wall. You’ll see grade school report cards, cancelled checks, tax returns – stuff like that. I mean, I don’t really care Elvis once wrote a check out for some landscaping.

What I cared about was how he rose to fame – how and why did he become so influential? You know, the real questions. Instead, you’re looking at more cancelled checks and practically beat over the head with “Elvis was a family man!” There is nothing negative about Elvis at all in this entire complex. There’s no mention of his divorce to Priscella (they were only married 6 years) or his death.

Other than having the gravesite at the mansion, one would think he was still alive. Or is he?

After I took this tour, I had to go online and learn more about Elvis because Graceland did not paint a realistic picture of the man at all. Wikipedia had all the information I was looking for and it was free.

After you go through the mansion, you’re brought through a few outbuildings on the property, such as Elvis’ racquetball court, a smokehouse, a shooting range, and finally, to the Presley gravesite, where you can see Elvis Presley’s grave.

At this point, your tour of the mansion and its grounds wraps up and you’ll need to queue for the next shuttle bus. We maybe waited five minutes? But I’m sure during busy times, the wait is much longer.

Elvis’ Cars / Planes / Museums

After the shuttle bus brings you back, you are free to explore the other areas of the complex at your leisure – you can see Elvis’ cars, airplanes and museums with displays of his costumes, movie posters, items from his time in the military, and other memorabilia.

Of course, his famous Pink Cadillac is on display in the “Elvis Motors” museum, as well as a bunch of his other cars. I didn’t find the cars all that interesting – I’m just not a car person.

I spent the most time in the Private Presley exhibit, as I had no idea that Elvis Presley served in the military. The entertainment section contains his movie posters and memorabilia, as well as his gold records, awards and of course, the crazy jumpsuits.

There’s also an entire museum dedicated to what other musicians think about Elvis, including their stage costumes. What the what? I’m sorry, I didn’t come here to see what Carrie Underwood thinks about Elvis. In fact, there was a mannequin dressed in a Kiss costume! What does that have to do with Elvis?? It’s cool that he influenced so many people but devoting a whole museum to this seems unnecessary.

After you exit each museum, you’re plopped into a gift shop. Don’t get me wrong, of course I love gift shops but this was a bit much. I actually lost count of how many gift shops there were!

Finally, my sister and I walked over to check out the airplanes (worry not, there’s a gift shop over here too!). You’re allowed to go inside and look around in each of the airplanes. There was an employee seated in the area, but he looked like he was taking a nap. More disengaged employees at Graceland – not a surprise.

I did find the airplanes to be pretty interesting. It was kinda cool getting to walk around in the inside of his private jets, though all of them smelled very musty.

Where to stay near Graceland:

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links where I might earn a small commission at no cost to you. This keeps my website up and running! This is not a sponsored post.

There are a few hotels right by Graceland, including the Guest House at Graceland, which is right across the street from this complex. If you stay at the Guest House, they offer package deals for your Graceland tour. Also nearby is a Days Inn – but I just can’t with that hotel brand. No thank you.

Memphis itself has plenty of hotels, so you’ll find lots of options within Memphis. My sister and I were en route to Oxford, Mississippi and didn’t exactly feel safe staying in Memphis, so we opted to go a little further south to Southhaven, Mississippi and stay here. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Southhaven — which is in desperate need of a remodel, but it worked for one night and the staff was so nice! Southhaven, MS is only 10 minutes from Graceland and seemed like a nice, safe place to stay.

We were driving a rental SUV with out-of-state plates and the hotel staff said we made the right decision to stay in Mississippi vs Memphis. As one hotel staff member put it, out-of-state plates – especially from a state very far away – puts a target on your back for break-ins in Memphis. I don’t know how accurate that assessment is, but they live in the area, I don’t, so I’ll take their word for it.

Book a stay in Memphis here or book a stay in Southhaven, Mississippi here (again – I highly recommend staying in Southhaven!). Or want to stay where we did? Here’s a link to book a stay at the Fairfield Inn.

Graceland – Final Thoughts

Is Graceland worth it? Should you visit Graceland? Ultimately the decision is up to you and how much you like Elvis. As someone who really isn’t into Elvis at all, I did enjoy my visit here, despite the negatives I mentioned. I definitely wouldn’t visit again – it’s too expensive and it’s a one-and-done, check it off the list kind of thing.

Pros:

• I definitely enjoyed going through the mansion and seeing the rooms.
• Despite the museum not being well-curated or having much ‘flow’, I did learn lots about Elvis that I didn’t know.
• I was glad that I visited in mid-January when there were no crowds.
• Uncle Jesse’s narration was well done.

Cons:

• Tour is expensive for what you get
• All the exhibits in the mansion are haphazardly displayed. Do we really need to see a cancelled check for a lawn service that Elvis wrote?
• No cohesion, no flow – no information on how exactly, he rose to fame, why he had so much influence, etc. You will get a more realistic picture of Elvis Presley by looking him up on Wikipedia.
• Every staff member we interacted with – from the parking lot attendant to the staff working in the gift shop, all seemed cranky and miserable.
• There isn’t anything negative – at all – about Elvis. I get that his estate handles (or handled?) Graceland, but his life wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops – it’s a bit insulting and disingenuous, even to someone who doesn’t know much about Elvis Presley, but knows…enough. There is no mention of his death – without the gravesite here, one would think he is still alive. Or…is he?