Elvis for a day: Live like the King with new Graceland offerings
In the days when the King of Rock and Roll called Graceland home, the sprawling Memphis estate seemed to live up to its name: Elvis Presley's was an idyllic retreat.
The grounds were flecked by grand oak and Southern magnolia trees, the family's horses roamed their paddock; inside, floors bathed in plush white carpet, walls of smoked mirrors and peacock stained glass.
Crowds would flock to Graceland's gates and pore over publicity photos, hoping to catch a glimpse of the King and his growing family or at least their world.
Now, nearly five decades after his death, the operators of the historic mansion say they have grand ambitions to expand Graceland's brand to a new generation: For those who have admired Presley's legacy from afar, now a fortunate few can live like Presley for the day.
"When I saw Graceland, I said, it's everything," Joel Weinshanker, managing partner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, told "GMA3" co-anchor Eva Pilgrim. "It's a capsule of everything that was and is great about America and Western culture."
The new offerings at Graceland go beyond the museum showcasing an array of gilded jumpsuits, cars, gift shop souvenirs and even the Presley jet named for the King's late daughter, Lisa Marie. It goes beyond a thorough tour of the home (audio-guided with John Stamos narration) where visitors find both a glamorous interior – and inside a kitchen cupboard, the small but unmistakable scrawled signature left by Lisa Marie.
The new tour costs $6,000 for a group of four and provides seven hours of what is being billed as "unprecedented" access to some of the Presley family's favorite places and possessions on the Graceland grounds. Weinshanker said this is the first time outsiders will get to see this side of the estate. Guests can get an inside look at the Graceland archives, and hold some of Presley's most prized possessions (while wearing white gloves) – from the hat he wore while serving in the military, to a diamond and ruby-studded belt he wore both on stage and while shaking hands with President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office.
The custodians of Presley's legacy said they want Graceland's new offering to be a behind-the-scenes, intimate taste of the Presleys' world – not just preserved, but very much alive.
"We try to do what Elvis would want us to do," Weinshanker said. "We thought long and hard. We looked into ourselves. We had many discussions, and what we came up with was this incredible tour. People keep on talking about the golf carts and the horses and all these things that Elvis and his family did on the property, and we said, what if we allowed a really small number of people to do that?"
Shortly after he died in 1977, Lisa Marie became the sole heir to Graceland and the rest of her father's financially troubled estate. Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie's mother and Presley's ex-wife, turned Graceland into a museum. In 2004, Lisa Marie sold 85% of Elvis Presley Enterprises, and Weinshanker later bought the assets, partnering with the family to run the estate.
After Lisa Marie's death last year, her daughter, actress Riley Keough, took over as the sole trustee of Presley's estate. She maintains control of the mansion.
More than 45 years after Presley died at Graceland, it's still one of the most visited homes in the country – roughly 750,000 people a year, Weinshanker estimates – rivaled only by the White House.
"Elvis could have lived anywhere in the world," Weinshanker said. "He always came back here."
The "Presley for a Day" tour also includes a chef-prepared, guest-tailored meal inside the newly renovated "Moriah's House," overlooking the estate's back pasture. Moriah, for any puzzled Presley aficionados, was Lisa Marie's pony, who was once housed there.
"Food was important to Elvis," chief archivist Angie Marchese said. "It's about having a big family dinner around the dining room table. And here at Graceland, the kitchen ran kinda like a short-order restaurant would. If somebody wanted fried chicken and somebody was wanting catfish, or barbecue, or meatloaf, there was always somebody here to make it."
So it goes with Graceland's Presley for a Day tour, Marchese described: "We have everything from classic mac and cheese, to beef brisket, Elvis' mother's meatloaf recipe. You get to experience a classic, southern spread of food right here in Elvis' backyard."
A portion of the Presley for a Day tour proceeds will go to support local Memphis charities through the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation, with the rest going towards Graceland's upkeep and enhancement, Weinshanker said.
"We made it into a really nice little place where people can look out… this is a truly living property where people can smile and be happy and do great things," Weinshanker said. "This is a tour that, if Brad Pitt and George Clooney said, hey, we want to spend a day at Graceland, this is that red carpet. It does not get more red carpet than this – but it's for a good cause."
Graceland is still home to the Presley family: it's his final resting place. His parents, his daughter and his grandson are also buried there.
"There are things that are meant to happen at Graceland, and those are the things that we keep on trying to bring in, and bring back," Weinshanker said. "To make sure we keep the experience that – what was it like when Elvis was alive?"
ABC News' Ely Brown contributed to this report.
