American Heartland Theme Park: Consolation Prize for Fans Wanting Disneyland Texas?
For years, Disney fans have clamored for a third U.S. complex in Texas…and we’ve explained why that won’t happen. Well, some of you now might be getting a consolation prize of sorts, as a new $2 billion theme park comparable in size and scope to Disneyland or Magic Kingdom has been announced for Oklahoma. This post shares details and commentary about the potential competition for Disney and Universal.
The project is called American Heartland Theme Park and Resort, a more than $2 billion entertainment destination development in northeast Oklahoma, just west of Grand Lake on Route 66. American Heartland will be a 1,000-acre development with a 125-acre theme park, which is slated to open in 2026.
American Heartland Theme Park and Resort will be built in phases starting with a large-scale RV park with cabins scheduled to open phase one in spring 2025, a film and television studio, and a world-class theme park and resort after that. The American Heartland Theme Park and Resort will offer a unique visitor experience rivaling the world’s top resort destinations.
“We are thrilled to make Oklahoma the home of American Heartland Theme Park and Resort,” American Heartland CEO Larry Wilhite said. “At the crossroads of the heartland, Oklahoma is an attractive location for a family entertainment destination. The state’s business-friendly approach and innovative partnership efforts have helped make this possible. We look forward to bringing unforgettable generational experiences to Oklahoma.”
As noted above, American Heartland Theme Park and Resort will be comparable to the size of Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. The park will feature an Americana-themed environment with a variety of entertaining rides, live shows, family attractions, waterways as well as restaurant-quality food and beverage offerings.
“Oklahoma is excited to welcome American Heartland Theme Park and Resort,” Oklahoma State Rep. Rusty Cornwell said. “Located on historic Route 66 just west of Grand Lake, the development will attract visitors from around the world to experience and celebrate the rich cultures and hometown values America has to offer.”
The adjacent 320-acre Three Ponies RV Park and Campground is designed by Oklahoma architects ADG Blatt. This complex will be the largest campground in the central U.S. with 750 RV spaces and 300 cabins plus amenities. When completed, American Heartland Theme Park and Resort will also include a top-tier 300-room hotel and modern indoor water park.
“There’s no better place to represent the heart of America than northeast Oklahoma,” said Oklahoma State Sen. Micheal Bergstrom. “This $2 billion investment in our state will create more than 4,000 jobs and introduce a new category of entertainment to the region, and its long-term economic impact will be transformative.”
“Tourism is already one of Oklahoma’s top industries and this project will elevate our state even further. Since tourism is a doorway to economic development, American Heartland Theme Park and Resort will draw new businesses not only to the surrounding area but also throughout the region and state,” Bergstrom continued.
The developer of American Heartland Theme Park and Resort has leadership with deep Oklahoma roots. American Heartland is an affiliate of Mansion Entertainment Group, LLC, Branson’s leading performing arts, animation and studio brand.
According to its mission statement, “Mansion Entertainment Group is on the verge of becoming the most powerful entity in family entertainment, with its unparalleled expertise across film, television, animation, music, theatre, and family immersive entertainment experiences.”
(Editor’s note: The only completed productions of Mansion Entertainment Group that I could track down were for the Rose Parade finale float and a symphony on PBS.)
Mansion purports to have a “commitment to producing high-quality, wholesome content that the entire family can enjoy.” It has carved a niche for itself in the entertainment industry with an impressive roster of talents, cutting-edge technology, and innovative storytelling techniques.
As Mansion Entertainment Group continues to expand its reach and diversify its offerings, the company claims it is “poised to become the go-to destination for families seeking engaging and meaningful entertainment that inspires, educates, and entertains.”
Led by Executive Producer Steve Hedrick, the design team of American Heartland Theme Park is made up of the world’s best theme park designers including 20+ former Disney Parks builders and Walt Disney Imagineers. Design firms include THG, FORREC and Cuningham, whose portfolios feature the world’s foremost theme park brands including Six Flags, Disney Parks and Universal Studios.
American Heartland Theme Park’s creative team is comprised of over 500 years of Disney and Entertainment experience. This award winning team spans generations of production, live entertainment, studio work, television, and theme park development.
- Steve Hedrick – WDE Disney Executive 22 yrs (TP Industry 40 yrs)
- John Sorenson – Walt Disney Imagineering Land Planner 30 yrs
- Tom Turley – DLI Ops Planning & Development 45 yrs
- Don Hilsen – Walt Disney Imagineering Ride Engineer – 30 yrs
- John Polk – Walt Disney Imagineering Special Effects 20 yrs
- Tim Kirk – Walt Disney Imagineering Concept Artist 35 yrs
- Annette Crump – Walt Disney Imagineering Planner/Scheduler 11 yrs
- Andy Burden – WDE/DLI Technical Design 12 yrs
- Rick Allen – WDW Operations 24 yrs
- Craig Hodges – WDW Operations – 42 yrs
- Dave Vermeulen – Disneyland International 40 yrs
- Ted Carlsson – Disneyland/WDI VP of Technical Design – 35 yrs
- Scott Sinclair – Disneyland & WDI Theme Park Designer – 20 yrs
- Ronnie Rodriquez – Disney Creative Entertainment – 35 yrs
- Reggie Jarrett – Disney Entertainment – 35 yrs
“We are pleased that American Heartland Theme Park and Resort has taken the first step and chosen Oklahoma to build a world-class entertainment destination,” said Hopper Smith, interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. “We look forward to assisting with this project as it develops.”
American Heartland Theme Park and Resort is a family-friendly park promising timeless fun and boundless adventure. The 125-acre theme park will feature a collection of six distinctly American lands to welcome guests on a journey through the best of the American story. Families will find thrilling rides and heartwarming shows as they discover Great Plains, Bayou Bay, Big Timber Falls, Stony Point Harbor, Liberty Village and Electropolis.
“American Heartland will be a place families can come together to create lasting memories, experience joy, laughter, imagination and wonder,” American Heartland Founder and Chief Creative Officer Gene Bicknell said. “There is so much to celebrate about our country: its landscapes, its cultures and most importantly, its people. No matter where you’re from, you’ll feel right at home at American Heartland.”
“American Heartland will be an anchor tourist destination on Route 66 set to attract more than two million out-of-state visitors to Oklahoma each year,” Kristy Adams, senior executive vice president of sales and marketing for Mansion Entertainment Group, American Heartland and Three Ponies, said. “The scale and quality of the development will be unlike anything else in the region, making Vinita, Oklahoma a can’t-miss destination for families around the world.”
Turning to commentary, there’s good and bad to discuss with reasons for optimism and pessimism about this project. Let’s start with the positive. There are multiple high-profile former Imagineers who are working on this project, including several in senior design and other roles on Tokyo DisneySea.
Moreover, the founder Gene Bicknell is a Pizza Hut magnate and franchising those restaurants, apparently, pays better than I ever would’ve guessed. Based on the verbiage of the press release and the accompanying website, I get the impression that this is a pet project and driven by the values and beliefs of the owners.
Given both of those variables, the best case scenario is that American Heartland Theme Park becomes the Disney’s America that never was, and obviously minus the Disney branding and characters. If the concept art is accurate, it won’t have design and attention to detail on par with Tokyo DisneySea, but it still looks really nice–there are lands on par with the American Waterfront port. (In fact, Stony Point Harbor looks a lot like Cape Cod at TDS–compare the concept art above to the photo below.)
As a fan primarily of themed design and not Disney IP, this is something that would be right up my alley. In fact, I really like a lot of what I see in the concept art and described in the overview of each land. There are a lot of good ideas and potential in the project.
However, my excitement level is minimal for American Heartland Theme Park. First and foremost, I’ve seen a lot of announcements like this over the years from new entrants into the theme park space, and very few actually end up being built. And that’s even when they are attached to major studios or brands, and American Heartland Theme Park is not.
It’s very easy to envision a scenario where the only thing that happens here is the campground and RV park. In fact, that’s probably the most plausible outcome. There’s likely no shortage of demand for Three Ponies, and it’s certainly easier to get a campground off the ground than it is a brand-new, large-scale theme park.
I also would caution against assuming that the theme park is likely to happen because several ex-Imagineers are attached to this. It’s also true that WDI purged much of the team behind Tokyo DisneySea after that project was completed. There’s a veritable graveyard of announced-but-unbuilt theme parks around the world that have similarly impressive design teams. Everybody’s gotsta get paid.
There is also the reality that, impressive as it may seem, $2 billion is not a lot in 2023 dollars to build a whole theme park and resort complex along with a film and television studio. Yes, I realize the stated budget for Universal’s Epic Universe is only around $1 billion, but the final number will either end up being significantly higher or the park will feel incomplete at opening (or both). I also realize that Disney can’t do anything cheaply or efficiently, so its budgets are basically in Monopoly money as compared to the other parks.
Regardless, the point stands: this will not be Disney’s America or Tokyo DisneySea caliber on $2 billion. More like Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Knott’s Berry Farm, which are two awesome regional parks in their own right. However, they’re not world class tourist draws or what you’d expect from the company that “is on the verge of becoming the most powerful entity in family entertainment.”
Just as this being a pet project likely being driven by the owner’s values and beliefs is an asset, so too is it a liability. Bicknell wants to will an entertainment empire based on wholesome and family-friendly content into existence…but may soon be faced with the hard realities of creating such content and the actual market for it.
Nevermind the 100-year first-mover advantage of Disney, and the vast libraries of characters controlled by Disney, Universal, etc. (Even Skydance Animation is having a tough time gaining traction, despite the formidable talent, funding, and studio support!) There’s absolutely a market for Americana and nostalgia, but it’s exceedingly difficult to build a theme park that’ll attract millions of visitors per year on that alone. There needs to be another hook.
Then there’s the location. I’m far from an expert on this region or Oklahoma, but Vinita seems like it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere with no inherent tourism appeal like Florida or California. Touting a location along Route 66 caught my attention, and not in a good way; this is 2023, not 1963. (It is about 60 miles from Tulsa International Airport, which isn’t terrible.)
I mean no disrespect to the people of Vinita, but if I were scouting spots for the most powerful entity’s first theme park presence, I’m probably looking at plots near major cities in Texas, Atlanta, Charlotte, or a few other cities in the Midwest or East Coast. For a viable large-scale theme park, you’d ideally want easy access to millions of upper middle class locals within an hour from the park and a place with tourist appeal and relatively convenient access.
Ultimately, it’ll be interesting to see whether American Heartland Theme Park ever opens. It does seem more credible than other announcements from the last decade that haven’t come to fruition. And on the plus side, at least it’s probably not a scam unlike some of those past projects. It seems more like one business tycoon’s passion project, and maybe he’ll will it into being.
If it somehow does happen, I’d recommend visiting American Heartland Theme Park early in its existence. Business acumen in the Pizza Hut arena does not translate to the same in theme parks–the official website and press release suggests a lot of hubris and very little knowledge of what makes for a successful theme park. Basically, there’s very little to suggest that this park has any form of financial viability in the long-term even if is built. But what do I know, Mansion Entertainment does have a full three years to build their brand and become the most powerful entity in family entertainment. Perhaps it’ll happen.
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This project is an interesting concept. It looks great. It has talented people behind it. But….and it’s a huge but…will it ever get built, like you said Tom beyond the RV Park/Campground, and even that’s a decent sized IF. IF it does get built I don’t see it being anything more than a regional park. No offense to the locals, but it’s in the middle of freaking nowhere. It’s way too far away from any airport or tourist area to draw anyone one that’s not from southern plains or North Texas. It’s just not. Like has been mentioned, I’m intrigued but I’m extremely pessimistic about whether it ever gets to the theme park being built. I wish them luck though.
I’m from Northwest Arkansas, home of Walmart. This area is exploding with people. We all have been waiting for a large scale entertainment development/resort in our area. Vinita OK is just about an hour away from here. Branson and Silver Dollar City are great but we love Disney. Nobody does it like Disney, but we really hope this can come close. We are the fastest growing area in the country. People around here are expecting more entertainment options than we currently have. Why is everyone moving away from California and Florida and moving this direction? This from someone regarding Vinita area weather: 105-degree summer days (have you seen the temperatures in Florida), -5 degree winter days (winter temperature average in the upper 40’s to mid 50’s), mosquitos (Florida is #1 state for mosquitos, tornadoes(verses hurricanes?). I wish Disney Arkansas would happen but probably won’t ever happen so I wish success for this venture.
Thanks for sharing that on-the-ground perspective! I’ve heard that Arkansas has up-and-coming areas, but just assumed that was Little Rock.
For what it’s worth, Florida is experiencing huge levels of population growth and California’s population decreased by 0.3% last year. So I wouldn’t say that “everyone” is moving away from those two states and towards Arkansas. 🙂
Hi Jackie! I was born and raised in sunny South Florida. I can attest that we don’t have the highest rate of mosquitos. Even during the most humid times, we don’t have a mosquito problem? I guess if you leave nasty, standing water anywhere, you’ll have a problem but that’s not a problem where I live. I’ve seen mosquitos here or there but a problem – no. You can give that honor to Louisiana. Another fallacy about Florida is our temperatures. I don’t believe we’ve recorded a high temperature of 100 degrees or higher dating back to the 1800s. Since we have Universal and so much more, there is no need for us to visit American Heartland but I hope it gets built for the folks that are looking for some entertainment. Have a beautiful day!!
My guess is that this project will proceed as follows-
Groundbreaking on the RV park coupled with a sales pitch touting an exciting opportunity to buy in timeshare style so that folks are locked in to a couple of weeks a year. Whether they end up visiting or not they pay and upfront cashflow is increased.
The planned theme park lingers in the background for a few years while the developers build out the RV campground while also seeking crowd sourced funding from “Real Americans” who are just fed up with all those elite theme parks. Millions upon millions of dollars will be raised from this alone. Of course there will also be copious amounts of CYA verbiage coming from the lawyers in the name of “keeping options open” for the eventual development.
Finally the broader vision of a $2B+ theme park will be scrapped in favor of a facility such as a waterpark with a couple of coasters that more aptly suits the location and will help drive traffic to the real objective, the forthcoming real estate development.
I could see some version of this happening, but some of what you’re describing is borderline or fully fraudulent. If people are induced to purchase a timeshare or invest on the basis of a $2 billion theme park, CYA verbiage–not even copious amounts of it–is enough to undo that.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped grifters in the past…but I don’t really think that’s what this is. The “tells” would be stronger, and they’d be more overt with the angle in the press release and marketing materials.
More likely, this is a vanity project by a rich family that really does want to build a media empire and believes they’ve found a niche to carve out. There’s nothing in the press release that strikes me as actively attempting to alienate or antagonize anyone–people are projecting that. It’s more or less what I’d expect to find in the marketing for a park themed to Americana/nostalgia and being built in the heartland.
My understanding of his goals with this is to not leave his kids a bunch of cash, but a business. I also believe he is able to fund most of this on his own, at least in the beginning. Reinforcing that this is a pet project. I believe it will be built, I agree with Tom in that whether it succeeds will be based on what they do with it.
I wondered the same. Grifters gonna grift and unfortunately there are many vulnerable people that would buy right in.
What Disney has figured out is that the average upper-middle class person who’s got the cash to blow in their theme parks belongs more to the “woke” side of the political spectrum but not all the way to the in-your-face end of the woke spectrum. This new park will appeal to the same set of people who visit the Noah’s ARC site. There are certainly upper-middle class people who share these values, but enough to support a Disney rival? Not likely. Without continued financial support from big “donors” like the Creation Museum/ Noah’s ARC have, this park will never be built.
Off topic, perhaps, but I don’t see why Disney is perceived as liberal now. They are a corporation that wants to appeal to everyone. Supporting the idea that every person has the same rights as everyone else is not a conservative nor a liberal idea, but an American ideal.
Its only since politicians have gotten votes from upping the culture wars that suddenly they are all trying to force companies to actively discrimination against LBGTQ people, and if you don’t, then you’re “woke”.
As for this proposed park, there is room for regional parks in the US. Small parks like Dollywood are doing just fine. It sounds like they have lined up a professional team, but its unclear how much of the money they have raised. If this park has a similar vibe to Dollywood, then I think it can both celebrate America and be welcoming to everyone. The main thing I see missing is passion, as they can’t clearly articulate why they are building this. When Walt was building Disneyland, you could clearly see he was the force behind the idea, and he truly belived in it.
Oklahoman here, no offense taken on the slap on Vinita. You aren’t far off at all. I live in Oklahoma City and visit WDW and DL at least once a year. I can’t even imagine making the two hour drive to a place like this, but maybe that’s just me.
The other thing that wasn’t brought up (or maybe I missed it) is where are they going to get employees? Even if they start paying at $15/hour, would you want to drive an hour from Tulsa to Vinita for work every day for that kind of money? Maybe bring in talent from Joplin, but you are still dealing with the same issue.
To your point on location, I have talked about this a lot with friends and family. I know it is because the land was cheap, but if they could get 30 minutes closer to Tulsa or even OKC, that would have benefited them much better longer term. Hell, just a quick zillow search there is 2,000 acres for sale in Hanna, OK that is a stones through from Lake Eufaula, 30 minutes from McAlester (town of 18,000 people), 1.25 hour from Tulsa and an hour from Muskogee. I am sure there are other plots of land that could be bought up, but you get my point.
I would put this at a 25% potential of actually being completed. I hope I am wrong as it would bring in tax dollars to the state and more tourism, but I am skeptical to say the least…
“Oklahoman here, no offense taken on the slap on Vinita.”
Just to be clear, this post is in no way intending to disparage Vinita. It not being a viable location to anchor a large-scale theme park has nothing to do with it being a “good” or “bad” place. It simply doesn’t have the population base or tourist appeal, which is not a value judgment.
There are tons of places around the United States that I love, but could not sustain a large-scale theme park. Heck, this includes my own hometown!
Good points on the local labor pool and locating this closer to Tulsa or OKC.
Hmmm.. on your drive from OKC comment Tulsans have been driving to OKC for a long while just for little Frontier city so not so sure about that. And remember this isn’t just Vinita it’s near Grand Lake and again I-44 is a major SE to NE interstate cutting across the Midwest so it’s not like this place will be in the boonies with no major highways. But have to say I agree might have been a good idea to stick it outside Tulsa but not that far outside.
Labor is an interesting point. We were up in Wisconsin Dells at Noah’s Ark water park couple weeks ago and pretty much the entire staff were international students so theoretically they could do something like that… theoretically. 🙂
Tom – there are basically two things in Vinita – a turnpike stop and a tribal casino. Well OK, a Walmart.
Seems like Walt himself sounded pretty similar as he was selling the idea of his vanity park Disneyland to America. Unfortunately whoever this guy is, he isn’t Walt Disney so I wish him well selling this one.
While Bronson is as far from the Springfield airport as Vinita is from Tulsa, there’s a *lot* more to Branson than Silver Dollar City to attract tourists. Instead of swinging the fences for a major amusement park that doesn’t work, I’m hoping for a nice regional park with Universal Tour-like facilities that they can leverage for film production and serve as a wienie for the RV park. Expecting anything else seems like the worse-case DisneylandForward situation that Tom keeps talking about where it’s really about building the non-attraction facilities. I don’t want a glorified roadside attraction that’s an afterthought to office buildings and private soundstages.
Universal found a great location on the edge of the suburbs of Dallas for their park so that it has the tourist base to survive *and* infrastructure to give them the potential to grow into something more.
My other lived in a house right on Route 66 and would sit on the porch and watch the 1000 + people go by daily doing the entire Route 66 ride. If the park gets built on 66 near Vinita, very affluent Grand Lake with their myriad of lake activities will only increase the visitors, who can spend time at that lake because of things you can’t do at the park. I’m not positive it will get built, but the location choice I understand being from Tulsa but unfortunately living in what has become a real “fly over” state of fast,y declining California.
I know many are wishing for it, but California is not rapidly declining. Hoping that we as citizens can go back to celebrating the ‘United’ States of America.
Okay, I’ll grant that Oklahoma is business friendly.
Problem is, businesses exist to fill a demand, and I can’t imagine anyone who would want to go out of their way to visit such an… I guess you could say, “completely safe and expected” place. Despite what Bergstrom says about Tourism, “already one of Oklahoma’s top industries” (No, Bergstrom, it isn’t, and you’re probably thinking your state is Texas again), this place looks like it possesses the same uniqueness and ability to surprise as a PBS documentary about the history of white bread.
I should absolutely love a park like this, because I love America, American history, and I take pride in being American. This park seems to collect a bunch of things I love about America and puts them together into one place, and yet, something about it all feels so useless and vapid. Where’s its own voice, its own personality? With as something as drab as its logo and as banal a premise for a park like this to exist, couldn’t we at least get a great and memorable mascot for it to make it not feel so corporate and lifeless?
Also, if there are 6 different areas based on US geography or US technology or whatever, I would rather go see the original sights and / or museums than claim I experienced it to “some degree or another” at a knock-off park of it at some new overpriced theme park. It would be like creating a theme park based on all the US national parks: who in their right mind wouldn’t prefer to go to the ACTUAL places? The same applies here.
Lastly, you can absolutely, 100% create a fun and wholesome environment without pushing for progressive values, BUT also not to fail to innovate, surprise, and delight with the final product: so far, this place only looks like it would deliver on that first half. Pass.
Safe, vapid, banal, corporate, lifeless…? Where’d you get your information? From the description and artists’ renderings that Tom included, it seems that more detail needs to be released before such a dismissive conclusion could be drawn. Heck, Frontierland and Main St. USA could be described with the same words by some, but I think they’re pretty special.
Fascinating how many people limit their life experience by writing off an entire area based on the prevailing politics/values/beliefs of that area conflicting with their own. These people fail to realize they have neighbors in their home community with those exact same opinions. Get out and see the world…as Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice.” This includes the rampant prejudice the coasts have toward middle America.
And to be fair, vice versa. This includes the rampant prejudice that Middle America has toward the coasts.
I will happily pass. This sounds like it will appeal.to.the conservative MAGA crowd. And even if it didn’t, it will be in OK, not an area I long to.visit.
To each his own. They can keep Branson and the Creation Museum.and that Noah’s Ark replica.
I do regret that I won’t see the second Tokyo addition to Disney
and. We went to Tokyo Disneyland 3-4times while my husband was stationed there for 7years. I loved the villains tribute in the castle–A bunch of Japanese kids decided I was the one elected to.kill.Again Deathlord, but I.asked for their help.and we took.him.down together. I had a lovely souvenir as a Hero til.it was stolen along with everything we owned in a move.
This is a terrible business idea. No way is there a sound business case for a $2B “theme park” in the Oklahoma countryside (not that it could be built for $2B anyway). When I saw that “phase 1” is a giant RV park, I saw the writing on the wall. Developers will get the RV park in place, and that’ll be the end of the development. You can’t create a tourist destination in the middle of nowhere with 105-degree summer days, -5 degree winter days, mosquitos, tornadoes, thunderstorms, hail, snow, ice, and nothing else to do for miles around. Article is right that there’s a lot of palm-greasing going around to the consultants and politicians. Once everyone cashes their checks, this loony idea will fade away.
Essentially this location puts it on the way to Branson and St Louis just off I-44. I’m guessing considering that mansion (says) they are huge in Branson but don’t own Silver Dollar City this (to them) probably seems like a great location because they could theoretically draw business off of Branson and it’s overcrowded entertainment strip that pretty much has no more room for growth.
All that to say I think as a Tulsa area resident I can somewhat understand their location logic in relation to Fayetteville/Bentonville, Branson, Tulsa, Kansas City, St Louis and pretty much the whole rest of the Midwest that makes the trek to Branson.
Anyway, I agree with your sentiment of “we’ll see”. I could totally see the RV park going up there in the middle of nowhere and that’s about it.
This actually seems like it would go the other way, for me. There is still a healthy appetite for Branson, but it’s not an overwhelming demand that a similar nearby regional park could siphon off of. Plus, it seems to be aging out (at least from my perspective here in St.Louis, where those who I know who still visit Branson have a good number of years behind them.) It’s also generally a weekend trip, so adding another day on to hop down the road isnt really feasible. I’m not even opposed to visiting an interesting theme park in OK (so long as its welcoming to all families), but I think the relative proximity to Branson could hurt more than help.
Less elaborate projects by larger, more established companies have never happened. I’m pessimistic but I wish them luck.
My family is finishing a week of vacation in Williamsburg. We had much more fun than our holiday trip to WDW. It was hot but lots of shade. Lines for rides were short. More than just one headliner per day. So crazy when people think Disney is the only thing to enjoy
“I’m not suggesting that a major theme park be built in one of those metro areas, but rather, with convenient access to them and their airports.
Many people visit Branson Missouri. There is not a convenient airport anywhere close. Not an easy drive, quick drive either. We had to fly into Little Rock AR. Or Kansas City MO. Springfield is a little closer but not many planes fly into there. Branson seems to be doing very well. I feel this new park may be similar to Branson as far as entertainment. They are just adding rides. I’m all for it. I hope it goes forward.
Oklahoma has 39 Tribal Nations. This is on the Cherokee Rez. Not one word from the Nation on this. Did AH bother asking them first?
Important point! I would like to know.
This was exactly my thought. And if not…building an entire resort complex themed around the country that systematically tried to wipe them off the planet seems like quite a slap in the face. This entire project makes my gay, progressive hairs stick up from the red flags, but maybe I could be wrong and it ends up showcasing actual American history and not propaganda, if it ever opens.
I think the regional theme park idea here is where this would be likely to land. Dollywood is about comparable in size (160 acres, which includes I believe the water park and resort hotels), but has the whole Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Great Smoky Mountains National Park world around it, so it doesn’t have to sustain a tourism ecosystem by itself–it fits into a larger one. There are people like us, who are pass holders and who go camp for the weekend multiple times a year and just go to Dollywood, or who live in Knoxville and drive over for the day, but more often folks are coming to Pigeon Forge for longer vacations of which Dollywood is a part (similar to SoCal). Plus it’s got the Dolly brand to pull people there (and that’s got broad appeal across the political spectrum). This doesn’t strike me as a place that could be a vacation destination on its own for more than a couple of days, and I don’t know how many people are going out of their way to head to a place an hour outside of Tulsa as their vacation destination.
Yeah, I think replicating Dollywood’s or Silver Dollar City’s success is about the best this place could hope for. Fits comfortably in that niche. Because of the times we’re in, everyone is going to expect/want this to be “Conservative Family Values Magic Kingdom,” and for all the reasons Tom outlined, it just ain’t/
If this is some kind of maga land you can count me out.
I’m getting the same feeling.
I, for one, can’t wait. I live in Texas and it takes 2 days to drive to WDW and 3 for DLR. I also know that the proposed location is near to Branson, which is one of the best tourist destinations around. I love Disney parks, I really do, but let’s hope that this park is a great success!
Starting with the RV Park and cabins is a great idea! Oklahoma is the Heartland, so what a great place to build. Grand Lake is right there and already a big tourist attraction. I’m from Oklahoma, and I’m very excited about what this will bring to our state. And, I don’t think my grandchildren are going to be disappointed with having a state of the art amusement park/resort to go to that isn’t clear across the country no matter what the theme is. The Disney franchise has alienated many families with their stance on the issues we are faced with today. The American Heartland Theme Park could definitely offer a place to go where families aren’t bombarded with the mainstream nonsense and could just enjoy themselves. Yes, it will provide competition… so what. There is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition. It will take time and money… we know that. Looking forward to the future.
I am sorry that you and other families feel bombarded by mainstream ‘nonsense.’ Sadly, there are many people who currently have to live in a country where their right to Healthcare and access to restrooms is taken away, their bodies and possessions are threatened, and their mere right to exist is considered ‘nonsense.’ I hope that some day they can have their worst concern be as mild as seeing something completely normal on TV.
This park doesn’t seem like it will turn the dial on it one way or another, though.