The $2 Billion American Heartland Theme Park Coming to Oklahoma

The upcoming American Heartland theme park looks to be a resurrection of the old Disney’s America plans just without Disney. So what is this park, and what are the chances it will actually get built?
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[@blmn564]

Why do I feel like I'm gonna see a Defunctland video about this park in four years?

[@shugotenchi]

Why would they do a video about a half-finished parking lot?

[@Rusty-2010]

@@shugotenchiI think what they mean is that it will open but it will fail spectacularly and they will be forced to closed.

[@SirBlackReeds]

Because you insist on being Debbie Downer.

[@NobleWolf33]

Frs

[@pixelpoopoo]

Look up Land of Oz theme park, and you'll see why this park could end up just being an rv park. Where's the water though? I don't know about anybody else, but I don't visit RV parks that aren't near the water. I'm optimistic, but concerned it might not make it

[@Veepaws]

I'm afraid this will turn into our Lost Island theme park in Iowa. It is a beautiful theme park that deserves a lot of love. But it is unfortunately in the middle of nowhere and isn't getting any real attendance. It just opened last year and I'm afraid it won't last long.

[@rattyeely]

I saw that park recently and was like "it seems really cool, why is nobody talking about it?" It seems like parks that aren't in major population centers just fall off the radar

[@jjperceval]

I feel like thats cause it has no drawcards and looks a bit shit

[@Jimvanhise]

There's a reason Disneyland is in California and Disneyworld in in Florida. They don't have to close down in the winter.

[@kevinkrupski246]

There are many fantastic theme parks located in states that get snow and would.have to shut down in the winter. They are just kidding themselves that they believe thet can get over 4 million people to visit it each with that small of.a town to support it and the Tulsa airport getting only getting 3 million passengers pre covid

[@RedAi9601]

If you looked into Walt Disney passed, where Disney himself wanted to put a theme park in Virginia. It was even heavily believed that Disney himself wanted to put a theme park in every state, but we will never know since he passed away. Who knows if he didn't pass away, could his city of the future have been built.

[@jordanberndt4157]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is now open year-round and has a slightly worse climate (similar temperatures but rainier than Oklahoma.) Oklahoma in the winter is actually warmer and drier than Paris and Disneyland Paris is open year-round. American Heartland might have to go weekends-only in January and February, but year-round operations seem completely feasible to me. They just need to make sure they are properly marketing to places like Chicago and Minnesota during the winter months.

[@jordanberndt4157]

I agree that 4 million seems overly ambitious, though, at least for the first 10-15 years until the brand is built up. That's Knotts/Canada's Wonderland numbers and those are both located inside, not even near to, but actually inside large urban areas.

[@the_traveling_texan]

Yup!

[@buckeyeguy82]

As much as I would hope this would get built & be successful, I have some doubts. I've noticed most amusement parks that are built in rural areas don't thrive as well as the larger ones because there's not much else around it, it's not in a warm climate or it's too far from a large city. I would love to see this happen because the larger parks need healthy competition & people as well as other businesses could benefit from this.

[@factorfitness3713]

I think if there were an actual market for a gigantic theme park in the middle of the country, someone would have done it by now. It's not like this is a new industry or a fast growing area of the country. Building a theme park of unprecedented size and cost, without any IP draws also seems like a recipe for failure. It seems like Mansion is betting on the draw of Americana and tradition - a prevailing theme right now, but not one that's growing. If this project is ever actually started, I don't see it ever getting past 30% complete or built tot he scale that is planned at all.

[@birdflox1337]

there's a smaller Universal park coming to Texas, so there's that at least.

[@morganharris2413]

Well it’ll only be an hour from Tulsa and Northwest Arkansas (one of the fastest growing metros in the United States). So the placement isn’t terrible. Being rural means plenty of room for expansion, similarly to Disney world in Florida

[@morganharris2413]

Keep in mind there were only 300,000 residents in Orlando, FL metro when Disney world opened

[@user-vb1dy2um1n]

​​@@morganharris2413 I'm from and in Tulsa now there's a lot of high rise luxury apartments being built near near downtown Tulsa expecting I guess population increase because all the suburbs now are being gentrified. Also I think with the politics going on in Florida right now I saw somewhere but I can't remember if they took away a lot of projects because of it so could be opening bids for the best idea

[@NickFajardo]

So we do actually have one amusement park in Oklahoma City - Frontier City. It's not huge, and has been around since like the 60s. It's currently operated seasonally by Six Flags. I don't know what 2 billion a year gets you, but I assume that this would be competing more with Frontier City or Silver Dollar City than a Disney Property

[@racheljackson4428]

can you give me a bit of history of Frontier City like how big it is compared to other theme parks, when Six Flags brought Frontier City?

[@NickFajardo]

@@racheljackson4428 nothing that you couldn't find online elsewhere

[@angelaarnce1911]

I am not sure, But most things Gene touches turns to Gold! It wld sure be nice. That’s for sure 😊

[@Jonus_Grumby]

I'm sorry but that's a little like saying we don't need a NBA arena because we have a high school gym to play in.

[@kayleegrandstaff2524]

my first thought was why when ftc is in oklahoma city AND it's wild west theme ?? it's still pretty big, esp if you include hurricane harbor which you also get attendance to with a season pass. ftc somehow has more coasters than this is proposed to as well, as well as a wooden coaster. i'm biased tho cause i worked there 💀

[@averyeml]

I would love for a park to end up somewhere in that area. I would love it if it was fun and well done and everything else. But there’s a reason parks go where they do, especially the ones as expensive as Disney and Universal. Building a really fancy park in tornado alley is… a choice, to be certain. I am gonna be watching this with some genuine interest.

[@skatealex1]

I like the idea of a high budget theme park in a new location but I share the comments sections skepticisms with it

[@AMagicProduction]

“Why build a park in the middle of nowhere”…. … Disney World getting developed in the 1960s in the middle of nowhere/swamp: 👀

[@tylerkochman1007]

As an extension of the brand of the most popular theme park m That’s a big diff

[@giddyup523]

​@@tylerkochman1007 And in an area that allows them to be open year round with access to ocean beaches an hour away. As someone who lives in Oklahoma, a park like this that seems to rely heavily on outdoor rides, including water attractions, will not be very feasible to be open for at least a quarter of the year. While there are plenty of decent weather days here in December-February, there also are many sub-freezing days, snow, ice storms, etc. that would make being open in the winter pretty much impossible as nobody would want to actually plan to visit in that time in advance without knowing the weather would be ok so they would really only be getting locals coming out on good weather days if they were open and as the video says, there aren't many people actually that close. Very few people would drive more than a couple hours away to go to the park on a whim just because the weather is good and those that do would probably be overwhelmingly pass holders (assuming they offer passes) who wouldn't be spending much actual new money in the park. They could do some sort of Christmas thing in December but that would also probably mostly just draw locals rather than people making vacation plans. The closest large-ish amustmant park to this, Silver Dollar City in Branson, closes in the winter, as does Frontier City in OKC (which is much smaller than this would be). Maybe I'm putting too much stock in the value of being open year round but considering the scale of this project (as planned at least), it seems like it would need to be open as much as possible to make money and missing out on several months would be really hard.

[@hobog]

4:12 they made traffic jams an attraction 😂. There's an urbanist meme that Disneyworld is an attractive escape from car dependence

[@toadscoper4575]

I know right? It’s laughably stupid, the car-brained visionaries for this joke of a park are so out of touch with reality

[@rattyeely]

My thoughts exactly. There's no way to run an attraction like that without long waits at every stop

[@trientertainment7628]

As someone who lives near Oklahoma and knows a lot about it, this park will probably never happen. Oklahoma has had a history of being dogwhistled into putting money into these large projects, only for nothing to come of them. This is probably another case of this. On top of this, if you look even further into the project team, even more questions about credibility start to rise. And then there is also the location and weather and all sorts of problems. So in short if anything comes of this project at all it will probably not be great and it will probably be closed relatively shortly

[@sonic23233]

I've seen footage of tornadoes, so yeah, it would get destroyed after one season

[@trientertainment7628]

@@sonic23233there aren’t always tornadoes 24/7 the more likely weather event to get it shut down is heavy storms and hail

[@melissaperry6237]

I live 20 minutes away and my family can’t hardly wait. Not to mention. Literally everyone I have talked to along with their families. This will be wonderful fun for the area. I don’t care what anyone says.

[@trientertainment7628]

@@melissaperry6237if it even happens. Don’t get me wrong I’m hyped as well but I don’t expect this to happen

[@GrantGardner80]

I live 40 minutes away and the likelihood of this happening is exactly on par with the Tulsa Olympics bid or Telsa headquarters move to Oklahoma: statistically, it can't be zero, but is so close to zero you can't actually tell. There's a history here of Oklahoma getting taken for a ride for any big project like this. Also considering that they can't even do infrastructure projects here in under 4 years makes the project timeline suspicious at best and fraudulent at worst. There's no way the water, sewer, electrical, and road access to support anything even a quarter this size gets done by 2025.

[@BrainResin1]

Silver Dollar City is in the 'middle of nowhere' too and it's awesome.. God forbid Oklahoma get to have anything though huh? The outside world won't even let us HOPE to get a theme park.

[@doopa3964]

God damn right this place looks hella awesome! But all we got is shitty frontier city.

[@Zerosen89]

I am sick of all the fun stuff being in Texas and Missouri, Oklahoma needs a big theme park too, the tax revenue can be used to fix the damn roads too.

[@Jonus_Grumby]

"Branson is Vegas if it were run by Ned Flanders" --- Homer Simpson

[@reneeandchrisforever]

@@doopa3964Why cuss God? He has nothing to do with it.

[@Thebusridesme]

It’s the Oceangate of theme parks.

[@jasonyau326]

#1 FYI : $2 Billion USD is the current approximate market cap of Six Flags #2 Lost Island despite being an impressive mid sized theme park in Iowa is still struggling & #3 Why does this feel it has Hard Rock Park all over it?? 🤔

[@toadscoper4575]

At least hard rock park was located in a dense tourist area, but ya know, it still failed.

[@Veepaws]

Oh, hey! I just made a comment mentioning Lost Island! Great minds think alike.

[@uctfandre]

@@toadscoper4575 The financial crisis didn't help matters. All theme parks took a hit in 2008. But Hard Rock Park just starting out couldn't handle the financial crisis.

[@CB-wb7ue]

Yeah, I was recently working in Iowa, I didn't notice many vehicles at either the water park or the amusement park, nor did it look like it was open at this was a Sunday around 2 pm.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

This is only an hour away from my apartment in Tulsa, yet I haven't heard of this at all until I watched this video. If it ever opens, I'll probably visit once just to see what it's like.

[@waltsapartment-105]

My kiddo’s comment: “why would anyone from USA go to a USA themed park?… wait, why would anyone go to a USA themed park?” Nothing about this is inspired. This is a regional park at best. Who would choose this over California or Florida? I guess if you’re travelling in an RV across America, that’s your target market.

[@levilandon9501]

The park is centralized along route 66...Anyone road tripping across the country is gonna find it an easy destination to hit. Hince the rv park. The middle of the country is dead for travelors , destination seekers, and people who live there. This could be a lighthouse in the cornfields.

[@reneeandchrisforever]

There’s no cornfields in Vinita.

[@EHH246]

"Swamps of New Orleans" Is that a quote from the press release? There are no swamps. You need to go further west in Louisiana to find them.

[@guthriebarrett]

I think he just got it mixed up

[@westtrindy9176]

In ne ok, there are areas that aren’t full blown swamps, but are pretty close. Might be why we have had 2 alligators migrate up here already.

[@brianna_lynch]

The car ride around the park is a stupid idea.

[@andylindsaytunes]

Trains are too woke for them.

[@birdflox1337]

with this being marketed as some kind of competitor to Disney, and the focus on a romanticized American history, I can already see how weirdly politicized this would get if it ever actually gets built.

[@andylindsaytunes]

I agree. This looks like it's trying to be a thinly-veiled anti-woke disney. I doubt it'll ever see the light of day.

[@bobmclennan1727]

I can already hear the closing narration of their show about Native Americans. "And as all things must end, so too did the time of the noble Sioux peoples. Now let's just pretend they walked off into the sunset and not think about what really happened."

[@Jonus_Grumby]

This is probably a response to how politicized Disney has become.

[@birdflox1337]

@@Jonus_Grumby that would be a dumb response then because the same will happen to them.

[@Jonus_Grumby]

@@birdflox1337 Maybe, but I think Disney is out of touch with the values of many of their customers. They have taken the most beloved and well known corporate brand with the most iconic logo in the world and managed to drop the stock price 20% in the last 5 years.

[@MuhammadAthallahArsyaf]

I love how they did the interview revolving around that puny crane in the backdrop of what can only be said as a humongous patch of land.

[@gizmofoto3822]

That wasn't a crane

[@mrWendybird]

As much as Mansion is cutting a bit of a promo with themselves, surely they're not setting themselves up for face omelets like Wanda Movie Group did. If the park manages to break ground, I hope it'll be a success, especially with former Imagineers and Universal Creative members behind it

[@ryanb4940]

My first thoughts were “where will the workers live…?“ and you mention the closest town has 5000 people… that already have jobs…. How are they going to staff this thing and where will they live? And why in the world would anyone think it’s worth moving there to work there…??

[@reneeandchrisforever]

You are correct. I live in Broken Arrow (suburb of Tulsa) and there is literally nothing up in Vinita area. No infrastructure. No housing. nothing. This is a boondoggle to get the state to shell out funding for a tax write off.

[@jenniferbobennifer6164]

You nailed it. I'm in Tulsa and I would never go there.

[@Subscribble]

I live just under four hours away from the proposed construction site. I'm looking forward to it with mostly positive expectations! I'm most excited by the Pirate Stunt Show! I agree that it looks exactly like Universal Studios' WaterWorld show, especially with that Jet Skier seemingly out of place in the concept art, but to be fair, I think having water landings instead of a crash mat landing makes for a far more engaging storytelling experience- so I'm excited more than annoyed :)

[@MikeJ75]

Do you have the exact pin point coordinates for it? I was trying to see where it is so I can go see it before they start construction but I couldn't find it anywhere. I live in Tulsa, OK

[@Subscribble]

​@@MikeJ75 I don't know of the exact location, all I know is that it's near Vinita. If I had to guess, I'd say somewhere around here: 36.638568702458805, -95.10510017419834

[@factorfitness3713]

I hate to say it, but the chance that Mansion actually follows through with this or that it reaches this size and scale is nearly 0.

[@emeraldcoal2360]

@@MikeJ75It’s right between highway 60 and 44 outside of Vinita Ok right over the large quarry there. Literally the least populated area they could have chosen in NE OK 😅

[@MikeJ75]

@emeraldcoal2360 thank you for the info and yes I agree..I wonder if it's going to end up like Frontier City in OKC?

[@-OAK-]

The only problem I have is that it’s in the middle of nowhere, it should have been located in between Tulsa and OKC, it just doesn’t make sense that this giant theme park will be 3 hours away from Oklahoma biggest city and an hour away from their only other big city

[@reneeandchrisforever]

Way more tornadoes in the I-44 corridor between OKC and Tulsa than in the northeast corner.

[@GTR3x]

The Universal park in Texas could actually help this park launch, grow, and then thrive. Instead of planning a trip JUST to AH (or JUST to Universal Texas), a family could hit both in one trip. They will become symbiotic for the mutual benefit of both.

[@GTR3x]

Add Silver Dollar City to that ecosystem, too. The greatest challenge for AH? Tornadoes!!!

[@BenChurchill76]

I have my doubts as well. Even Universal's announcement for their park in Texas is on a much smaller scale than the ones in Florida, California, and Japan. This American Heartland park looks to be aiming big. After seeing all of the different areas of the park, it's also (in my opinion) a rather boring version of America. It's nothing other parks haven't already done all over the country, including Disney. Basically, it looks like an entirely superficial view of America and just hits the "Hollywood" ideas of what makes up the country, but it's left quite a lot out. And, it's a bit like Disney California Adventure when it was being built and people were wondering why you would build a part about California IN California. For example, the "Plains" section of American Heartland is being built in a Plains State. I guess this park is not for Oklahoma, but for outside tourists.

[@GTR3x]

Universal is building smaller in Texas because they’ve got to avoid cannibalizing their coastal parks at the same time they attempt to tap a new market. The folks behind AH don’t have that same problem. They can go whole hog in OK because they don’t have other empires to protect.

[@philrabe910]

Disney is rather particular about the regional demographics and how many conceivable patrons there are in a given radius... It's only recently with Texas' population boom that a Disney park might be feasible, but is pretty unlikely. That said, I think the nearest theme parks to the Tulsa region is in Texas and Missouri. Tulsa's population is still under half a million, so, um...

[@jordanberndt4157]

Tulsa Metro area is about 800,000. Buy yeah, that's still pretty small.

[@chrismeek589]

Actually just over a million, but still not huge. OKC a little bigger and nearby. KC not far.

[@jacobbuxton3895]

From Tulsa, frontier city is around an hour and a half to two hours away. It isn't too bad. Silver dollar city is probably a better park for the trip

[@vikingshelm]

You have Bentonville, Fayetteville, Joplin, OKC and Springfield within a couple of hours. KC amd Dallas are a few hours from the location. Wichita is about three hours or so, and then you have Tulsa at about an hour away. There will be a draw to this place, and people will definitely be taking road trips as well. I have talked to many people who live in both coasts who said they will absolutely be attending when and if this happens.

[@TheNinjaDC]

Your thoughts on the project match my own, doubtful but optimistic after learning of the funding. If this was a normal project funded by a loan or investors it would all but be doomed to failure. There is no way the park could meet its debt payments in that location. However, all this being privately funded, primarily by an aging franchise multi millionaire changes the game. This isn't a sound financial investment looking for above market returns, but a passion project by a man trying to leave a final mark on the world. The 4+ million a year attendance and 2 billion cost are still extremely questionable, but the chances of some form of this park coming to life are actually in the double digit percentage. Which is a huge step up from similar proposals.

[@weareeverywhere6677]

They TRIED to start something like this in Branson, over 10 years ago. It was supposed to be a counterpart to Silver Dollar City and also have the traditional "Americana" theming. It failed miserably and closed down about 2-3 seasons in. They too, had plans to "open it in phases" with all these "amazing hotels" and "future expansions" all set to be added season after season. Ultimately, nothing ever got added and the gates did not reopen, albeit very quietly, with little to no noticeable effort to do ANYTHING with all of the stuff in the park.

[@Fumbles007]

Branson is too crowded with all kinds of attractions, everyone is competing with everyone there 😅

[@Fumbles007]

Also, something people should keep in mind, this will be built along Route 66. One of, if not the largest, historical travel route in the nation. Also, putting OK pretty much dead center of the route. Hell, you should see the amount of people that stop in a very small town called Catoosa to see a lil wooden blue whale on the route. Also, did he say “Tulsar?”

[@brandonmiller9155]

Or round barn, or Pops. And Route 66 has become increasingly popular again in recent years, as people have returned to road tripping, and Oklahoma has 400 miles of the ORIGINAL route, more than any other state. Creating this park not only will benefit the local area, or even just Oklahomans, it’ll increase traffic on the route as a whole, which means BUSINESS. Which means DEVELOPMENT which benefits more and more people. From Chicago to LA.

[@Zerosen89]

I hope it gets built, it would be wonderful to have a big theme park that doesn't require going to either the west coast or the east coast

[@jimmycrackkorn1596]

"If you build it, they will come."

[@janeforgey2367]

What worries me is that this is near Grand Lake O’The Cherokees. The lake area (Vinita, Grove, Monkey Island) is already too busy with too many visitors in the summer crowding the lake and overwhelming the local restaurants. It’s already difficult for businesses to hire enough workers for just the increasing lake tourism. If the theme park actually happens, the area is going to turn into a mess! So sad.

[@Fumbles007]

Well, another thought, something like this may increase population due to said jobs. Think about how many people have been fleeing from Cali to central US due to COL alone. For example, my old hometown, Catoosa, put up a massive Hard Rock casino. Put up tons of jobs, which led to more apartments and neighborhoods in the area, and they sold like hotcakes. Granted, it also brought along some scum with it, but that is just how it is 🤷‍♂️

[@nanais007]

I used to live in Bernice. Summer traffic is already crazy. I'm trying to figure out the housing. I mean I guess peeps might drive from Wagoner and Tulsa burbs to work there. 44 traffic will be insane! What about our spring storms? They tend to travel the 44 corridor.

[@theonemouse]

Look up “Grand Texas”… sounds very similar to what that project was originally supposed to be… I wonder if this will meet the same fate

[@DACopperhead2]

As a point from an Okie who grew up adjacent to Vinita, while it is a pretty sad, tiny town, it is absolutely close enough to Joplin, Tulsa, and OKC to potentially have enough local attendance to supplant any out-of-state visitors. Additionally, Okies are pretty used to commuting, upwards of 45 minutes is pretty common for people here, so workers are not at all limited to Vinita. There is a sizeable university in the nearby town of Claremore, and university students are often filling out employment during the summer. This part of the state also doesn't have a lot....to do outside of some bars/clubs up in Tulsa. Frankly anything to actively do that potentially doesn't cost a lot of money can drive families there. Small families are also pretty much the population of NE Oklahoma, people get married and have kids really young here so there is always a market for them. Vinita can be a thriving city, it has been in the past, and bringing in this much buisness and jobs could help kick-start it up again. The nearby town of Pryor, while still a very sad place with a serious meth problem (pretty much a ubiquitous trait for Oklahoma towns), grew substantially after Google moved in to the area and continues to grow to some degree. In terms of weather, if the company is smart they could easily be "mostly non-seasonal". Winters here can be harsh, but can also be really tepid. Nearby in Branson, Silver Dollar City is an excellent theme park that runs year round, albeit with a focus on Christmas events and shows in the winter. We normally have very hot summers surrounded by stormy springs and warm falls. Tornados are a threat in that area, as major storms usually build up over the hills in the Big Cabin/White Oak area, then thunder out into the Vinta area. However, these aren't F4s, and if they build it with these storms in mind it shouldn't cause too much of an issue. That being said, this company sounds shady, and I don't think they realize that this will not met their attendance goals. While I will argue that a theme park can work in this region, it won't sustainably be drawing large crowds without a lot of effort. Americana, while a theme that I like, and that a lot of Okies like, isn't going to play well to the average theme park crowd. We've seen Disney dropping that theme from the billing pretty heavily, and even Silver Dollar City has moved away from celebrating the culture of the Ozark Mountains to a more generic theme park. I don't know if it is going to actually be built or be another vapor-project that seems to plague the state. If nothing else, maybe someone will slap a casino there once the project fizzles and the land is cheap.

[@jordanhamann9123]

Fascinating

[@jaynestewart-js6by]

I'm excited about this project, I'm in New Mexico and would take driving to Oklahoma over California or Florida anyday I'm in a rural area so this hits home ❤

[@danandtab7463]

Location would make more sense if someone's concurrently building up the nearby town, maybe adding an airport or something. I wish them well, because we could certainly use more theme park destinations.

[@shugotenchi]

Disney World I know has to generate its own power, etc. to function. Unless this project has plans to do something similar it's going to suck all the resources from the surrounding area like a vengeful ex-wife.

[@danandtab7463]

@@shugotenchi yeah hopefully that's part of the 2 billion master plan. SO many good points made about other things, like where are the workers going to come from, how will that many visitors come by without a nearby airport, etc. So much infrastructure/development needs to happen at the same time to really make this work. One RV park is not enough.

[@daveotuwa5596]

It is gonna be the first amusement park to break ground in a rural zone in a long time.

[@wendellolden1796]

I think since it is self funded, it will be built and I really think that it will be a good alternative to going to Florida or California for a theme park where prices keep going up or have to get on a plane or drive to Six Flags in Texas or Georgia. so I don’t see why this one can’t make it.

[@Fumbles007]

Also, it will hopefully take a different route from Disney direction with the whole weird woke thing. I’m sure this is a controversial topic, but it is what it is. Me, personally, would rather avoid that nonsense. 😮

[@Marty_NZ]

I see this as unlikely, however if it does happen then i'll sure be going for a visit. Let me know when you guys are going and i'll walk through those front gates with you!

[@mitchellries256]

Of course I'd go out of the way for a park like this. I tend to prefer parks with theming the most, and it doesn't look like it's too out of the way, so you could probably pair this ride easily when visiting Silver Dollar City, Frontier City, or other regional parks in that part of the country.

[@jimminyxmas]

The indoor Waterpark will be successful, as will the RV campgrounds. This whole project could work, there are actually millions of people who live within a days driving distance of this place, and it will be much less expensive proposition than traveling to the coasts.

[@hopefultraveler3543]

2Billion for a park that can only open for a few months/year?? I'm not seeing many actual rides; mostly shows. Should be interesting to see the cost of tickets, however I don't actually see it being built. There's a Universal Park in Texas that I have more hope for.

[@georgecooley8650]

Actually I think the location makes sense There is a huge lake named 😮Grand Lake of the Cherokee’s with 1,300 miles of shoreline just to the east of the park location It is a beautiful lake !! PLUS I look forward to visiting a park with COOLER TEMPERATURES THE HEAT IN FLORIDA is not enjoyable I lived near the Gulf for about 50 years it is not near as humid in Oklahoma and except for about 4 -6 weeks in the winter is not that cold Lots of sunshine Fewer crowds maybe So yes we will see

[@reneeandchrisforever]

A little burst of your bubble. The heat and humidity in Oklahoma during summer is much different than Florida.

[@SpecOpsFerret]

Neighbors: Ah finally, some rural peace and quiet after moving out of the city....

[@LaceRosesIamspecial]

Hey!! I'm a born/raised Okie!! I want it to come and make it big!!! I want them to be open year round and have seasonal attractions like a Christmas parade!!! I would go first thing!!!

[@DanielHaney-mh4se]

When Walt Disney built Disneyland in Anaheim, California, Anaheim was in the middle of nowhere, even though orange county was nothing but farmland. But the location was perfect. Disneyland open on July 17, 1955. And after the park opened there where other motor lodges being built surround the park, and other businesses being built. So you see, even if the construction of American Heartland Theme Park and Resort takes off as planned for whatever or if the construction actually happens there might be other businesses can actually take place. This means more jobs that can bring success to the county of Vinita Oklahoma. But we'll see if or when the construction might happen or will it be just talk. But something is telling me this project might not happen but I'll be surprised it will ever happen. I was so excited about have a major theme park and resort in Oklahoma but I don't wanna give my hopes up.

[@timcarroll7505]

Literally an hour from my house and 45 minutes from our lake house. Granted It's not Disney, but it probably won't come with the hour long wait to get on a ride either. So I'll be visiting often.

[@dulaneyp]

Before you doubt too hard, research the investors. Rumors have it that Johnny Morris is one of the investors. Project looks ripe for his involvement. Didn't people ask Walt why he was building in a swamp in the middle of nowhere?

[@gissneric]

I noticed a lot of articles and news about this new park always include Disney whether its Disneyland size or Disney competitor. Clearly, putting Disney there is purely for click bait. I thought Universal is now the better than Disney so why not put Universal instead?

[@trippjohnson7393]

Cause people hate the Mouse?

[@AziaXtremeNFinity]

I just hope they have some dark rides with good practical effects like animatronics and well-constructed and detailed sets

[@derekp308]

It seems like a rich guy has gone crazy thinking of a project like this. You might want to watch a video about an Ill fated 60’s theme park called Freedomland U.S.A. This clearly looks like a modern day version of that.

[@debbieoky]

Lol if any of the nah sayers had been to silver dollar city or as i like to call it (steal your dollar ) you would have zero doubts. I was blown away how devoted the people of this region flock during the hottest and coldest parts of the seasons. It is no where near the level of a park like disney world. I think that is exactly what appeals to their guests. Looking forward to creating memories here in oklahoma.

[@Zackkrupp]

Walt Disney world and Europa park both built parks in the middle of nowhere. And that was the main reason everyone said it would fail.

[@jordancaleb3419]

I think they need to have a really good marketing strategy/ team if they want this to succeed.

[@shugotenchi]

That is a LOT of dead spaces, unless the model is unfinished or they're unrealistic about future expansion in years 1-5.

[@ferretman6790]

I hope it is built. Seems like an amazing idea

[@SirBlackReeds]

ReviewTyme: Why build a theme park in the middle of nowhere? Disneyland & Disney World: Are we jokes to you?

[@themeparkreconnoiter9787]

The Raging Wolf Bobs and Villain should both be rebuilt or relocated to this theme park or to Lagoon near Salt Lake City.

[@Fedora-_-Laura]

I live in Oklahoma and I know people here would love to have something to do nearby but no one else would want to come here just for this. If someone wants to go to a theme park nearby then they can just go to silver dollar city nearby

[@JasonMAlexander]

Maybe as a Brit, it’s hard to understand how people would drive an HOUR to get to work but many of us do it everyday

[@JamieGAdaire]

My father worked with a guy who would commute upwards of 3 hours each way each day, from Bethlehem PA, to NYC.

[@user-hm6od4gt3s]

To nyc for a real wage. Not to Oklahoma for a 10 job.

[@JamieGAdaire]

@@user-hm6od4gt3s that “real wage” you’re talking about barely even covers living expenses. And when you boil it down to it- $100K in Oklahoma versus $100K in NYC. Where does your dollar go further? I could work for ten years in Oklahoma and buy land and a home. I could work ten years in NYC and at the end of the ten years would have to keep working to survive PLUS I own nothing living in NYC. Which is better? Car pollution, trash, feces and pee, and needles or big open spaces and fresh air? I’ll take the country over a coastal city any day. I didn’t even touch on the homeless, criminal, and public transportation problems in NYC either. Keep living that indentured servant life while ending up owning nothing.

[@nicka5040]

@@JamieGAdaire His point was that the drive to NYC was arguably worth it because your dad made a better wage there. Theme park workers generally make horrible wages, so who will want to drive there for a crappy wage?

[@JamieGAdaire]

@@nicka5040 my dad only had to commute an hour, thank god. His friend was the one commuting from Bethlehem to NYC daily. Guy ended up getting and surviving brain cancer. Suffice to say he decided to stop working in NYC. The point I was making is living in NYC isn’t worth it on what they consider a “real wage.” And the people who work the jobs that keep things going and service jobs all commute like the corporate people too. I think if this park works out it could be good for the state. The place had lost thousands of people over the years from lack of jobs. Whatever they’re paying at fast food joints they’ll likely gladly pay their employees here and there’s plenty of real estate within an hour that’s affordable. My point is NYC and Oklahoma aren’t comparable and it boils down to what someone wants longterm. I just wanted to be clear about the wage thing too- that people who live in Manhattan don’t work work for giant companies or own companies are then working to live there and longterm save no money because all of it goes to bills. (And even if someone is commuting to NY via public transportation, they still may have to drive to a station or pick up in order to commute; that means paying hundreds of dollars a month for the bus or train ticket, plus a parking pass fee in the lot near the bus or train which could also run up hundreds of dollars a month so neither one is really fiscally ideal; therefore working in a city may not be ideal for anyone mentally, physically, financially, etcetera)

[@dirtthunder1638]

Wonder if they studied the history of parks like Carowinds. The billionaire that built it went broke and the successors bought it up for pennies on the dollar.

[@reneeandchrisforever]

Why not say one hour northeast of Tulsa instead of 3 hours northeast of OKC? Also, being from the Tulsa area, I can tell you Vinita gets a lot of tornadoes. Don’t think this was well thought out.

[@xqueenfrostine]

I’m from OKC but spent a lot of time at Grand Lake growing up, and I’m having a hard time even picturing something like this being built in Vinita. It’s such a random place to drop a huge building project, and there’s not a ton of existing infrastructure to support it. Presumably that would change if this became successful, but that handicap may prevent the project from ever reaching that phase. Something closer to OKC or Tulsa would be better.

[@Big_Grunt]

I’ll definitely go, because I’m never giving Disney any of my money ever again.

[@pixelpoopoo]

Anybody remember the Land of Oz theme park that was supposed to be built back in 1998 in desoto, ks? I remember using slow dial up to see projected designs of this park, only to be let down when the skeptics shut the project down because of their doubts that it would attract any attention. Hope this isn't where this is headed

[@TMcConnaughhay]

Build it here in Arizona...then it can be open all year!

[@Sketch105]

Despite the heavy hitters working on this, I have extreme doubts about this coming to fruition. The DreamVision theme park scam in 2018 had the same vibes- big announcement, concept artwork, talk of two parks- one in Muscle Shoals and the other in Texas. Neither came to be but they got their media heyday.

[@toadscoper4575]

I dream of a day media outlets will stop giving attention to these obvious scam projects 🙄 money talks, bullshit walks

[@vikingshelm]

This is privately funded

[@jacksonscowen3940]

Maybe, if they announced 5 roller coasters then I’ll be like “Yeah, it’s not happening”

[@Fedora-_-Laura]

When people think “American heartland” I don’t think they think of Oklahoma

[@Beachnut447]

Way to big weather will play a factor. Some of it is great.

[@usernameisusername]

Not sure if you've ever heard of Branson and silver Dollar City so yeah there's that

[@tylerkochman1007]

Have a sense this’ll go the way of Hard Rock Park.

[@themeparkreconnoiter9787]

I hope they don't get a GCI Woodie. I'm expecting them to get a Gravity Group Wooden Coaster or 2. Maybe rebuild Raging Wolf Bobs and The Villain from Geauga Lake from the rails up, or Rebuild Hurricane from Myrtle Beach from the rails up naming it to Tornado. However. I'd perfer they get a Gravity Group Woddie instead of a GCI because Gravity Group's wooden coasters has huge drops.

[@ariusraygn]

More like a company about to be on the edge of bankruptcy lol. This project is idiotic, let’s build a billion dollar theme park in the middle of tornado alley while also in the middle of nowhere surrounded by sundown towns. Heck no

[@BookofJoshuaVerse24-15]

The comments from ignorant flyover snobs is amusing. Daily hurricanes in Florida, earthquakes in California, tornadoes in Oklahoma and idiotic coastal liberals repeating stereotypes to sound smart.

[@Jonus_Grumby]

Tornados are over hyped by the news and "sun down towns"? do you seriously think those still exist in Oklahoma?

[@Noise_H]

@@Jonus_GrumbyYeah in certain corners up in the north of Oklahoma💀

[@Jonus_Grumby]

@@Noise_H name one

[@Noise_H]

@@Jonus_Grumby Blackwell

[@rattyeely]

NGL the concept they have right now seems very cool, especially for an America-themed park as those usually have some offensive or boring element to them, and it's cool that it doesn't have any IP tie-ins, but yeah, this is not going to happen. Reminds me of the original plans for Evermore park

[@archi3y]

They do have the charlottes web attraction.

[@stanfordite]

Oh yes it is going to happen. And you don't need IP tie ins to be successful. Disneyland had little to no IP tie-in when it opened and when EPCOT first opened, it was the greatest success in Disney park history and was IP-free.

[@archi3y]

@@stanfordite it’s not going to happen because it’s being run by a random company with nothing to their name

[@stanfordite]

@@archi3y Yes it is going to happen. I'm going to be betting money on it happening and succeeding. A bet I'm going to win because I know future events and am speaking to you from the future.

[@hiddenwings91]

The motives behind this park are amazing. I HOPE THE WORKERS SUCCEED.🎉

[@SkipperJane]

I got a strong odor of Evermore 2.0 from this announcement.

[@briancooper4120]

Ready or not. I live in the Kansas City area. Kansas Citizens are not big Cedar Fair LLP fans. With Silver Dollar City in our back yards. That's where we head at Christmas. Anyway they have already broke ground on phase one with phase 2 to begin soon. So where do you think a lot of Missourians will go. We already go to Branson it's not that outside the box to drive a little further to go to yet another world class park.

[@southpuddle]

2026? And they haven’t broken ground? 😂😂😂

[@joelwright1807]

There's a large McDonald's in Vinita

[@jamesgenchur9450]

2 Billion Dollars is not enough money to build this project!

[@mr.x6313]

Bet.

[@aarontiffany9101]

could be built for half if they didn't have to grease palms and red tape also the land was cheap closer you build near a city center the price goes up someone built a skate park in Norman ok for a million plus less than an acre one big bowl and a half pipe a few ramps and spines it gets used daily yet why so much for a bowl of concrete

[@boringstuff9302]

If vaporware exists in the theme park world, this is vaporware

[@Sam_Blakley]

Build a big casino next to it like the one in thackerville ok.The world largest casino and the park would be rockin oh and there a plan for the tallest building in the u.s in okc that would over shadow the one in nyc😊

[@clownskill11]

The area already has a large draw from all the recreation at the lake.

[@jonesyokc]

The location choice is poor. if you are going to build something like that, you are better off putting it on the east side of Oklahoma City. There is a lot of open land on the east side and it is much greener then downtown and points west/south. Put it near a rail line where you could potentially get a passenger rail service from downtown OKC Even without that, having it on the east side of OKC gives you access to a larger metro area and makes it a reasonable drive from Dallas and parts of Arkansas. OKC is better connected. The middle of nowhere part isn't as relevant as people might think. When Disney World as built, it was build in the middle of nowhere. The real problem with building anywhere in Oklahoma is the weather. It is just too hot here and we have some of the most extreme weather. if you plan on putting something like that in here, you need to plan for significant evaporative cooling stations all around the park. You need to provide a way for people to stay cool even in upper 90 to low 100 degree heat.

[@Aidanryry]

Terminal Velocity? Sonic reference

[@redfightblue]

This is a secret Disney project. It's a new DisneyWorld.

[@VaporWaveGaming1990]

As someone who LOVES American History, I down. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! I pray for this to be a success!

[@jahzd4028]

I believe it will open but not for another 5 to 10 years. Also, I doubt it will look anything like the concept art. I'm sure it will be a lot smaller and many of the rides will never get built. It's a nice alternative to Disneyland but being in the middle of Nowhere, Oklahoma it might fail before it even begins. Only time will tell.

[@emeraldcoal2360]

It’s absolutely crazy to think in three years they’re going to have this built? I mean just the RV park would take at least that long and they haven’t even broke ground on a blessed thing. What about the infrastructure just to get all this mega power, water and roads for the traffic out here? I’ve seen a fairly simple bridge out here take three years when they have to stop construction over winter so excuse my disbelief.

[@No-nu8zx]

It’s giving freedom land

[@Pa-pb6kb]

@sunbrightfilms look forward to watching your video in 36 months

[@shimi4364]

Silver Dollar City in Missouri is quite fun and successful. But this doesnt have any of Silver Dollar's themeing, history, or charm. The vague "Americano" theming may work well abroad or in the original theme parks of Disneyland and Disney World, but even then Disney hasnt relied on that themeing and has other non-Americana based lands like Fantasy land and Toontown. Being in such an out of the way place with so little reason to go (I can go to Silver Dollar and get the same Americana experience, but with a Cave Tour and famous Bluegrass, or Americana from a Disney park with the chance to get my picture with Darth Vader). I just dont see how it will be successful

[@emeraldcoal2360]

This seems like a boring mashup of Branson Landing with Silver Dollar City. Yeah SDC is successful but there is something to be said for being the first in the area and getting your fan base first. This whole park strikes me as exceedingly boring overall but maybe that’s just me.

[@mitchelloglesby]

I think they are leaning on evtols from Tulsa which would make it about a 20 min flight. And evtols are gonna be cheap.

[@hobog]

They need to grow out of The Tiger King's shadow

[@ginagreen1202]

Despite all the naysayers here, I think Disney fans are disillusioned with Disney for multiple reasons and looking for a replacement. This hits their market and we already know that people are willing to travel great distances to visit a theme park.

[@AWasteOfSpace-sz2os]

It looks shit

[@toadscoper4575]

The most laughable part of the plan is that proposed “freeway” bus attraction thing that loops the park, seemingly in place a of train. Ya know, because we don’t experience enough car centrism and traffic in the US 🙄

[@Lil_Angry_Bitch]

That's exactly the point. The park is themed to America, and Highways are part of American life.

[@subdomhourz7946]

@@Lil_Angry_Bitchit doesn’t negate the fact it’s a stupid idea

[@jjperceval]

6F also does reigonal theme parks. the diference here is something the 6F ceo would murder you for suggesting - a decent attempt at themeing.

[@Xxx-hk6mk]

This is in the middle of nowhere

[@scottwayne9148]

Lot of money and wages to go through with this and the case of storms hitting the coast pretty bad why Vinita not real far from Kansas picking the rides also the safest for the costumers of course lot work been out in it already