VINITA — A $2 billion theme park and resort similar to Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom is planned for Vinita, officials announced Wednesday.
The American Heartland Theme Park and Resort “will attract visitors from around the world to celebrate everything we stand for, right here in America's homeland,” Vinita Mayor Josh Lee said in announcing the massive project.
The development will be built in phases, starting with a large-scale RV park with cabins scheduled to open in the spring of 2025.
A world-class theme park and resort is scheduled to open in 2026, the same year as Route 66's centennial.
“We are excited to make Oklahoma the home of American Heartland Theme Park and Resort,” American Heartland CEO Larry Wilhite said during Wednesday's news conference, attended by more than 900 people at the Craig County Community Center.
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“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 generations of unforgettable experiences to Oklahoma.”
American Heartland will be a 1,000-acre development with a 125-acre theme park, which is comparable in size to Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom.
The theme park alone would be nearly double the current size of Tulsa's Gathering Place (66.5 acres).
The park will feature an Americana-themed environment with a variety of rides, live shows, family attractions and waterways, as well as restaurant-quality food and beverage offerings, officials said.
The adjacent 320-acre Three Ponies RV Park and Campground, designed by Oklahoma architects ADG Blatt, will be the largest campground in the central US with 750 RV spaces and 300 cabins, as well as amenities.
The theme park will also include a flagship 300-room hotel and indoor water park.
Vinita, the Craig County seat of about 5,200 residents, is located 64 miles northeast of downtown Tulsa on the Will Rogers Turnpike and Oklahoma 66. It is approximately 120 miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri, 95 miles northwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and 18 miles southeast of Wichita, Kansas.
The developer is American Heartland, a subsidiary of Branson, Missouri-based Mansion Entertainment Group LLC, a performing arts, animation and studio brand. It is the presenting sponsor of the 2024 Rose Parade Grand Finale in Pasadena, California.
“We live in a turbulent world, as we all know,” said American Heartland founder and chief creative officer Gene Bicknell.
“Our mission here today is to bring peace and hope and joy and economic growth to this region. It is also a movement to showcase the whole country and maybe the world,” he said.
Bicknell, which owns theaters in Branson, is the main financier of the development, organizers said. He founded NPC International, which became the largest Pizza Hut franchise in the world. He is also a former mayor of Pittsburgh, Kansas and an author, actor, broadcaster, pilot, veteran and teacher.
Led by executive producer Steve Hedrick, the design team is made up of the world's best theme park designers, including more than 20 former Disney park builders and Walt Disney luminaries, officials said.
“American Heartland Theme Park and Resort will offer a guest experience rivaling the world's top resort destinations, and it's right here in Oklahoma,” Hedrick said.
It will be “a family-friendly park built on the American foundation of hard work, hard play and limitless adventure,” he said.
“A collection of distinctive American lands welcomes visitors on a journey through the best of our American history.”
Those themed areas will include: Great Plains, Bayou Bay, Big Timber Falls, Stony Point Harbor, Liberty Village and Electropolis, Hedrick said, with 19 specialty attractions, including rides and shows.
Design firms include THG, FORREC and CuninghamCQ, whose portfolios include the world's leading theme park brands, including Six Flags, Disney Parks and Universal Studios.
“We recognize Oklahoma as the next frontier of tourism in the United States,” said Kristy Adams, senior executive vice president of sales and marketing for Mansion Entertainment Group, American Heartland and the Three Ponies.
“With its stunning natural landscapes, friendly people, central location, Oklahoma represents the true spirit of the project,” he said.
“This project will not only be a game changer for Northeast Oklahoma but for the entire region,” Adams said.
“This is truly a historic day for Vinita and the entire quad-state area,” Lee said.
Before the speakers' remarks at Wednesday's press conference, a 12-by-12-foot scale model of the theme park was unveiled.
The model contains depictions of the park's six themed areas, with structures, water features, rides and other small details down to individual bushes and trees.
The development will be located approximately 6 miles southeast of Vinita.
All the land for the project has already been purchased. Organizers declined to say how much was spent on the land purchase.
Many details about the project have yet to be determined, including whether the area may eventually be annexed by the city of Vinita or remain in Craig County, Lee said.
Major infrastructure improvements, including roads and utilities, will be needed as the massive project moves forward.
“There will be a lot of discussions in the coming months,” Lee said.
Wednesday's news conference lasted about 45 minutes and featured video renderings on large screens showing what the theme parks and RV parks will look like.
A woman sang “God Bless America” at the start of the event, and a loud bang followed by red, white and blue confetti floated into the crowd at its end.
Local and state elected officials who spoke at the news conference said they learned about the project about a year and a half ago.
“When I first learned about this project and met the development team, I knew it was a perfect fit for our community,” Lee said.