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 all that we stand for, here in hometown America,” 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 the Route 66 centennial.
“We are thrilled 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 unforgettable generational experiences to Oklahoma.”
American Heartland will be a 1,000-acre development with a 125-acre theme park, which is comparable to the size of Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom.
The theme park alone would be nearly twice 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 U.S. with 750 RV spaces and 300 cabins, plus amenities.
The theme park will also include a top-tier 300-room hotel and indoor water park.
Vinita, the Craig County seat with a population of about 5,200, is 64 miles northeast of downtown Tulsa on the Will Rogers Turnpike and Oklahoma 66. It is about 120 miles southwest of Springfield, Missouri, 95 miles northwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and 188 miles southeast of Wichita, Kansas.
The developer is American Heartland, an affiliate 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 troubled world, as we all know,” American Heartland Founder and Chief Creative Officer Gene Bicknell said.
“Our mission here today is to bring peace and hope and joy and economic growth to this area. It’s also a movement to promote the entire country and perhaps the world,” he said.
Bicknell, who owns theaters in Branson, is a primary funder of the development, organizers said. He founded NPC International, which became the world’s largest Pizza Hut franchise. He is also a former mayor of Pittsburg, Kansas, and an author, actor, broadcaster, pilot, veteran and professor.
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 parks builders and Walt Disney imagineers, officials said.
“American Heartland Theme Park and Resort will offer a visitor 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 foundations of hard work, hard play and boundless adventure,” he said.
“A collection of distinctly American lands welcome guests on a journey through the best of our American story.”
Those theme areas will include: Great Plains, Bayou Bay, Big Timber Falls, Stony Point Harbor, Liberty Village and Electropolis, Hedrick said, with 19 specialized attractions, including rides and performances.
Design firms include THG, FORREC and CuninghamCQ, whose portfolios feature the world’s foremost 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 Three Ponies.
“With its stunning natural landscapes, friendly people, central location, Oklahoma represents the true spirit of the project,” she said.
“This project will not only be a game changer for northeast Oklahoma but for the entire region,” Adams said.
“This is truly an historic day for Vinita and all of the four-state area,” Lee said.
Before speakers’ remarks at Wednesday’s news 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 minute details down to individual shrubs and trees.
The development will be located about 6 miles southeast of Vinita.
All land for the project already has 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 within rural Craig County, Lee said.
Significant 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 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 down to the crowd at its end.
Elected local and state 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 I met the development team, I knew it was a perfect fit for our community,” Lee said.
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