New $2 billion Oklahoma theme park announced, and it's not part of the Magic Kingdom

2024-12-25 10:23:36 source:lotradecoin services category:News

A theme park with an estimated $2 billion price tag is coming to the Midwest — and its location may surprise you.

The 1,000-acre development, named the American Heartland Theme Park and Resort, is scheduled to open in 2026 in the northeastern Oklahoma city of Vinita, according to a news release Thursday from the Missouri-based Mansion Entertainment Group, which is heading up the project. 

The amusement park itself will cover 125 acres, which according to developers is comparable in size to Florida's Magic Kingdom and Disneyland in California. 

An artist's depiction of the proposed theme park project.  Mansion Entertainment Group

It will have an Americana-themed environment with "a variety of entertaining rides, live shows, family attractions, waterways as well as restaurant-quality food and beverage offerings," Mansion Entertainment said. 

It will also include rides and shows in "six distinctly American lands:" the Great Plains, Bayou Bay, Big Timber Falls, Stony Point Harbor, Liberty Village and Electropolis.

In addition to the amusement park, American Heartland will feature a 300-room hotel, indoor water park and an adjacent 320-acre RV park, and a 300-cabin campground named Three Ponies.

The park's design team includes more than 20 Disney Parks builders and Walt Disney Imagineers, according to the Mansion Entertainment. It also hired design firms that have been used in the past by other major amusement parks, including Six Flags and Universal Studios.

Once open, developers expect the park to attract two million visitors per year, according to Kristy Adams, a sales and marketing executive with the Mansion Entertainment.

Oklahoma state Sen. Micheal Bergstrom said in a statement through Mansion Entertainment that the park will add at least 4,000 jobs provide a boost to the state's tourism economy.  

"We are thrilled to make Oklahoma the home of American Heartland Theme Park and Resort," American Heartland CEO Larry Wilhite said in a statement. "At the crossroads of the heartland, Oklahoma is an attractive location for a family entertainment destination."    

    In:
  • Travel
  • Oklahoma
  • Economy
  • Disneyland
  • Disney World
Simrin Singh

Simrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

More:News

Recommend

Albertsons gives up on Kroger merger and sues the grocery chain for failing to secure deal

Albertsons is giving up on its merger with Kroger a day after it was rejected in two courts and it i

Olympic gold medal wrestler Gable Steveson signing with Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are signing Olympic gold medalist wrestler Gable Steveson, the team announced Frid

2 killed, 3 injured when stolen SUV crashes during pursuit in Vermont

COLCHESTER, Vt. (AP) — A high-speed police pursuit ended with a stolen sport utility vehicle crashin