Current:Home > FinanceNew $2 billion Oklahoma theme park announced, and it's not part of the Magic Kingdom -ChatGPT
New $2 billion Oklahoma theme park announced, and it's not part of the Magic Kingdom
View
Date:2025-04-15 06:44:21
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.
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 is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Without Messi, Inter Miami takes on Sporting Kansas City in crucial MLS game: How to watch
- What's causing massive seabird die-offs? Warming oceans part of ecosystem challenges
- Residents and authorities in Somalia say airstrike caused several casualties including children
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Hundreds of Pride activists march in Serbia despite hate messages sent by far-right officials
- Emotions will run high for Virginia as the Cavaliers honor slain teammate ahead of 1st home game
- Greece hopes for investment boost after key credit rating upgrade
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Maldivians vote for president in a virtual geopolitical race between India and China
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- IRS targets 1,600 millionaires who owe at least $250,000
- IRS targets 1,600 millionaires who owe at least $250,000
- Phoenix is on the cusp of a new heat record after a 53rd day reaching at least 110 degrees this year
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Coco Gauff plays Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open women’s final
- 'Not one child should be unaccounted for:' After Maui wildfires, school enrollment suffers
- Vegas hotel operations manager accused of stealing $773K through bogus refund accounts
Recommendation
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
Sharon Osbourne calls Ashton Kutcher rudest celebrity she's met: 'Dastardly little thing'
Biden, Modi and EU to announce rail and shipping project linking India to Middle East and Europe
The Secret to Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne's 40-Year Marriage Revealed
Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
Across the Northern Hemisphere, now’s the time to catch a new comet before it vanishes for 400 years
Separatist parliament in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region elects new president
Maui mayor dismisses criticism of fire response, touts community's solidarity