"American Heartland" Park and Resort in Oklahoma, aiming for 2026 open

[Fiender]

American Heartland Announces $2 Billion Theme Park and Resort Development in Northeast Oklahoma

Today Oklahoma state and local officials joined American Heartland leadership to announce American Heartland Theme Park and Resort, a more than $2 bil

www.businesswire.com

Hoo boy, I can't wait to see how well this park competes with Silver Dollar City. They expect to attract 4.9 million guest a year.
Also, anyone else have trouble telling some of these park concept arts apart?

 

[CanobieFan]

Lmfao.

Ok, ima edit this to add some substance. Just let it be known, pre-covid!!! Parks like SeaWorld Orlando, Knott's Berry farm, Busch Gardens Tampa, Canada's Wonderland, Cedar Point, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Kings island, Hersheypark, and Six Flags Great Adventure..... all failed to even hit 4.9 million. Not to mention the entire .....state .....population..... of Oklahoma is only 3.9m! and where exactly did they get $2 billion dollars!

 

[roomraider]

While I know it's just concept art I do appreciate the log flume that smashes straight into a corner after the drop and the swing launch that repeatedly slams into walls.

Although come to think of it that 2nd one is quite a good allegory for how i view America in general these days.

 

[Fiender]

Lmfao.

Ok, ima edit this to add some substance. Just let it be known, pre-covid!!! Parks like SeaWorld Orlando, Knott's Berry farm, Busch Gardens Tampa, Canada's Wonderland, Cedar Point, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Kings island, Hersheypark, and Six Flags Great Adventure..... all failed to even hit 4.9 million. Not to mention the entire .....state .....population..... of Oklahoma is only 3.9m! and where exactly did they get $2 billion dollars!

Also, I'm no expert, but wouldn't a park like this cost far, far less than $2B? Adjusted for inflation, Hard Rock was $325M and this doesn't look that much more ambitious, even with the hotel and water park.

I've seen "investment scheme" get mentioned on the /rcoaster reddit thread

 

[lom.lom.lom]

This looks like some bozos from Branson seeing how successful Silver Dollar City is and thinking "If I had a billion dollars I could do that". Seems like the definition of a pipe dream.

 

[Joelpagett]

Smells like embezzlement.

I'm all for it but 5 million visitors a year is a tall order!

 

[rideguy70]

I'm sure this will open right after Cota land and that Pole Coaster in Orlando opens

 

[Fiender]

Cotaland at least is near an already-busy attraction, and there's actual coaster track on site. The owners also have money, where they can afford to wait rather than force a half-assed open.

 

[rideguy70]

I'm still not holding my breath, but hey... if it does finally open, that'll be great.

Lost Island has a similar disadvantage, location-wise, but had a much smaller budget... and is still struggling with attendance. Which is a pity, because it's a great little park. I was just there less than two weeks ago, and this pic was all the cars in the parking lot by early afternoon.

 

[Fiender]

I hear Lost Island's owners make such dividends off the water park that they could sustain the dry park for quite a while, and they even have additional rides in mind. Back on topic, I was just thinking about Lost Island's budget vs American Heartland's, and vs Hard Rock Park's.

-Lost Island cost "just south of" $100M to build.
-Hard Rock Park, adjusted, would cost about $325M today. Looking at pictures of that park, it seems comparable in scope to the park in AH's concept art.

So, in what fantasy land does AH cost $2B??? Even with the hotel and the freakin' RV park, those numbers just don't add up to me. And sure, with their velocicoaster and thunderhead clones, and their mighty log flume, they expect to draw more people than Cedar Point? It's like they chose a location that is on the fringes of a bunch of city zones, hoping to attract crowds from all of them, when in reality, they'll more likely capture the part where all those zones intersect, like the middle of a venn diagram.

 

[Sticky_T_Wicky]

Also, I'm no expert, but wouldn't a park like this cost far, far less than $2B? Adjusted for inflation, Hard Rock was $325M and this doesn't look that much more ambitious, even with the hotel and water park.

I've seen "investment scheme" get mentioned on the /rcoaster reddit thread

The total fixed assets of Cedar Fair are ~$3.8 billion at cost and that's across a dozen or so parks not mention any additional water parks. Lost Island was $100 million to build. So yeah, $2 billion seems absurd even acknowledging that it is to be way more than an amusement park.

That said, I hope it works out! More amusement/theme parks near me is never bad!

 

[Niles]

 

[Antinos]

Some more talking points...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1681701955326836738

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1681832613579829255

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1682031957096665088

So maybe they have a small amount of the funding needed for the project but they also don't have a good track record on past projects and certain individuals' backgrounds. Hello London Resort: United States edition?

 

[Bpolson75]

CBS news says only 2 million a year... Which still seems high.

Cbsnews Article.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Two months later and some talkings points from the mayor;

He says work on theme park will likely begin in the spring, and the city is also helping other developers expedite the permitting process to build the necessary homes, restaurants, hotels and other infrastructure to support the town’s surge in population.

“This is kind of one of those, if you build it, they will come things,” Lee said.

“If this is going to be a hoax, it’ll be the most elaborate hoax in the history of hoaxes”

• They've picked up Crossland Construction to helm construction, they held a job fair today at the local church and are finalizing plans. Company is legit and fairly well regarded in the area.
• First Phase of the project will be the RV Park/Campground, by far the most realistic park of this development. There was also no mention of the attached American Heartlands project, despite this being a cornerstone of it. Draw whatever conclusions you will.
• Groundbreaking is hoped to be before American Thanksgiving in November.

Groundbreaking on phase one of Vinita theme park development imminent; construction jobs already being filled

It’s been about two months since FOX23 broke the news about a developer’s plans to build a Disneyland-sized theme park in the small town of Vinita.

www.fox23.com

 

[LightningColossus46]

I'm not sure which is less likely...Montezooma and Xcelerator re-opening, American Heartland being built, Disney's Blue sky projects, Magic Mountains giga, Knott's Hyper, or Cedar Fair working with Intamin...

 

[Lori Marie Loud]

Montezooma and Xcelerator re-opening

There is very good evidence that an Xcelerator reopening is imminent. After that, rumor is they'll try to get Monty sorted.

 

[Youngster Joey]

I'm not sure which is less likely...Montezooma and Xcelerator re-opening, American Heartland being built, Disney's Blue sky projects, Magic Mountains giga, Knott's Hyper, or Cedar Fair working with Intamin...

CF working with Intamin

 

[ECG]

The Vinita city council voted 7-1 to approve plans to build both the theme park and the RV park and campground. A groundbreaking ceremony will take place Oct. 30 for the first phase of the project, which involves the construction of the Three Ponies RV Park and Campground.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

And in the latest... they have tapped Pepsico as their exclusive provider of soft drinks;
https://www.businesswire.com/news/h...and-Resort-Announces-Partnership-With-Pepsico

Ayo who's building your roller coasters?