The American Heartland Theme Park and Resort

[stlokc]

Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be the "conservative," "Murica" answer to Disney? And theme parks go down the rabbit hole of athletic shoes and movies and news networks and everything else that is cleaving into red and blue. I've been to Branson and this certainly does have that vibe to it, which makes me wonder why it's not just being built in Branson in the first place.

OK. All snark aside. I'm all for economic development. If this happens it will be good for the state from a tax dollar point of view, so you can't help but like that. It should bring travelers to Grand Lake which will help that region, and provide entry-level jobs for a lot of small-town kids. Again, that's good. So bring it on.

I'm more excited about the concert amphitheater for OKC, though.

[Jeepnokc]

Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be the "conservative," "Murica" answer to Disney? And theme parks go down the rabbit hole of athletic shoes and movies and news networks and everything else that is cleaving into red and blue. I've been to Branson and this certainly does have that vibe to it, which makes me wonder why it's not just being built in Branson in the first place.

OK. All snark aside. I'm all for economic development. If this happens it will be good for the state from a tax dollar point of view, so you can't help but like that. It should bring travelers to Grand Lake which will help that region, and provide entry-level jobs for a lot of small-town kids. Again, that's good. So bring it on.

I'm more excited about the concert amphitheater for OKC, though.

Interesting comment considering the Mayor of Vinita is very conservative and pro gun. Was endorsed by Nathan Dahm

[PhiAlpha]

Here's a video by 360GrandLake.com of the EXTREMELY hokey presentation in Vinita earlier today lol. Once you get past the awkward singing, there's a corny presentation of the park concept and more information about the plan.

https://fb.watch/lTV9fkXjKH/

Definitely seems like a Murica Disney World..which is awesome lol.

[Zuplar]

I think the most likely thing to get built is the RV Park of this project. I search for cheap land in my spare time, and a couple months ago I was looking in this part of the state, around Grand Lake specifically and I saw an interesting conversation about the area. It was someone that just moved to the area and asking where they should buy, typical stuff. But in one reply to another reply I saw some mention a big RV park coming to the area, that might later be associated with a bigger project.

This didn't mean much to me at the time, but seeing this project today makes me think someone knew something, when they made that comment. It definitely was a friend is a realtor kind of deal, so quite possible they just got wind of this press release early, but it's also possible there has been more serious movement behind the scenes.

[BimmerSooner]

This is certainly odd. No announcement that I've seen or been able to find from the Governor, Lt. Governor (who handles big economic development matters), the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, etc. No mention on their social media pages either. Did they even know? For a project of this magnitude, I would expect major announcements from them.

[Anonymous.]

It looks like only Vinita, OK knew about this deal. They lost the McDonalds over the interstate, but got a 2 billion dollar theme park.

[fortpatches]

Here's a video by 360GrandLake.com of the EXTREMELY hokey presentation in Vinita earlier today lol. Once you get past the awkward singing, there's a corny presentation of the park concept and more information about the plan.

https://fb.watch/lTV9fkXjKH/

Definitely seems like a Murica Disney World..which is awesome lol.

"We have spirituality as our incentive... "
"As you heard, he is a Patriot, a state's man. They are a faith-based company. They are patriotic."

"I can promise you one thing, you do not have to worry about what type of... element .. will be brought in here"


Yea, this does not sound like a place that would be welcoming of me and my family - so if it gets built, we will probably not be going for a while until other people can figure out how welcoming it would be.

[PhiAlpha]

"We have spirituality as our incentive... "
"As you heard, he is a Patriot, a state's man. They are a faith-based company. They are patriotic."

"I can promise you one thing, you do not have to worry about what type of... element .. will be brought in here"


Yea, this does not sound like a place that would be welcoming of me and my family - so if it gets built, we will probably not be going for a while until other people can figure out how welcoming it would be.

Thank you for making that very necessary announcement to the group LOL.

[Plutonic Panda]

The RV Park for this thing may be built. Eventually.

That still looks like a pretty nice RV park.

Regardless, and I say this from a biased POV being from the 405, I feel like this will happen. And I’m happy for you guys. A theme park in this area would be a hit just for regional crowd. Brandon is its own thing entirely. I don’t think Silver Dollar City is the only reason people go to Branson.

[PhiAlpha]

It looks like only Vinita, OK knew about this deal. They lost the McDonalds over the interstate, but got a 2 billion dollar theme park.

By lost do you mean they renovated it, including the McDonalds, and added additional restaurants?

The McDonalds is still there and the travel plaza is about 1000x nicer than it was a few years ago.

[BimmerSooner]

"We have spirituality as our incentive... "
"As you heard, he is a Patriot, a state's man. They are a faith-based company. They are patriotic."

"I can promise you one thing, you do not have to worry about what type of... element .. will be brought in here"


Yea, this does not sound like a place that would be welcoming of me and my family - so if it gets built, we will probably not be going for a while until other people can figure out how welcoming it would be.

They actually said that? Amazing. Or maybe not so amazing.

[PoliSciGuy]

"We have spirituality as our incentive... "
"As you heard, he is a Patriot, a state's man. They are a faith-based company. They are patriotic."

"I can promise you one thing, you do not have to worry about what type of... element .. will be brought in here"


Yea, this does not sound like a place that would be welcoming of me and my family - so if it gets built, we will probably not be going for a while until other people can figure out how welcoming it would be.

Gooood grief, the amount of dog whistles in that presentation....yikes. This is looking more and more like a monument to red state stereotypes.

[GoGators]

The presentation said they estimated that the development would bring 4.9 million people per year to Northeast Oklahoma and 2 million of those would be from out of state. Does that mean they are expecting 2.9 million Oklahomans to visit the park every single year? That's over 70% of the total population. Am I misunderstanding what they are saying?

[LocoAko]

Thank you for making that very necessary announcement to the group LOL.

Is it not relevant that given the well-worn coded language and dog whistling going on in their announcement that many people may not feel welcomed there by even the park ownership itself, nevermind the other visitors? If this ends up being an overt aspect of the park—and given some of the people endorsing it it seems likely to be—it will do nothing to help Oklahoma's image on the national stage.

[PhiAlpha]

Gooood grief, the amount of dog whistles in that presentation....yikes. This is looking more and more like a monument to red state stereotypes.

Sounds a lot like politicians trying to minimize opposition to a project in a place in which a good percentage of the population is conservative and over the age of 50.

SHOCKING LOL.

[Colbafone]

Well that's gross. Please tell me they didn't ACTUALLY say that?



Edit - ope, my quote didn't work. This is in regards to the quote of


"We have spirituality as our incentive... "
"As you heard, he is a Patriot, a state's man. They are a faith-based company. They are patriotic."

"I can promise you one thing, you do not have to worry about what type of... element .. will be brought in here"

[Anonymous.]

By lost do you mean they renovated it, including the McDonalds, and added additional restaurants?

The McDonalds is still there and the travel plaza is about 1000x nicer than it was a few years ago.

It isn't a landmark anymore. Yes the interior is obviously updated, but these are not the same.

[PoliSciGuy]

Is it not relevant that given the well-worn coded language and dog whistling going on in their announcement that many people may not feel welcomed there by even the park ownership itself, nevermind the other visitors? If this ends up being an overt aspect of the park—and given some of the people endorsing it it seems likely to be—it will do nothing to help Oklahoma's image on the national stage.

Bingo. Probably not a great idea to start off a $2b investment by deterring a significant segment of the population to ever show up.

E: \/\/ Just ignore him, his whole posting style relies on strawmen arguments and namecalling.

[PhiAlpha]

Bingo. Probably not a great idea to start off a $2b investment by deterring a significant segment of the population to ever show up.

E: \/\/ Just ignore him, his whole posting style relies on strawmen arguments and namecalling.

I see someone is still bent out of shape that I called him a fair weather sports fan for being a Thunder fan only when it's convenient.

Could just as easily say it's worth ignoring you since you take the furthest left position on every topic and spam arena threads with your obsessive thoughts on how greedy team owners shouldn't ask the city to build them an arena and unsubstantiated claims about the Thunder's lack of value to OKC. You're nearing troll level.

[fortpatches]

Well that's gross. Please tell me they didn't ACTUALLY say that?



Edit - ope, my quote didn't work. This is in regards to the quote of


"We have spirituality as our incentive... "
"As you heard, he is a Patriot, a state's man. They are a faith-based company. They are patriotic."

"I can promise you one thing, you do not have to worry about what type of... element .. will be brought in here"

The only part of the quote that may be slightly off was the "he is a Patriot," I should have put "[he] is a Patriot." The speaker said the person's name, but I couldn't make it out. The speaker was talking about one of the people on the board / group heading this project based on their gesture to the person.

And yes, there was the pause around the word "element" as well.

[PhiAlpha]

It isn't a landmark anymore. Yes the interior is obviously updated, but these are not the same.

It's not a monument to McDonald's anymore but it is WAY nicer. How exactly did Vinita lose the McDonalds? lol

[Midtowner]

Hate to say it, but I can't imagine this gets built. I see them getting investors, maybe some big subsidies from the state and then paying themselves some dividends, declaring bankrupty and calling it a day. There are many better places to build something like this which actually have the infrastructure to support it. Near any major metropolitan area in Texas, for example.

That said, it's an opportunity missed not building this in Disney, OK.

[Pete]

Could we please get off yet another political debate???

I'm going to start banning people -- this is ridiculous and I'm tired of it.

[shavethewhales]

Go look up the Mansion theatre in Branson. LOL. It's a weirdly positioned theatre in the back part of Branson. They have a "shrine" in front dedicated to the "holy spirit" that looks like a giant retaining wall with a gift shop. They have like six businesses listed on their website related to the Mansion (what a weird branding choice), but most of them have very little to show. Their big animation company is showcasing some sort of unspecified dreamworks-looking movie featuring what seems to be THEIR FOUNDER as a young man and his relationship with his wife. Just a very weird vibe around this company. Feels like a rich old guy throwing his money around in his grey years trying to force a media empire out of nothing. Like he wants to be Walt Disney but he doesn't really have any ideas or charisma.

I'll give them this: the mansion seems to be doing well with their current focus of bringing in christian/bluegrass/country performers and weird special events. It's hard to keep a place like that going, even in Branson, but they've found a niche and they are working it well. If they are looking to exploit that same niche with this park then it's going to get very weird.

[G.Walker]

I just spoke to a co-worker who just moved here from Claremore about this. She stated its a bad idea, because of the location. She stated there is nothing out there, and they will have a hard time getting people to visit the area. She stated if it was closer to Tulsa, it would be better. She stated tourists are going to want to do more than just the park, and will need more lodging, restaurants, entertainment.

Other Disney parks are located in major metro areas, not sure what they are trying to do here. $2B is a big investment for rural area. I think it will be built, but scaled down.