OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark

[Jake]

A beautiful, touching, world-class museum doesn't need a casino next to it. Neither does a waterpark resort geared towards families.

[TheHorseman]

Go to any Oklahoma casino in the middle of a weekday afternoon.

You will see hundreds of broken-down, chain-smoking addicts in a scene that is the polar opposite of the partying, everybody wins commercials that run endlessly.


Last time I was in Vegas, I was up early and looking for a place to have breakfast. Of course, you have to go through casinos to get to anything in that town. Let me tell you, there is nothing sadder than legions of zombie-like people hunched over machines at 7 AM in the morning.

Agreed. Not long ago a visit to San Francisco I wandered into the Tenderloin district not knowing what I was walking into. So sad. Drug induced/mentally ill Ppl laying on the ground/sidewalk clearly in need of medical care but yeah, drugs are ok. Sad

[Rover]

Agreed. Not long ago a visit to San Francisco I wandered into the Tenderloin district not knowing what I was walking into. So sad. Drug induced/mentally ill Ppl laying on the ground/sidewalk clearly in need of medical care but yeah, drugs are ok. Sad

Nice deflection. smh. BTW, I don’t think anyone is suggesting to add drug usage to OKANA. There are already places in OKC where it is prevalent, as there are in almost every city across the US.

The sadness of what Pete and many on here observe about casinos and their addicts is the overwhelming support and encouragement of the activity by our current population. Here we are on this site advocating for more, not more education and support for those that are wasting away there and eroding their security.

[jn1780]

You want to turn a very exciting place in something depressing; add a casino !

I am not talking about gambling but the people and the state of mind who come with a casino. I have seen the crowds in casinos all over the state. Nice or not facilities, it smells like life had been sucked out of them.

PS: I do not talk about everybody but I feel the greater part of people “playing” in casino in OK, should not be there and it shows on there face.

This thread wouldn't have as much activity if this project was just another casino. They wouldn't have bothered with a water park and all the other amenities. And truthfully I doubt they would have even if they could. Building a casino next door to a Native American museum reinforces that stereotype. The same stereotype that causes a some people to think this project has a casino.

[aDark]

Why are we talking about gambling? This thread, and this build, has nothing to do with gambling. The Chickasaws made it clear that's not their intent, and there's been zilch discussion about the tribe trying to initiate the complex procedure necessary to permit gambling here.

Motion to move on.

[Anonymous.]

Yea I accidentally moved the conversation toward there (for the 10th time in this thread).

There are several Google reviews that mention flying to Vegas and back for the price of booking a stay here at Okana. Super strange, but on-par for uninformed social media commenters.

[Laramie]

The last time I was in Vegas I saw a woman standing at the bus stop crying, (My friend and I were on a walking tour of Sin City) I asked the lady next to her, what happened and if we
could help. She said her friend does this every pay day--her husband takes the money needed to maintain the household and his wife gambles the rest.

It's difficult for me as a tourist to distinguish the tourists from the LV locals. What Pete says is true--many of the resident population looks like zombies (those I met).

Although I warmed up to gaming and gambling some years ago; God forbid, you don't want OKANA to become a gambling establishment. I've seen the destruction and degradation
gambling has inflicted upon those infested with a gambling addiction.

[OkieBerto]

A couple of years back I was working with a client and they run a few Casino's. I asked if it ever depressed them watching these people gamble their money away. One of them told me yes, but every now and then there is a story that makes them happy.

He told me about a woman that he didn't recognize as a regular and she seemed worried and looked on the edge of tears. Hours later he saw her again and she was at the cashier asking how she could get her winnings now. She hit a jackpot and wanted the full amount, they didn't have it on hand in cash so they gave her a little bit of it and the rest would come later. She had no money in her bank account and couldn't even afford gas to get home. She had driven a long way just to try and make some money knowing she didn't have enough to get back. Still depressing, but she was able to get home and probably pay off some debts at least.

[April in the Plaza]

Why are we talking about gambling? This thread, and this build, has nothing to do with gambling. The Chickasaws made it clear that's not their intent, and there's been zilch discussion about the tribe trying to initiate the complex procedure necessary to permit gambling here.

Motion to move on.

The chat appreciates the effort counselor, but the motion is hereby denied.

[citywokchinesefood]

The chat appreciates the effort counselor, but the motion is hereby denied.

Your Honor, while my esteemed colleague’s motion to move on has been denied, I’d like to introduce a new motion: Double or nothing.

[HOT ROD]

dp

[HOT ROD]

Agreed. Not long ago a visit to San Francisco I wandered into the Tenderloin district not knowing what I was walking into. So sad. Drug induced/mentally ill Ppl laying on the ground/sidewalk clearly in need of medical care but yeah, drugs are ok. Sad

Mission district is even worse, Fisherman's Wharf is headed that way too. .. S(F)ad.

[Plutonic Panda]

Mission district is even worse, Fisherman's Wharf is headed that way too. .. S(F)ad.

Yeah, mission is pretty bad, but I have yet to see anything nearly as bad as Skid Row. I’m very familiar with Skid Row and MacArthur Park. It’s crazy over there.

[OkieBerto]

Stephen Tyler, not the Singer, but the Technical Director at VOX Audio Visual posted recently about the large screen at Okana. He stated that the volume control can go lower or higher based on the wind speed. This way on a windy day you will still be able to hear what is playing.

Moving the topic back to the Resort!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFf6E...RlODBiNWFlZA==

[aDark]

I saw some social media posts that OKANA had a soft opening this weekend. The short videos I watched were quite impressive. I think the arcade aspect of the facility will be effective in grabbing kids' attention and supplementing the amazing indoor water park aspect of the experience. It looks really nice. Excited to check it out once it's fully opened!

[Zuplar]

I was watching the Oklahoma Wildcatters PBR team this weekend on TV and noticed Okana is one of their main sponsors. That's going to be great advertisement for them I bet!

[_Kyle]

"2 Star Hotel"?? What's with all this negative press around this place on Google? This, and the negative reviews.. It's like they're trying to sabotage the reputation of a place that's not even open yet...

[Jake]

My favorite review:

“Well this place is very nice. But..This is not New York, Illinois, Florida…etc… this is Oklahoma. For $345 a night I can fly round trip to Vegas and have the most amazing time ever. Now listen okc residents do not make enough money to enjoy this resort. If you don’t lower your prices you will be closed quicker than you opened. Just saying food for thought”

[pw405]

I was at the sneak preview event last weekend. I didn't try the waterpark, but my friend's wife with 3 kids spent ~8 hours swimming and playing all day in it made the claim "The indoor waterpark is better than Great Wolf in Grapevine". I'll take their word for it, as I have no kids, and... come to think of it, have never been to an indoor water park.

The scale of the place is hard to comprehend until you're walking around on the ground. I wish I would have snapped a few more pictures!

I guess the pool that is filled here will be for the obstacle course. The large/main pool was not yet filled. Pretty impressive facility, to say the least!

[Bellaboo]

I noticed in the TV adds that the pedestrian bridge crossing the river has had the horizontal beams placed.

[Rover]

My favorite review:

“Well this place is very nice. But..This is not New York, Illinois, Florida…etc… this is Oklahoma. For $345 a night I can fly round trip to Vegas and have the most amazing time ever. Now listen okc residents do not make enough money to enjoy this resort. If you don’t lower your prices you will be closed quicker than you opened. Just saying food for thought”

People wanting their kids to hang out on the strip vs a family oriented aquatic resort says more about the parent than the facilities. Apples to rotten eggs comparison. And, I don't think OKANA is looking to be a low cost baby sitter facility. It is a resort. Yes, OKC can have nice things that are popular without them having to be cheap. We are continuing to evolve and catch up.

[PhiAlpha]

My favorite review:

“Well this place is very nice. But..This is not New York, Illinois, Florida…etc… this is Oklahoma. For $345 a night I can fly round trip to Vegas and have the most amazing time ever. Now listen okc residents do not make enough money to enjoy this resort. If you don’t lower your prices you will be closed quicker than you opened. Just saying food for thought”

LOL. If you ever start believing that society overall is intelligent, you can always rely on the internet to bring you back to reality. Lots of high functioning stupid people out there.

[gaeddert2]

My OKANA Construction Update

[scottk]

I finally got to see a few soft opening videos of Okana on social media, and finally got to see the inside. WOW! What a great looking place.

I think this place will do very well for families, and definitely take away business from places like Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine or Kansas City. The new factor, plus it seems like a larger indoor and outdoor waterpark compared to GWL. I could easily see families from Tulsa, Wichita, NW Arkansas stopping in OKC, instead of driving down to Dallas or up to KC.

Price point wise, it's on par with its direct competition and when you consider that water park passes are included with the room, suddenly a family of four staying there with weekend passes isn't that too far of a stretch of what you would pay for a stay at the Hilton Garden Inn on Meridian and Hurricane Harbor passes for four.

[Pryor Tiger]

Our family went to the FAM Museum over the weekend - found it to be a very well done museum that holds nothing back in terms of how badly our First Americans were treated by immigrants. That said, we drove over to OKANA and they let us walk around including the water park and it changed my entire perception of OKANA. I've been critical of the prices listed so far and the high resort fees, while I do believe better prices and deals will come. OKANA is WAY nicer than GWL. The 2nd floor has several full service restaurants that will be worth a visit without a stay, a great coffee shop/bakery, a HUGE candy store, and a HUGE arcade. The indoor waterpark I believe is marginally better/larger than GWL Grapevine and obviously way newer. There may be a few more slides, but the highlight is certainly the water roller coaster - the first one I've personally seen. The wave pool was smallish but looked fun, had a big screen that I'm sure they will play music videos or sports on. The lazy river, which is always my favorite area, winds around in a cave like setting and seemed to be pretty long. Also again lots of food/bev/alcohol options in the indoor waterpark.

From what we could see - the outdoor lagoon is very large and will be a ton of fun to swim in. There are a couple outdoor water slides that looked nice, and the pool was there ready for the Wibit course. I liked that there is a huge screen at the lagoon so again could see that being really cool for swim up movies, sports, etc. There is a large BBQ restaurant right next to the lagoon, and space for several more retail/f&b options to go in. There was a spa there as well.

All the indoor/outdoor pool private cabanas/suites have TV's mounted which again thought that was nice. The hotel and staff itself seem to be on point - the entry/valet/bus area is grand with several lanes for different reasons.

I can see spending $300+ for a night - 2 full days enjoying the waterparks.. It won't be in everyone's budget but I feel like we will see some weekday specials pop up here and there. For our family, we will certainly wait to stay until this Summer so we can enjoy both inside and outside!