Oklahoma is Getting a $2Billion Theme Park Similar to Disney World

If I were to tell you that Oklahoma was getting a 'Disney World' type of theme park, what would you think the main attraction would be?

Step into the Sooner State Sauna for that brutally humid summer heat experience!

All joking aside, it was just announced that Oklahoma is actually getting a new theme park and organizers insist it's going to be on the same level as Cali's Disneyland and Florida's Magic Kingdom.

Where in Oklahoma are they building it?

While you might assume it was going up in our biggest population hub of OKC, it's quite the opposite. American Heartland is breaking ground way up in Northeast Oklahoma, in the tiny town of Vinita along Route 66.

Is Disney attached to it?

No. It's not a Disney property, but the team of people designing and planning it use to work as Disney Imagineers. As you look around their website, it looks like the $2 Billion investment is going to be pretty incredible.

They're planning on opening six unique areas of the park with all different themes. Great Plains, Bayou Bay, Big Timber Falls, Stony Point Harbor, Liberty Village and Electropolis.

How big will it be?

The theme park and rides will make up about 125 acres of the 1000 total American Heartland property.

The rest will be hotels, restaurants, television studios, RV campsites, parking, etc...

When does it open?

Tentatively, 2026 is the earliest we'll get to experience American Heartland in person. That's according to this Facebook post.

Will this threaten Branson?

Eh, it's hard to say. American Heartland Theme Park is part of the Mansion Entertainment Group. Manson runs a large portion of Branson's attractions, but it's still like comparing apples and oranges.

While Branson is very family-friendly, it attracts a very specific demographic of people... Old, white, bible thumpers. American Heartland seems to be aimed at attracting a much more broad and younger audience.