A massive new theme park called American Heartland was recently announced for northeast Oklahoma. With a price tag of $2 billion and proposals for multiple themed lands, hotels, an RV park, and more, it aims to be a Disney-scale attraction in America’s heartland. But there’s virtually no chance this park ever gets built as planned.
The developers have enlisted over 20 former Disney Imagineers to design the park’s rides and attractions. Planned lands include Main Street USA, Route 66, Heartland Forest, Discovery River, and more aimed at celebrating America.
But theme park analysts and observers have quickly shot down the idea that American Heartland will become a reality. As one Twitter user @jacksonw99 put it:
“As someone who knows a lot about Oklahoma, and quite a bit about theme parks, there is zero chance of this ever coming to fruition. Not at this scale at least.”
There are a few glaring issues that make American Heartland’s grand vision seem unrealistic. For one, Oklahoma lies in the tornado alley region and has weather extremes that would make year-round operation difficult. The location also lacks proximity to major population centers.
To add to the load, the park is planned without major intellectual property or brand power. Unlike Disney and Universal resorts, there appears to be no key franchises or characters involved to draw substantial crowds.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the sheer scale and budget proposed. Even major regional parks like Knott’s Berry Farm or Six Flags struggle to match the attendance and revenue of Disney and Universal. So a multi-billion dollar investment in Oklahoma seems highly unlikely to pay off.
While the concept art is eye-catching, American Heartland Theme Park appears destined to never amount to more than dreams and drawings. The developers may salvage some scaled-back version of the project. But don’t expect to see this Middle America Disneyland brought to life anytime soon.
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