US$2.5bn ‘Disney-like’ theme-park project delayed

Render of the American Hearland Theme Park entrance. (Image courtesy Mansion Entertainment Group)

The recreation facility, which is called American Heartland Theme Park and Resort, is designed across 1,000 acres near Vinita, Oklahoma, off historic motorway Route 66. Within the footprint will be a 125-acre theme park (including Americana-themed rides, games, and attractions), lodging facilities, camping spaces and more.

One of the developers, Steve Hedrick, which Tulsa World said was a former Disney employee, told the news outlet that permitting with the US Army Corps of Engineers was pushing back the timeline.

Rollercoaster ride: Contractors rush to cash in on theme park construction spree Film company Universal is promising to invest billions of pounds building a new theme park in the UK bringing thousands of construction jobs.

At present, construction sites remain mostly untouched, with only some preliminary fencing and gravel laid for the recreational-vehicle (RV) and camping park, which will be the first stage of the build. The camping facility is expected to be able to house 750 RVs and 300 cabins. Once the RV park is complete, developers estimate the theme park will take three years to construct.

Back in May, a lien (a right to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged) valued at more than $5 million was filed against the developers by Canada-based FORREC, claiming it did not receive payment for design work and planning done for American Heartland.

A second lien, in an untold amount, was filed later that month by Missouri-based Crossland Construction. No additional legal action on these claims has yet to take place.

Render of aerial view of American Heartland Theme Park in Oklahoma, US. (Image courtesy Mansion Entertainment Group)

The American Heartland Theme Park is an affiliate of Missouri, US-based Mansion Entertainment Group, which recently announced an expansion worth about half $1 billion to its Branson, Missouri, theme park: Silver Dollar City.