What’s going on with Oklahoma’s answer to Disney?

A $2.5 billion theme park in Oklahoma designed to rival Disney has stalled after a year of no construction progress.

When announced in 2023, the American Heartland Theme Park and Resort, which was set to occupy a 1,000-acre plot in northeast Oklahoma, had an opening date scheduled for 2026. With a $2.5 billion price tag, the park was planned to be the size of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida.

Despite breaking ground on the development last year, the park has not seen progress since, and the opening date has been pushed back by at least three years, according to construction officials.

The park’s design team, which includes former Disney Parks builders and “Imagineers,” told local media that several key permissions were needed before construction could continue.

“We’ll still have to wait a while for Corps of Engineer approvals,” Steve Hedrick, the executive producer, told Tulsa World in October.

“We still have some inspections that they need to do. We did some land swaps for some wetlands,” he continued. “So all of that is yet to be done, but as soon as that’s done—at least on a construction end—we’ll be ready to go. We’re within weeks of getting ready.”

Another setback hit the development when Oklahoma state legislators denied a $35 million grant that would have provided water and waste infrastructure to the site.

Newsweek contacted the office of Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt for comment on the development.

According to developer Mansion Entertainment Group, the park—with a planned camping area of 750 RV spaces and 300 cabins—would be the largest camping ground in the central U.S. once completed.

However, several stakeholders in the park have said the project owed them money. In May, the Canadian design firm Forrec filed a lien in an Oklahoma court against Mansion Entertainment, alleging the developers owed it more than $5 million in unpaid invoices.

OGB Holdings, which owns the property and premises of the theme park and camping ground, also alleged the project owed it more than $300,000.

While the project was originally given a $2 billion budget, costs increased to $2.5 billion. In May, Kristy Adams, Mansion’s senior executive vice president of marketing, told NonDoc Media that the company was “working on a new timetable.”

“We’re confident with the team that we have, if we get rolling, that we can still produce the park in time,” Adams said. “So, and I know that’s an optimistic approach, but we do have a world-class team together.”

She added, “We always said we were going to open in 2026, so probably later in 2026, but yeah, we haven’t announced any delays.”

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