VINITA, Okla. — Despite flood plain issues and a budget coming in higher than expected, executives with the Mansion Entertainment Group say the American Heartland Theme Park and Three Ponies RV Park and Campground are still on schedule.
2 News reportedback in July about the Vinita theme park, which staff say will rival Disneyland.
Melissa Peace of Vinita says she's cautiously optimistic.
"This is such a small town," Peace said. "It would change so many things."
Peace isn't alone. 2 News has heard similar thoughts for months. People want it but aren't sure if it's feasible.
The April Vinita City Council meeting answered some of those delay questions when Mayor Josh Lee invited representatives from Mansion Entertainment Group -the project developers- to provide an update.
Executive Producer of Project Development Steve Hedrick said some people may have noticed the RV park is "lagging a little behind."
Hedrick blamed himself when he told city councilors that he asked designers to compress the RV park, comprising of 750 RV spaces and 300 cabins. He said some RV spaces were designed too long.
Hedrick said the land that the Three Ponies RV Park and Campground will sit on is also on a floodplain, roughly 20 acres. He said "nothing in government moves quickly" and they're going to have to re-survey part of the land.
"It gives us some extra time to work with FEMA and get that flood plain re-surfaced etc, and in front of the government. That all could be expansionary," Hedrick said.
The same is true with the hotel.
Hedrick says they found some "efficiencies" with the 300-room hotel they plan to build. Now they've decided to construct a 400-room hotel.
"We're confident with the team we have. If we get rolling, we can still produce the park in time," Kristy Adams, the Senior Executive VP of Sales and Marketing.
Mansion Entertainment Group staff say they still plan to have the amusement and RV park constructed by 2026. The only difference from when 2 News reported it last - it'll be the latter part of 2026.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
