What if the park fails? What if it doesn't get off the ground?
I have to stop myself. That kind of thinking doesn't seem to support the positive vision that the founder and executives have for the American Heartland Theme Park in Vinita, Oklahoma. And it is a positive vision.
They've said that they are confident in their projections and expectations. They've said the park is already fully funded. They've said the park will open in the fall of 2026. All very ambitious.
But what if it happens? People can say that it's a bad idea, plopping a Disney-competing theme park "in the middle of nowhere". First of all, that's just offensive to the people who live in this region. I realize we live in flyover country, but that does not mean that this is nowhere.
Then again, that just makes me want American Heartland to succeed. If Disney can build Disneyland in an orange grove and Disney World on a nasty swamp, why can't these folks make something out of a virtually level piece of cleared farmland in northeast Oklahoma.
What if it does work? What if it is successful? The more people scoff, the more I can imagine the powers behind American Heartland feeling satisfied. Who doesn't love an underdog story!
And the more I would love to be a part of the team. Almost 40 years ago, I envisioned myself being a part of a theme park. Working at a place called The Wilds, I was poised to be a part of a theme park from the ground floor. I figured that I would write scripts for attractions and shows, that I would train employees, that I would control adherence to the theme. Had that endeavor been successful and not have fallen victim to bank failures in the 1980s, I might be a CEO or president there, today.
So why not dream a little more? I'd love to be a part of the development of such an endeavor. What if it could happen?