PARK UP
Huge $2billion theme park is being built in the US – and it’s as big as Disneyland
A HUGE new theme park is being built in the US - and it will be as big as Disneyland.
The $2billion American Heartland Theme Park will open off Route 66 in northeast Oklahoma in 2026.
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Across the site's total 1,000 acres will be six America-themed lands - Great Plains, Bayou Bay, Big Timber Falls, Stony Point Harbor, Liberty Village, and Electropolis.
The core 125-acre theme park will have rides and rollercoasters as well as live shows and restaurants.
The 320-acre Three Ponies RV Park & Campground will have 750 RV spaces and 300 cabins.
Also on-site will be a 300-room hotel and an indoor water park.
It will be a similar size to Disneyland, or Magic Kingdom at Disney World, and there are even 20 former builders from the Disney parks working on it.
The first phase will open in spring 2025 with cabins and RV parks, followed by the theme park and resort in 2026.
It hopes to attract as many as 4.9million visitors a year.
An official opening date and ticket prices are yet to be revealed.
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American Heartland Founder Gene Bicknell said: "Families will find thrilling rides and heartwarming shows as they discover Great Plains, Bayou Bay, BigTimber Falls, Stony Point Harbor, Liberty Village and Electropolis.
"American Heartland will be a place families can come together to create lasting memories, experience joy, laughter, imagination and wonder.
"There is so much to celebrate about our country: its landscapes, its cultures and most importantly, its people."
Kristy Adams, senior executive vice president of sales and marketing for Mansion Entertainment Group, added that the "scale and quality of the development will be unlike anything else in the region".
There is another big theme park opening in America.
The new Mattel Adventure Park is to open in Glendale in 2024.
Inside the theme park will be rides and attractions based on many of Mattel's famous toys.
This includes a Hot Wheels go kart and two Hot Wheels rollercoasters, a Thomas and Friends-themed ride and Barbie fans can enjoy a ride on a flying theater, before enjoying a pink drink on the rooftop of the Barbie Beach House.
A UK theme park is challenging Disney with huge new waterpark featuring infinity pools, beach and water slides.
And Europe's first standalone Peppa Pig theme park is opening next year, after the success of the Peppa Pig Theme Park in Orlando.
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