Oklahoma is soon to be the home of a new theme park called American Heartland Theme Park and Resort. Located near scenic Route 66, this choice to create a park to rival Disney’s Magic Kingdom is a wise one.

As the name implies, it is America-themed. The park will feature six sections, each promoting a different region of the U.S. They are called “Great Plains,” “Bayou Bay,” “Big Timber Falls,” “Stony Point Harbor,” “Liberty Village,” and “Electropolis.” The park will walk visitors through American history, but that’s not all it intends to showcase. Gene Bicknell, American Heartland founder and CCO, explained: “There is so much to celebrate about our country: its landscapes, its cultures and most importantly, its people. No matter where you’re from, you’ll feel right at home at American Heartland.” This park will take up 125 acres of the 1,000-acre property and is set to open officially in 2026. The rest of the property will be for other experiences like RV-ing, camping, cabins, etc.

It promises to be a lovely park experience that won’t impoverish families who buy tickets or stay on-site.

Opening up a park in the middle of America is an opportunity that has been missed by companies such as Disney. Disney features two parks in the U.S. — Florida’s Disney World and California’s Disneyland, which are at two opposite sides of the country. These parks have long been held as the gold standard for family-friendly theme-park experiences. Disney, however, has fallen from its pedestal. According to RedState, “The company’s stock has dropped almost 20 percent in the last six months, and in May, its market value plummeted by a cool $16 billion.”

The Patriot Post has reported on the numerous flops of expected Disney blockbuster films, but what is becoming more evident is that its parks are in trouble too. Disneyland is only back to 90% of its pre-pandemic visitor numbers. Disney World is even worse off. The park saw a 10-year low in attendance over the July 4th weekend. Its wait times for rides — calculated by Touring Plans, a company that gathers and measures line waits — had dropped from a 47-minute wait-time average in 2019 to a 27-minute wait time in 2023. That’s great for visitors, but it means there are fewer of them.

The biggest complaint about Disney’s parks is the sheer expense. The average family can’t afford to take their kids there without causing significant financial hardship. A one-day ticket to a single theme park costs $109 per ticket. However, when you actually click on the promised $109, that only applies to certain times of year. If you want to go to Disney World tomorrow, a ticket actually costs $134. Multiply that by three or four for a family and you’re quickly approaching $500+ . That’s only for a single day’s admission to one park, not counting food, lodging, parking, or souvenirs. Visit more than one park over multiple days and you’re quickly looking at a bill in the thousands of dollars.

The steep price complaint is valid.

However, it seems fairly obvious at this point that Disney is getting Bud Lighted. Disney has declared its allegiance to all things woke and destructive, and it’s not stopping anytime soon.

American Heartland Theme Park and Resort is representative of a larger movement among non-woke Americans to create a parallel economy. Conservatives and independents (and even some classic liberals) are tired of giving their money to companies like Disney, Target, and Anheuser-Busch that throw their godless, America-hating ideology in our faces. For a larger, more comprehensive list of alternative companies that don’t hate your values, check out PublicSq.

The hope is that American Heartland lives up to its hype and provides that family-friendly alternative for conscientious parents who can’t and won’t give places like Disney their business.