New Plan Could Bring Life Back To Sand Springs' Discoveryland

Discoveryland, the outdoor theater in Sand Springs, withered financially in the extreme summer heat of 2011 and closed shortly after but a new idea could bring it back to life.

Derek Hardin has fond memories of Discoveryland, not just the Musical "Oklahoma," but the chuck-wagon dinner, the pre-show, everything.

"We thought of it as a Tulsa icon, and a landmark and a great treasure that was truly lost when it closed," he said. "The frogs at night, the crickets, and during some summers the cicadas. It brought everything together.”

He said he particularly loved it when some of the actors came out to the gate on horseback to greet the guests as they drove through.

Discoveryland may have closed but there's still a Facebook page. Under hours it says “permanently closed” in red, but despite that, there are still current postings asking about this summer.

People still wish it was open, not the least of them Derek Hardin; so he's set up a GoFundMe website which includes a history of Discoveryland and a statement about what he hopes to do.

He left town for almost 30 years and when he came back he was surprised by what had changed.

"A lot of places I thought would be gone were still here and places I thought would always be here, were gone," Hardin said.

The family who produced the Discoveryland shows said there are no plans to reopen, but the GoFundMe may provide a little hope for fans.