She is a self-described Barbie girl.

Angelina Gear, the new executive director for Visit Kankakee County, the region’s tourism organization, recalled a Christmas when she received what was then a life-sized Barbie.

The about 3-foot-tall Barbie was, at that time, the ultimate gift.

“I remember opening the package on Christmas and just being in another world,” she said. “I’m a Barbie girl in a Barbie world.”

If all falls into place as presented, Barbie world could become much more than part of a young girl’s imagination. Barbie and the company that produces one of the most iconic toys in history may be doing business right in Gear’s backyard.

As leadership in and around Kankakee County begins to digest the news of a high-profile, worldwide brand – Mattel Inc. – joining the region’s business community, imaginations tend to run wild.

The potential for the planned 2-acre indoor water park announced more than a year ago by Bradley leadership already had people thinking of what this could mean.

With a brand such as Mattel backing this endeavor, the thought process has only expanded.

“This is amazing. I was ecstatic,” Gear said. “I was hoping something like this would happen. This shows this region is shining. Bradley is doing a lot of great things, and it’s good for the entire area.”

The newly renovated Bradley Village Board room was filled with smiles.

It should be all smiles.

The U.S. theme park industry is booming, according to numerous publications and studies, with more than 1,200 parks and significant revenue driven by giants such as Disney and Universal.

The U.S. amusement park market generated about $28.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit about $37 billion by 2030, reports show.

Between the years 2013 and 2023, 383 sites were added.

One of the industry’s playmakers on hand for the unveiling of Mattel’s connection with the now $90 million water park set for a 40-acre cornfield immediately southeast of the line of hotels along Ken Hayes Drive was Justin Brown.

Brown is the executive vice president of development for Grand Prairie, Texas-based American Resort Management. The company has been walking step for step with Bradley on this project.

The village development, at least to this point, has drawn many design ideas from the Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark in Grand Prairie.

Regional destination

With a park of this potential, Brown said, there is no question that the radius of draw for the park expands. The initial radius included populations of four to six hours away. Brown said that reach will grow to six to eight hours.

Bradley will become a destination.

“People who travel to Chicago for a few days will now extend their stay to include a day in Bradley,” Brown said. “This brand increases the draw. The name will bring higher attendance and higher ticket prices. This will be a world-class destination.”

For those who have called Kankakee County their home, the terms “Bradley” and “world-class destination” could take some time to absorb.

Bradley Mayor Mike Watson interjected. “Orlando [Florida] and Bradley are both hot spots for world-class tourism.”

Orlando also is a site where Mattel is seeking to develop a park similar to what is being planned in Bradley. Mattel is seeking to construct and open five of these parks within the next few years, and the company is expanding its business reach from toys and games to indoor water park amusement.

Angela Morrey, president and CEO at Economic Alliance of Kankakee County, said her first reaction to the Mattel news was a fist pump in the air and a shout of “go Bradley.”

“To think a globally known company – a popular company – would even know Bradley, know Kankakee County, is incredible," she said.

Morrey said companies, businesses and developers are now noticing this region.

“And this is another example of that,” she added. “This can mean great things for Bradley, Kankakee County and this state. It’s very exciting.”

The name Mattel, she said, carries with it a “wow” factor.

2 waterparks, 2 audiences

To this point, the last major water park development was the Splash Valley Aquatic Center in Kankakee, operated by the Kankakee Valley Park District.

The park, in south Kankakee, has remained a summer “beat the heat” destination, and Ross Bruni, KVPD executive director, said it will continue to be a gathering spot.

He said although the news in Bradley regarding the indoor park and its association with Mattel is exciting, there still is a place for Splash Valley.

“It’s great for the region to have growth and a new facility, but we are community-focused,” Bruni said, noting that the $12 daily fee or season pass cost of $50 will be substantially below what likely will be charged at the Mattel Wonder Indoor Waterpark.

He said he thinks of the two facilities as if someone were shopping for a car. One person may want a top-of-the-line Tesla, while someone else may be thinking of a different price point, such as a Honda.

“It’s a completely different audience,” Bruni said regarding the planned park. “Splash Valley is much more family-friendly pricing. ... We’re in the same field but different markets.”

Bruni said the growth taking place in Bradley, first with the 315 Sport Park for travel youth baseball and softball and now the water park, can only benefit the region.

“This energizes the entire region. It puts swimming and water parks at the top of people’s minds,” he said.

Name matters

“The name provides the credibility,” said Jeff Bennett, chairman of the economic alliance board and a longtime commercial property real estate agent here. “This is a credit to Bradley and their vision to step out and do what they have done.”

Bennett said the day after Bradley made the Mattel announcement, he received about a half-dozen calls from real estate contacts.

He summarized the calls with only one word: Wow.

“This can only be a positive,” Bennett said. “This allows us to look at this place and say, ‘Wow.’ ”

Like others, Kankakee Mayor Chris Curtis said what is good for Bradley is ultimately beneficial for others as well.

He said the Mattel park will be in direct competition with the “Disney” East River Walk, the 1-acre riverfront park, which is not sponsored by Disney.

“This is very good for Bradley, but the region as well. When you have a brand name connected to something like this, it brings in so many more people. A themed entity means so much,” the mayor said.

Curtis is hopeful that water park visitors eventually will branch out and explore all of Kankakee County.

But he said there can be no dispute: A name such as Mattel packs a punch.

Curtis said his family recently traveled to the Fox Lake area for a fall festival. As fans of the Harry Potter movies, his family visited the Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience. It is a nighttime trail event featuring a wide assortment of Harry Potter-related scenes and activities.

Without the connection to Harry Potter, they likely would not have traveled two hours or so to experience it.

“It brought us and our dollars there,” Curtis said.

Bradley is counting on a different set of characters, but the same hope of reaping revenue.