VAI Resort is now the developer, owner, and operator of Mattel Adventure Park in Glendale. The company confirmed that shift to Phoenix Business Journal, announcing it had taken full control of the 9-acre indoor-outdoor attraction at 9601 Cardinals Way. Glen Bilbo, the CEO who originally conceived the project, is out. No opening date has been set.
You have driven past those roller coasters on the 101 for years — here is where things actually stand
The red and blue Hot Wheels coasters visible from the Loop 101 have been sitting there long enough that West Valley residents treat them as a landmark rather than a promise. Now the developer who put them up is gone, replaced by VAI Resort — the same company running the hotel towers next door. VAI has more direct stake in finishing the park than an outside developer did. But it is also redesigning the attraction, and nobody is saying how much will change.
VAI says the completed campus will bring more than 2,500 jobs to Glendale and generate over $2.2 billion in tax revenue. The full resort includes 1,100 hotel rooms, 11 restaurants, an 11,000-seat amphitheater, and a conference center across a 60-acre site valued at about $1.2 billion.
Glendale voters already weighed in on one piece of this. They approved Proposition 402, enabling commercial development on the project land. But they rejected Proposition 401, which would have allowed office buildings and a parking garage on land critics said was promised as green space. For a venue hosting large events near State Farm Stadium, losing that dedicated parking is a real operational problem with no public fix announced.
Red and blue roller coaster loops already top the buildings at 9601 Cardinals Way, with State Farm Stadium visible in the background. Construction on the broader VAI Resort campus continues around the park. (Drone photo)
What just happened: VAI Resort takes over as developer, owner, and operator
VAI Resort senior vice president Rian Kirkman confirmed the transition in an email to Phoenix Business Journal. The story broke August 21, 2026, bylined by Sydnie Savage and Paul Thompson. VAI did not say when Bilbo walked away or why.
The earliest hard evidence of the handoff is a job listing. On or before June 22, 2026, VAI posted an opening for a rides and operations director for Mattel Adventure Park, with a starting salary of $150,000. That listing predates any public announcement by roughly two months. It signals that VAI was already making staffing decisions for the park — not just the hotel — well before the news became public.
VAI spokeswoman Jenn Joseph told Axios the park will be “redefining” its “guest experience and creative vision” under new management. That raises an obvious question for families who have been picturing specific rides: does it mean the Barbie Beach House, the Hot Wheels Bone Shaker coaster, the Masters of the Universe Castle Grayskull laser tag, and the Thomas & Friends attraction are all still in? VAI has not said. The Mattel brand and its IP remain attached to the park, but the design details under new leadership are unconfirmed.
Who is Glen Bilbo — and has he done this before?
Bilbo is CEO of Epic Resort Destinations. He first pitched this project in 2019 under the name Crystal Lagoons Island Resort, promising it would be ready before Glendale hosted the 2023 Super Bowl. That deadline came and went.
In 2022, funding trouble prompted Epic Resort Destinations to hand the resort side of the project to Fisher Industries, which rebranded it as VAI Resort. At that point, Bilbo kept the theme park piece. Now he has lost that too.
This is not the first time a Bilbo-led entertainment project has stalled before opening. ABC15 reported that his prior ventures include a Western-style Frontier Town theme park proposed in Branson, Missouri; Belle Island Village in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and Blue Collar Country in Foley, Alabama — a project once tied to comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. None of those opened. When ABC15 reached out to Epic Resort Destinations for comment on the Glendale exit, the company’s email bounced back.
A complete timeline of every missed opening window
The project has slipped four times in a row:
- 2019: Crystal Lagoons Island Resort announced; target completion before the 2023 Super Bowl.
- 2022: Funding troubles force a handoff of the resort to Fisher Industries / VAI. Park target shifts to 2022 or late 2023.
- 2024: Second missed window. New target set.
- Late 2025: Third missed window. Target moves to TBA.
- 2026: Developer exits. No opening date announced.
VAI told ABC15 it will announce an opening date about 12 months in advance. The company also said “an announcement of some kind is expected in November” — the first concrete signal of a possible 2027 target. Based on the 12-month policy, a November 2026 announcement would point to an opening no earlier than February 2027.
An architectural rendering shows the full planned VAI Resort campus — a 60-acre development including a water park, an 11,000-seat amphitheater, roller coasters, and hotel towers near State Farm Stadium. The resort’s total valuation is approximately $1.2 billion. (VAI Resort rendering)
The Kansas connection: Epic Resort Destinations still has skin in the game
While Bilbo is out in Glendale, his company is still attached to a second Mattel Adventure Park planned for Bonner Springs, Kansas. That project carries government-backed STAR Bond financing — bonds repaid over 20 years through sales taxes the development generates. The tax package is estimated at $182.7 million over 20 years for the $539 million Destination KCK campus.
The Bonner Springs City Council unanimously approved a development agreement requiring Epic Resort Destinations to break ground before October 2027 and have the project substantially complete by October 2030. A separate report confirmed Epic had already missed an early deadline by failing to acquire the project land on schedule. That raises real questions about whether the Kansas timeline holds — and what a second Bilbo exit would mean for public financing there.
The one question nobody can answer yet: why did Bilbo leave?
Neither VAI Resort nor Epic Resort Destinations has given a public reason for the split. The Phoenix Business Journal, which broke the story, did not have an on-record explanation. Epic’s email bounces. No filing, no statement, no timeline for the departure has been made public.
That silence matters. If the exit was mutual and friendly, VAI inherits a clean handoff and can execute the original plan. If it was a dispute over money, design, or control, the park’s concept could shift in ways families would notice. VAI’s “redefining the guest experience” language leaves that question open.
What a November announcement would actually mean — and what comes after
VAI Resort’s 12-month advance notice policy is the most useful signal available right now. If the company announces a date in November 2026 as signaled, the earliest realistic opening is late 2027. If the announcement slips past November, so does everything downstream.
Watch for two things in parallel. First, any VAI update on how the park’s attraction lineup changes — or doesn’t — under the new “creative vision.” Second, any news out of Bonner Springs, Kansas on whether Epic Resort Destinations meets its October 2027 groundbreaking deadline. A second high-profile miss for Bilbo’s company would add weight to the credibility questions already following this project. Until VAI sets a date, the Hot Wheels coasters on the 101 remain the most visible thing the park has produced in seven years.
If you are weighing nearby entertainment options in the West Valley while waiting, the Harkins Norterra 4D Theater in Phoenix is one fully operating option in the region.