Comedian Nate Bargatze plans to open a theme park

Nate Bargatze isn’t the likely choice to be the next Walt Disney, but the stand-up comedian, whose star has been rising at a phenomenal pace in the past year, seems eager to take on the best-known name in entertainment, including by building his own theme parks .

Bargatze’s rise is actually not entirely unlike that of Walt. He was an outsider who wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms by the entertainment community. But his own brand of comedy resonated with audiences to the point that studios couldn’t ignore him any longer. But instead of being a part of an existing machine, he has formed his own company — and it’s growing fast.

Nateland, the company, has about 15 full-time employees today and some grand plans, including not just one, but several theme parks. And planning is already underway for the first one.

Nashville is the proposed site of the first (and flagship) Bargatze theme park . (The city is Bargatze’s hometown.) Organizers want to build an 80- to 100-acre park. While any groundbreaking is still years away, the company is already exploring a feasibility study of the land and talking with potential investors and politicians. There’s also chatter about a number of “mini parks” in other locations.

Nateland, should it open, will have standalone rides, and as Bargatze focuses on his film career, he hopes to design them around successful movies. His first film, called The Breadwinner, is slated to release early next year. Bargatze co-wrote and produced the film. There is early talk of sequels already and he has other projects in the works as well. At present, there are nine scripts, three animated projects, and two game shows in development at Nateland.

All of those are family friendly, in keeping with Bargatze’s brand.

While most entertainers might shrink from comparisons to Walt Disney, given the expectations that sets, Bargatze hasn’t. In previous interviews, he has said he felt Disney cared about his customers, something he doesn’t believe the company’s current management reflects.

“Now Disney is run by a guy that’s just a businessman,” Bargatze told Esquire . “Well, that guy doesn’t care about the audience.”