Tag Archive for: go-karts

SportsOhio is located at 6314 Cosgray Rd., Dublin.

SportsOhio

Spaces for city kids to play inside and out

Playing outside was easy when I was a kid growing up in northeastern Ohio. I simply walked out our front door and explored the world, often following streams wherever they led.

SportsOhio in Dublin offers spaces for city kids to leisurely play inside and out.

SportsOhio is a hundred-acre campus of rec centers with indoor and outdoor areas for soccer, baseball and ice skating. It’s also a fun zone for playing miniature golf, driving go-karts, hitting golf balls and baseballs, and jumping on inflatables.

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Two ways for families to sample what’s available at SportsOhio are during “Open Play Days” on select Fridays throughout the year and at “Phat Fridays” in the spring and summer.

My children and I checked out an “Open Play Day” at the FieldSports building in early April. I signed a waiver and paid $8 apiece for my kids to play for three hours. Rosie and Max went straight for the bounce-house area that included a jump house, inflatable slide and obstacle course.

They jumped, slid and bounced until they were red in their faces, at which point I purchased blue Slushies for them at the concession stand. We then climbed a set of stairs to rows of picnic tables. The perch also served as a lookout post over the vast indoor facility.

We spied ball fields on either side and a fierce game of dodgeball taking place in a court in front of us. Behind that was a basketball court where kids were riding scooter boards across a shiny, wood floor. The most appealing area was a turf-covered field filled with toys normally found outside, like hula hoops, bouncy balls, scooters, frisbees and big-wheeled tricycles.

The three hours zipped by, leaving my kids pleasantly exhausted for the ride home.

We’ll most likely return for “Phat Fridays,” when visitors get unlimited access to outdoor activities such as go-karts, mini golf, inflatables, batting cages and outdoor fields for $15 apiece from 7-10 p.m., beginning April 24.

SportsOhio is located at 6314 Cosgray Rd., Dublin. For more information, call 614-791-3003 or visit www.sportsohio.org. Learn about upcoming “Open Play Days.”

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Magic Mountain

Miniature-golf outing with kids proves fun, but tests parents’ patience

The promotional text on Magic Mountain’s website aptly sums up my family experience playing miniature golf at the Polaris-area fun center: “Each exciting hole will lead you on an adventure of skill and test your patience, too.”

My husband, Mike, and I recently decided to make use of a gift certificate by taking our two young children to Magic Mountain’s pay-as-you-go rides and attractions. Located in the Polaris area, at 8350 Lyra Drive, Magic Mountain offers go-karts, arcade, bumper boats, laser tag, climbing playground and two, 18-hole miniature golf courses.

Five-year-old Rosie was most interested in riding a go-kart with her daddy, while 3-year-old Max wanted to crawl through the above-ground tunnels in the play area.

Neither wanted to play miniature golf. That was my idea. After all, I thought, it would be a fun bonding experience for my golfer husband and our children, whom Mike hopes will one day take up his favorite sport.

My plan started out great, with Rosie selecting a pink golf ball and Max selecting his favorite color, orange. Then things went sour. Rosie immediately dropped her ball down the last hole of the game, sending it back inside the fun center and me back to the front counter to plead for another pink ball. Meanwhile, Max threw his ball over the fence into a nearby hotel’s parking lot.

Mike and I tried to play a serious game as Rosie and Max explored the interesting features at each hole including little bridges, rocky streams and a gushing waterfall at the peak of the course’s “magic” mountain.

Ultimately, we determined Max and Rosie were a little immature for miniature golf. They, however, enjoyed the outing.

Rosie had way more fun on the Magic Track Go-Karts. Rosie measured just over the required 42 inches needed to be a passenger with a driving adult over age 21. Together they rode for five minutes around a looping track, under and over a bridge. Max and I stood at the sidelines, watching as they smiled the whole way.

Max enjoyed playing Skee-ball in the arcade, where he didn’t have to meet a height requirement. (The KidsGym Playground requires participants to measure at least 58-inches tall.)

Other smart kids, like Max, will like the arcade, too, as Magic Mountain gives free arcade tokens to youngsters who get good grades. Every “A” on a report card earns four tokens.

For more information visit magicmountainfuncenter.com.

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