THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 10, 1995 TAG: 9510100029
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Mom, I'm Bored
SOURCE: Sherrie Boyer
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
DESIGNERS SURE know how to make fun look good.
As we rolled up in front of Funscape, the newest playhouse in Chesapeake, the back seat was in an uproar.
``This place is so cool,'' 6-year-old Allio bellowed. ``So ab-so-lute-ly cool!''
Maddie, 4, and Sam, nearly 3, just screamed to be unbuckled. So we left the car in a run that ended just inside the doors of this neon palace. There, we made the perfect pose for a commercial: Mouths dropped in awe, eyes bugged out.
There was a bridge over a stream and a two-story waterfall over a volcanic mound of rocks. Everything was candy-colored.
Funscape is an indoor amusement park with bumper cars, miniature golf, virtual reality, a motion-simulated movie ride, video games, a human maze, theaters, food, tubes to crawl through and crafts.
Two friends in middle school visited Funscape and had a fantastic afternoon - for $50. We spent $20 for three children, but we only played two areas, plus a third that was free to small children. What you spend is up to you. Because there is no admission fee, you could play just bits, visiting the rest on a follow-up trip.
The smiling woman at the candy counter helpfully explained that to play, you must buy a ``battery,'' really a fancy card that needs to be carried flat, as opposed to crumpled in a child's pocket or hand.
The battery is swiped through an electronic machine at a play area, and the cost is automatically deducted. You have to remember how much the battery is still worth; the amount isn't stamped on. You buy the battery in increments of $5.
One of the play areas is ``Stop & Play,'' a series of tubes, slides and balls. Included in this section is a staffed craft table, a larger-than-life easel, a magnetic puzzle (only for the strong - these pieces are hard to move), and a stage with push-button applause and colored lights.
Also in this section is a giant floor map of a treasure island and rough seas for tracking down buried treasure.
Try as we might, we couldn't figure out how to play this game. However, we did have a great time stomping on the map in pirate hats and vests, with patches on our eyes, hooks in our hands and chains around our necks.
The arcade games on the second floor were fascinating to watch. There is even a race car you sit in. It rocks as you screech along. The bumper cars have joystick controls; they seat one person who must be taller than 40 inches.
Funscape also offers a virtual reality theater, similar to a 3-D movie, where you wear a mask that puts the action before your eyes.
Another attraction, The Star Theater, is a motion-simulated ride within a movie, similar to ones at theme parks.
There is also a 13-screen feature film theater and two 18-hole miniature golf courses at the volcano mountain with the waterfall. Children under 6 can play free, if they are willing to use a short, plastic golf club. To use a real club, you must pay.
We also played in the Amazing Maze, a green and brown maze children run through searching for clues. They find the four clues (really stamps they press onto a game card), then search for the exit. At the exit, they decode the stamps, spell the day's magic word and win tickets to use at the arcade counter.
To get to Funscape from Interstate 64 east, take exit 289B (Greenbrier Parkway South). Make a right at the first light. Funscape is part of Regal Cinemas complex, which you can see from the parkway.
Funscape is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 523-0582.
Batteries are available in increments of $5. You must have a battery to play. A $5 battery buys 8 charges; a $30 battery buys 72 charges.
Each charge on the $5 battery costs 63 cents; on the $30 battery, each charge costs 42 cents. So it is a better deal to buy a larger battery than several smaller ones, if you'll use it. If you don't use the battery completely, it is good for six months. by CNB