Theme & Amusement Parks in Auburn

Putt-Putt Fun Center combats the doldrums with the triumvirate of putt-putt golf, go-karts, and arcade games. The center boasts three themed putt putt golf courses, one of which rumbles the ground under golfers’ feet with a volcano that regularly spews a ball of fire 20 feet into the air after the sun sets. Meanwhile in the Race Zone, go-karts zip around a track designed to accommodate all ages of driver, and double-seated family karts allow underage riders to tag along. The arcades allows guests to continue the simulation of extreme experiences with games such as Big Buck Hunter Safari, which helps players to feel the hunter-gatherer’s feeling of elation at a kill or shame at having to return home with rock stew. After a long day of activity, the center’s Snack Shack facilitates the scarfing of pizza, hot dogs, and soft pretzels, which can be washed down with a bottled Coke.:m]]

Canlan Ice Sports has three NHL-sized rinks, and all three receive their fair share of carvings during professional skating lessons, open-skate sessions, and high-intensity hockey leagues. Of the many offerings, the center’s weeklong hockey camps develop trainees' agility and shooting skills, just as its three-on-three youth-hockey leagues pit one inadequate barbershop quartet against another. Regardless of the reason for arrival, visitors can always grab food and refreshments at the Thirsty Penguin, a full-service restaurant and bar that overlooks the rinks and doubles as a secret meeting spot for Batman’s roundest nemesis. For off-ice excitement, guests can visit the inflatable playground, freely traversing the double-sided slide and other components comprising the bouncy playland.

Looking to put a new spin on a classic family activity, the minds behind Glowgolf decided to give the game a phosphorescent update. Incandescent courses place friends and family amid a tropical-fantasy golf world of neon orange, green, and violet surroundings. Players putt luminous orbs through vibrant treasure chests and glimmering windmills while negotiating tricky obstacles near walls portraying black-light-lit aquatic scenes. With more than 20 locations spread over 10 states, Glowgolf's fluorescent labyrinths challenge human players and traveling gnomes.

Inside a sprawling, 4,000-square-foot laser-tag arena, sharpshooters 7 years and older strap on chest pieces and unholster their electronic arms. Competitors crouch and weave through black-lit battlefields as they confuse enemies by flanking their position and producing duck calls to the tune of “Bennie and the Jets.” Guests can take a break to scramble up the sides of a rock-climbing wall, or they can sharpen their thumbs in the arcade arena. Q-Zar also hosts group birthday parties and team-building outings, during which coworkers can silently stalk each other in the dark before pouncing to intercept a trust fall.

Stone Mountain Family Fun Center

Voted the best miniature golf course in Lenawee County by readers of the Daily Telegram in 2010, Stone Mountain Family Fun Center enchants putters with an 18-hole course teeming with rustic charm. As players roll colorful golf balls toward tiny cups, greenside waterfalls cascade into streams that run through watermills and underneath a covered bridge, where players can pass over the water or inconspicuously park their pint-sized golf cart. Caves and rocky outcrops await putters on certain holes, further complicating each putt.

Stone Mountain’s adjoining pizzeria features a menu of subs, salads, and 11 specialty pizzas, and the ice creamery invites patrons to indulge in 14 flavors of soft serve or to use the dessert as a cold compress on their putter’s elbow.

Originally built as a one-room house in 1816, the Morse Mill Hotel grew to 5,300 square feet under the watchful eye of engineer John Morse, a former Confederate officer and suspected warlock. In its present state, the hotel may house ghostly figures who once took up residence in one of its 33 rooms. Jesse James and company signed their marks in the guest register, and a famous female serial killer, Bertha Gifford, was kept in the hotel's employ; a nearby gravesite marks her resting place. A burial ground for Confederate soldiers, relics of Al Capone's old brothel, and a dungeon also add to the sinister air. An expert paranormal guide leads amateur ghost gumshoes through the 33-room, four-story Morse manse, providing advice on where to find the friendliest demons. If they dare, guests are encouraged to snap photos to document their occult encounters with phantoms, specters, or eerily expensive minibars.