Theme & Amusement Parks in Buckeye

At Stratum Lasertag, light warriors leap and duck while toting phasers in an arena with 15 different levels and 90 towers, bridges, and ramps. Designed by the EME Entertainment group, who designed Universal Studios Japan, the emporium bathes warriors in the flickering of strobe lights and the neon glow of black lights as they ascend ramps and blast at one another from different angles. Throughout the space, murals of black holes, outer space, and alien creatures set the mood for bouts of intergalactic warfare. In between laser bouts, players can refuel at the concession area or keep trigger fingers nimble with a stint in the arcade room. Stratum Lasertag outfits participants with laser-tag vests and phasers during birthday parties, bar and bat mitzvahs, graduation celebrations, and team-building events for actual builders.

Leave your friends in the dust with today's Groupon: $29 gets you three go-kart races at Speedway Raceway. With this deal, you get Speedway's Arrive & Race (three laps of practice and a 13-lap race) package times three. Bring two friends along for a speedway showdown, or keep this deal all to yourself and get loopy doing 40-plus turns around the track. With that much practice, you'll be fit enough to try out for the National Hot Rod Association.

Though the name is new, the fundamentals remain unchanged at Octane Raceway. The roar of Honda GLX 270cc engines still rises to the rafters in a 113,000-square-foot indoor space as European Sodi RX7 go-karts reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour on the same two quarter-mile tracks that won four Best Go Kart Racing awards from the Phoenix New Times' under their former name. After a short safety briefing and proving their eligibility with a valid driver’s license and hip-hop interpretation of the Rules of the Road, racers don a head sock, full face helmet, and optional driving suit before jumping into their appointed vehicle for a 14- to 16-lap race against up to nine opponents. Surrounding television screens display each driver’s finishing place, and best and average lap time, which also appear online.

In addition to playing arcade games, billiards, and practicing drive-by high-fives on a Segway performance course, off-track activities include watching ongoing races from more than 40 TV screens at the Trackside Bar and Grill.

Owned by veteran coaches Julie and Dan Witenstein, Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics and Dance offers instruction in different types of kinesthetic coordination for beginning and intermediate performers age 6 months and up. Inside a 24,000-square-foot facility furnished with a range of equipment, students learn acrobatic fundamentals in a variety of gymnastics classes, 45–60 minutes each. Sessions range from the toddler-friendly Tumble Tots to the more advanced Dynamites, where pupils learn how to execute cartwheels while clutching sticks of TNT. Enroll budding Baryshnikovs in one of the studio's ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, or Broadway dance classes, and watch as they develop the twirling skills necessary to blend oversize smoothies. Check the schedule for a full list of course offerings. During Kids Night Out, parents drop their children off for an evening of supervised frolicking, freeing themselves for a night of relaxation and freely pronouncing the word D-E-N-T-I-S-T. Kids Night Out is for children age 3–13 and occurs on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 6–10 p.m. Children must be toilet trained.

In 1966, Big Surf Waterpark founder Phil Dexter built his first model of a wave machine. With some help, and several models later—including one assembled inside an abandoned billiards hall—he perfected the contraption, making it the centerpiece of his newly opened waterpark in 1969. Dexter's invention instantly snagged press from Time, Sports Illustrated, and Life, and today, it remains Big Surf Waterpark's 2.5-million-gallon keynote attraction. Over the years, despite Arizona's lack of rain or gigantic sprinkler, the park has managed to grow around the wave pool, and its current 20-acre campus features dozens of slides, rides, and areas for all ages. Big Surf's real estate has also played host to entertainment events, including concerts from Pink Floyd, Elton John, and the Beach Boys.

The myriad classes, activities, and programs at Great Play operate with one focus in mind: to spark kids’ passion for physical activity. At Great Play’s core lies an interactive arena, which Arizona Foothills magazine awarded Best Kid's Entertainment Indoors and Best Birthday Party Spot for Kids, designed to facilitate physical fun. Projector screens spotlight the arena's walls while sensors and a directional sound system inject interactivity into the slew of noncompetitive games and activities that help boost kids' motor and athletic skills. Monitoring the arena's playing field and adhering to the SCORE training method is an upbeat staff that teaches youngsters how to swing a baseball bat, bribe slam-dunk-competition judges, and trap a soccer ball by breaking each skill into a series of positively reinforced smaller steps. The staff also tailors birthday parties to birthday kids’ likings and hosts Parents Night Out events that allow caregivers to drop off their children and hit the town while kids play in the gym, feast on pizza, and catch a G-rated flick on a 100-square-foot screen.