Theme & Amusement Parks in Chino

Each year, Yorba Linda's most menacing demons prowl The Cemetery of Lost Souls for four horrible nights. Normally a peaceful martial-arts school known as the United Studios of Self Defense, the dojo suddenly transforms in the fall, its corridors echoing with the shrieks of ghosts just learning that The Karate Kid had multiple sequels. Courageous visitors can brave the bloody spectacle during the house's Scream Time hours or experience a less-startling version during a family-friendly hour. After enduring the thrills, survivors can shake off their goose bumps with attractions such as music, food, bounce houses, and laser tag.

Water features lace throughout Boomers! miniature-golf courses, gurgling cheerfully as putters attempt to elude windmill blades and wacky hazards. These carefully designed courses populate numerous national locations, running parallel to go-kart tracks or lawless bumper-boat lagoons abandoned by the Coast Guard. Inside old-fashioned arcade rooms, video games chirp in response to players' shouts of victory or defeat.

The parks' parent company—Palace Entertainment—maintains 8 theme parks, 11 water parks, and 21 family-entertainment centers tucked into various corners of the nation, making it an expert on providing family-style fun and laundering towels.

In 2005, Jason Williams and Ken Faught assembled a team of experienced racers and designers to create the driving experience at Pole Position Raceway. Williams, a motocross racer since 1984, and Faught, a three-time land-speed record holder at the Bonneville Salt Flats, recruited professional drivers Kurt Busch and Jeremy McGrath to help their engineers. They reimagined every detail of the track from the ground up, creating indoor courses that balance the grip of asphalt with the swervy fun of polished, concrete slick tracks. Pole Position’s Formula EK20 Pro Karts rumble over the track powered by 18-horsepower motors (nearly triple that of average gas karts), which reach speeds up to 45 miles per hour without filling the temperature-controlled arenas with fumes.

After the first Pole Position Raceway opened in Corona, California, it soon spawned eight locations stretching to the Atlantic. Technicians maintain the fleet via handheld computers, and top drivers are regularly sent out to evaluate karts’ handling and reading comprehension. During races, up to 12 guests compete in contests that last about 10 minutes.

IceTown helps kids and adults become nimble on their blades with open-skate hours every day of the week as well as hockey and figure-skating instruction. Free introductory Hockey Academy and Skating Academy lessons, both open to boys and girls aged 3 and older, teach agility, puck-smashing skills, and how to carve an ice sculpture with a series of precise blade kicks. Adults brush up on hockey skills in clinics separated by gender, and groups can take part in sled hockey or broomball. IceTown also opens its doors to birthday revelers, providing use of its party room, access to open skate, and 30 minutes on its rock wall.

Exhilarating music pulses amid the remains of a downed cargo airliner, its wreckage scattered across 4,000 square feet of fog-filled tropical beach. Two teams navigate through these surroundings—dodging strewn pieces of cargo, abandoned huts, and a miniature volcano. Black lights cause Laser Island's neon hues to burst to life. The red-orange glow of the volcano's lava, the vibrant green of the painted palm fronds, and the cerulean blue of the walls' ocean horizon all shine alongside the green flashes of streaking lasers. After roughly 20 minutes, the guests emerge and discover which team scored the most points.

Beyond laser tag, the family-friendly entertainment center features a number of activities for virtually all ages. A nine-hole tiki-themed miniature-golf course challenges hand-eye coordination, and the CoCo Climb station allows adventurers to scale a 20-foot coconut tree while safely supported by a weight-bearing harness and an invisible force field. The arcade section tempts passersby to spend a few tokens on games such as Ms. Pac-Man or Time Crisis 3, and certain games reward players with tickets that they can redeem for prizes at the Ticket Hut. In between games or laser-tag matches, Laser Island refuels visitors with a snack-bar menu that includes everything from pizzas and toasted sandwiches to salads and buffalo wings.

With hands gripped to the wheels of karts capable of cresting 45 miles per hour, up to 12 racers hum around the hairpin turns and straightaways of K1 Speed's indoor track during adrenaline-spiking sprints toward the podium. This brand of excitement can be found at all 15 locations, where racers eschew the fumes and inflammatory skywriting of gas kart exhaust for European, eco-friendly electric karts designed to instantly accelerate out of curves, which are bordered by safety barriers that absorb impacts. To keep everyone in the chase, dialed-down junior karts (available at select locations) safely carry tiny drivers between the height of 48" and 58".