Theme & Amusement Parks in Cookeville

Though the creatures on display at Dinosaur World don’t need much space to roam, plenty of care has been taken to furnish them a comfortable habitat. They peer imposingly from the hillsides of Kentucky, crane their necks up through native trees, and stomp through prairie fields. Although a life-size mammoth or T. rex might be hard to miss, little visitors might still jump with delight at noticing a baby dino suddenly appear from behind a bush. Giant brachiosaurus necks arch high above treetops, while toothy meat-eaters and spiny stegosauruses roam the world below. The fiberglass, steel, and concrete models reach up to 80 feet in length, and are built according to the latest scientific discoveries about what dinosaurs looked like and what styles were trendy in the Mesozoic era.

The first Dinosaur World location was a former alligator farm in Florida and five years later another one was opened in Kentucky. As Swedish-born Christer Svensson began to fill it with statues, he consulted with experts around the world to not only create realistic reptiles but to surround them with fun, educational activities. Kids can sift through sand to find shark’s teeth, gastropod shells, and trilobites in a fossil dig, get to know some lizards a little better on the playground, or examine ancient eggs and raptor claws in the museum.

GO USA Fun Park enthralls visiting families with abundant racing, gaming, and putting attractions strewn throughout its indoor and outdoor facility. A fleet of 20 go-karts stands ready to hug the turns and gun down the straightaways of a nearly quarter-mile-long track. A fully lit 18-hole mini golf course challenges werewolves building immunity to silver putters, and 30 golf tees equipped with coverings for rainy days or cold weather allow for skill-building practice shots. Batting cages enhance swinging skills with hard- or softballs approaching helmeted craniums at slow, medium, or lightning-fast speeds. The indoor arcade brims with an array of video and redemption games, with nifty prizes awaiting homes behind an overflowing counter.

When patrons step into Lanes, Trains, & Automobiles Entertainment Depot, playful noises jostle their senses: the crash of bowling pins, the decisive zaps of laser-tag guns, the thunder of colliding bumper cars. The center shelters a spectrum of friendly competition under one roof, but at the heart are 32 bowling lanes. During open-bowling hours and late-night cosmic bowling, touchscreens tally strikes and automatic bumpers shift up and down to accommodate different players in case they decide to somersault down the lane.

Nearby, up to 16 laser-tag soldiers duck behind barrels and walls splattered with neon paint in the 2,500-square-foot Lazer Station. In the Spinzone, black lights and colorful spotlights swivel around a central traffic signal, which dictates the stops, starts, and illegal U-turns of bumper cars.

In the arcade, patrons battle for champion status and pick of pizza toppings at air-hockey tables, skee-ball machines, and racing video games. Professional competitors face off on flat-screen TVs at Tailgaters, an on-site eatery slinging burgers and pizza. Eight VIP bowling lanes, a designated party zone, and a stage for live entertainment and karaoke act as peaceful dignitaries in the 4,500-square-foot restaurant as well.

Kids tumble and frolic throughout the myriad bounce houses at Jumper's Playhouse—ranging from simple bouncing surfaces shaped like fire trucks to obstacle courses and slides. Occasional appearances by Elmo make it a prime spot for youngsters’ birthday celebrations, with each event taking advantage of a private party room and food options with a throne for the birthday boy, girl, or imaginary sibling.

Inflated structures, slides, and games fill the climate-controlled environs of BounceU of Nashville's location. Staff members closely monitor all activities as little ones traverse obstacle courses or pull on oversized inflatable boxing gloves. The crew also invites parents to join in on the fun, letting them bounce alongside their kids or make sweeping edicts from atop a bouncy-castle throne.

In addition to open sessions, the indoor play haven sets the stage for Daily Create and Bounce Summer Camps programs that teach art lessons and group activities. Special events include parent's night out, which lets parents spend an evening away from their kids, and cosmic bounce, which turns the facility into a black-lit arena to illuminate any lost socks.

Shielded from the elements, customers at Glowgolf traverse the course’s 18 holes of indoor miniature golf amid an extraterrestrial neon glow. Vivid murals of jungle and underwater scenes adorn the course’s walls, with giraffes, zebras, and otherworldly creatures serenely coexisting. The course itself brims with potted plants and decorative treasure chests along with traditional mini-golf obstacles such as loop-the-loop ramps and water traps filled with live sharks.