Theme & Amusement Parks in Irvine

My Kids Clubhouse supervisors watch over open play as socked feet scamper through a ball pit and a mesh tunnel opening onto three slides. Across the open-format playroom floor, youngsters as old as 8 direct their own imaginative adventures in a play kitchen, soft-block area, dress-up area, and puppet theater.

Parents can drop their kids off through a secure check-in service, join their progeny on the playroom floor, or sip coffee in the Wi-Fi–enabled Clubhouse Café. In addition to holding open play hours, My Kids Clubhouse hosts two-hour birthday parties, including a slumber party option and a dinosaur-themed blowout with 3.5 billion candles to celebrate the birth of life on Earth.

My Kids Clubhouse founder Stephanie Antin opened her indoor playrooms after a disappointing search for creative play options for her own three children. She teamed up with business maven Jeri Price Smith to open two recreational locations in Poway and Bonita. Child development consultant Debbie Cazares funnels 20 years of education experience, a master's degree in Developmental Psychology, and 10 years of experience as a child to design the most creative and educational programs.

At FunBelievable Play, British owners Lynne and Adriana introduce the San Diego area to “British-style” indoor play with playground equipment imported from the United Kingdom. Meeting all playground safety regulations, the 6,000-square-foot facility helps children use their imaginations while developing their physical and mental capabilities, and climbing structures and interactive games encourage social skills that come in handy when imaginary friends go off to college. A colorful three-level play structure hosts fun amenities such as tube slides, climbing walls, tiki-figure punching bags, and a ball shower, whereas the sports arena gives future athletes the chance to kick goals and shoot baskets. Wobbly walkers and toddlers enjoy more age-appropriate play in their own space, which scales down big-kid fun into an area littered with soft toys, a mini ball pit, and mini slides.

Parents can sip coffee in a lounge area and rest easy knowing their children are playing on equipment that's sanitized and inspected daily. The staffers are fully trained and have passed background checks, and many of them also are certified in first aid and CPR and boast an encyclopedic knowledge of cartoons.

Although Belmont Park has changed shape and modernized since opening in the 1920s, surviving vintage attractions such as the Giant Dipper roller coaster and the Plunge swimming pool stand as fun reminders of the park's family-friendly roots. Additionally, patrons can practice their security-evasion skills in the Vault Laser Maze Challenge or navigate the high-swinging Sky Ropes Adventure. While resting tired climbing muscles, guests can interface with a few electronic fun-creators with Belmont Park–arcade tokens. Players can thrash a button-festooned ax on Guitar Hero, or earn a cache of tickets from a plethora of play-to-win games to purchase sugary treats or noise-making trinkets. Once adrenaline glands have been depleted, visitors can indulge in the park's numerous additional amenities, such as dining areas, beach-themed shops, and a full-service athletic club.

When he looked past the flourishes of players in the majors, Dylan Gaines realized the swings of professional hitters were nearly identical. Working with pro ballplayers such as Darrell Thomas and Nez Belelo, Dylan honed those swing fundamentals during his stint on the Seattle Mariners. At All-Star Baseball School, he's broken down and distilled these basics into a potent dram of batsmanship for students since 1997. Along with Eric Fischer, a veteran of the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins, Dylan teaches his pupils hitting, pitching, and fielding skills during private lessons and summer camps. After the classes let out, little leaguers can study the greats with an instructional DVD hosted by baseball legend and record holder Pete Rose, who walks viewers through pointers for hitting homers without planting baseballs in the stands beforehand.