Theme & Amusement Parks in Johnstown

Wildwood Highlands serves an all-ages buffet of adrenaline-filled rides and fun-soaked activities that visitors can access with fistfuls of tickets. For five-minute intervals, go-karts whip through a winding, 1,000-foot course that challenges mini-motorists' reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and familial bonds with each cutoff to the inner rail. Visitors can captain bumper boats through the 5,000-square-foot Wildwood waters, thumping vessels as they pass fountains and circumvent the island. Woody's Den enchants small children with calliope music and magical animals who steer tots toward the spinning slime-bucket ride and old-fashioned train. Two 18-hole miniature-golf courses school putters in the principles of geometry and psyching out competitors with inopportune coughs and cackles.

Wildwood's arcade entices button smashers with more than 70 games that they can play to win tickets, which can be redeemed for prizes such as stuffed animals, action figures, and pocket-sized copies of the Federalist Papers. While bouncing from attraction to attraction, thrill seekers can recharge their energy with pizzas, wraps, pretzels, and cotton candy at the snack bar.

Adrenaline flows freely inside Laser Storm Pittsburgh's laser-tag battleground as teams of players wage infrared war over objectives and bases. In addition to hosting laser battles, Laser Storm offers an arcade filled with skee-ball, virtual games, and other ticket-spewing machines. Any tickets won in the arcade can be used to purchase prizes from a well-stocked booth or attached to a fishing line to lure laser-tag enemies out of their hiding spots.

Jump!Zone’s indoor playgrounds envelop kids aged 2–12 in an inflatable world filled with challenging obstacle courses, fun slides, and cardio-boosting bounce houses. While navigating the plush courses under the watchful eyes of air-filled dinosaurs and superheroes, kids burn off extra energy and participate in activities that may help develop motor skills. Jump!Zone’s energetic staff supervises all play as kids climb on pirate ships and trampoline inside princess castles. Specific inflatables may vary by location but often include towering bounce houses shaped like fire trucks or octopi as well as party rooms, games, pizza, soda, and other festive fare. The bouncy center also hosts birthday parties, fundraisers, and special events.

Rolling over the naturally hilly landscape, the bright-green turf of Statler’s Fun Center’s miniature-golf course winds around the center’s 1,528-foot go-kart track. Engines roar as racers 10 or older zip through the over-and-under bridge’s tight turns or give their lead foot free rein on the straightaways.

The soundtrack of purring motors underscores high-stakes games of miniature golf as players putt their way through deviously landscaped greens, expertly maneuvering the cave with a hidden waterfall and defeating the final hole guarded by squatting gophers. An air-conditioned snack shop provides respite from summer heat with cool drinks and an arcade full of excuses to hang out indoors, such as the classic air-hockey table and skee-ball.

Taking control of a battleship can make you work up a mighty appetite. Luckily, there's a food cart located just outside this ship's walls. At E2 Toys2Try, LLC there are plenty of eco-friendly, lead-free toys and play stations to gallop to and from. The space abounds with baubles that run only on imaginations instead of batteries or vengeful, displaced souls. Along with the battleship and food cart, there's a rope tree, pedal truck, old-fashioned gas pump, and wooden kitchen. The playground's team stretches kids' imaginations further by engaging them in arts activities, which parents can watch from the cozy confines of a lounge replete with complimentary tea or coffee and free WiFi. Next to the playground, staffers stock a boutique toy shop's shelves with wooden and nonmechanized playthings from brands such as Edex, Haba Toys, and PlanToys.

At Fun Fest Entertainment Center, friends and families come together for everything from bowling and birthday parties to games of pool or karaoke crooning over a few drinks. Five days a week, a cosmic bowling experience enhanced by neon lights, thumping music, and fog machines transports guests into a parallel universe where people must knock down pins before they sprout legs and start to dance. Adjacent to the bowling lanes, the Center’s arcade lures thrill seekers with novel amusements including air hockey, a giant Connect Four game, and a karaoke machine that can record performances on DVD. Incandescent murals of planetary systems and supernovas surround guests as they take aim at intergalactic enemies in the darkened corridors of the Cyber Quest Laser Tag arena. In between gaming, players can refuel on draft and bottled beer and food such as pizza, burgers, and chicken wings.