Lake Forest, CA Indoor Activities

Forty gleaming hardwood lanes sprawl the length of Concourse Entertainment Center's 42,000-square-foot bowling gallery. Overhead screens keep score, and lane-illuminating lights lie in wait until 10 p.m. on weekend nights, when the audio-visual spectacle of cosmic tenpin induces squirrels to temporarily suspend hibernation and just dance. Larger parties can rent out one of the alley's VIP suites, which sequester lanes and lounge areas behind giant curtains to create fortresses of bowling solitude that can accommodate up to 320 simultaneous bowlers. When not immediately engrossed in clobbering pins, bowlers can seek out snippets of a sports game on 1 of the alley's 25 sports-tuned plasma screens, or scarf a slice of house-made pizza and an amber pint at Kingpin's Bar & Grill, located just aft of the bowling action.

For 30 years, Zoomars's fuzzy and feathered fleet has tickled the fancy of more than 3 million tykes and critter enthusiasts with 16 varieties of animals on hand, ready for petting, riding, and cavorting. The USDA–approved, clean farm facility houses a host of friendly species suited to affectionate coddling, such as sheep, bunnies, and guinea pigs. Zoo staffers supervise kids as they climb into goat pens, or drop snacks into the mouths of zedonks, zebus, and staff members working through lunch.

Additionally, a child-size miniature train chugs a whistling ride around a circular track, and gentle ponies trot along on hand-led trail rides as parents canter along behind. At a re-created Gold Rush–era mine, staffers help small visitors to pan and sift for gemstones, arrowheads, dinosaur fossils, fool’s gold, and long-lost arcade tokens. During dinosaur fossil digs, guests can unearth pre-historic treasures.

Park staff can also connect visitors to the earth and American history through camps led by the camp director, a member of California’s Acjachemen tribe who grew up on the grounds. Campers explore the grounds and Pioneer Town through crafts, free creative play, storytelling, and special activities ranging from Native American dances to soapstone carving to reading excerpts from Lewis and Clark’s middle-school diaries.

The South Coast Symphony bills itself as "the unstuffy symphony." Which isn't to say that its pro musicians have any disrespect for the classical tradition—any given season likely will be rich with mammoth orchestral works and famous operas. But the group has broad tastes, and accordingly partners with a wide range of musicians to put on evenings of Broadway show tunes, renditions of classic-rock albums, and film-score performances. Many of the concerts are designed to be welcoming to a wide audience, including kids or adults who have never listened to anything besides CDs of funny sound effects.

As friends sup quietly in a private banquet hall, chaos reigns a floor below. There, stones hurtle toward the wall, forming piles of rubble soon swept away and forgotten in the clamor. Still, the friends dine peacefully, unaware of the destruction happening under their feet. At the two-story Irvine Lanes, bowlers topple pins on the first floor's 40 lanes while the second floor hosts private parties and catered events in an elegant setting. Of course, a snack bar lets bowlers eat downstairs, too, and a full arcade, bar, and smoking patio keep outings interesting as the machine whittles new pins between frames.

Calling on the alchemic knowledge of ancient mystics, Merlin's Magic & Comedy Dinner Theatre blends gut-busting comedy, jaw-dropping barbecue fare, and mind-boggling magic tricks on the Rib Trader stage. Clothed in medieval garb, Merlin unleashes a flurry of illusions, levitating water glasses and assistants and confounding minds with sleight of hand and recitations of tax manuals. While audience members attempt to make sense of their newly stretched reality, a cadre of costumed servers piles tables high with ribs and chicken—or chicken strips and french fries for wee ones—and oversees edible disappearing acts.

Merlin's Magic & Comedy Dinner Theatre Calling on the alchemic knowledge of ancient mystics, Merlin's Magic & Comedy Dinner Theatre blends gut-busting comedy, jaw-dropping barbecue fare, and mind-boggling magic tricks on the Rib Trader stage. Clothed in medieval garb, Merlin unleashes a flurry of illusions, levitating water glasses and assistants and confounding minds with sleight of hand and recitations of tax manuals. While audience members attempt to make sense of their newly stretched reality, a cadre of costumed servers piles tables high with ribs and chicken—or chicken strips and french fries for wee ones—and oversees edible disappearing acts.

One of the oldest amusement parks in southern California, Balboa Fun Zone is a harbor-sized time capsule sent from an era when carnival rides were designed with a distinctive panache. The colorful attractions have occupied the Balboa Peninsula since 1936, when the original landowner converted an old boat yard into a seaside carnival. The peninsula juts out from Newport Beach to form the storied patch of real estate that has attracted countless patrons with spinning carousels, arcades, and a ferris wheel known for its longish rides and elevated views of the Pacific's horizon.

The amusement park enjoyed a rebuilding in 1986 and today retains its original elegance despite decades of serial owners and various changes to the landscape and surrounding shops. Although the beloved merry-go-round was retired in 2011, the wooden stallions still drop in once a summer to greet old friends and nibble on cotton candy.