Theme & Amusement Parks in Middleton

One of the reasons why Ultrazone Laser Tag's owners are so enthusiastic about the activity is for the team building it fosters among its participants—and for the chance to win. At the 4,500-square-foot facility, laser taggers track each other down through dark, narrow tunnels with glowing violet, red, and neon orange black-lit murals that change the feel from room to room.

The movie-set-like scenery places players amid such backdrops as a surreal forest or a spaceship motif that prepares gamers for inevitable teatime with aliens. As firing begins, strategy and teamwork guide players through the adrenaline-fueled game, which can help to build strong bonds during a birthday party, a corporate event, or a fun day out with family and friends.

At Bouncy Town USA, children cavort, slide, and bounce across five inflatable structures. Regular hours encourage kids to make friends across the padded bounce floor, while parties make memories out of birthdays with private rooms, pizza, and cupcakes. On some days, Bouncy Town USA welcomes kids for drop off while parents enjoy a night out.

On June 30, 1904 Col. William and Anna Vilas donated a tract of land to become a public park and free recreational space in memory of their son, Henry, who died due to complications from diabetes at a young age. They added numerous improvements over the decade and in 1911, the Henry Vilas Zoo gained its first animal exhibits. Today, the zoo covers 30 acres and features a number of creatures from around the world, ranging from the vanishing chimpanzee and endangered red panda to locals such as the great horned owl and american alligator. The zoo also remains one of the few free AZA-accredited zoos across the country.

Leading up to and following the zoo's centennial, the ReZOOvenation project has expanded the visitor areas, replacing the entrance and gift shop and adding a tropical-rainforest aviary and big-cat complex. A variety of annual events are scheduled, including Halloween at the Zoo, with costumes and stops for sustainable palm-oil candy, and earth day, when children can plant trees to help lower the global temperature just enough for icicles to form. The zoo’s many conservation projects also engage the public in protecting the environment and its inhabitants by installing solar-energy panels, sponsoring trips to save endangered orangutans, and collecting old cell phones.

Little Amerricka takes young thrill-seekers on a journey into the past with its 1950s wooden roller coaster, The Meteor, as well as several restored rides from amusement parks of a bygone era. More than two-dozen rides and attractions cater to all sizes and shriek tendencies of visitors, from adrenaline-pumping go-kart races (for riders 56 inches and taller) to relaxing rotations on the kiddie ferris wheel. The conductor of the Whiskey River Railway chugs the train along 2-mile treks through the rustic Wisconsin countryside, where runaway bumper boats graze native grasses before being lassoed and brought back to the amusement park.

Dolphins Cove thumbs its nose at the furious summer sun with more than 36,000 square feet of watery attractions. Revelers steel their courage before careening down 800 feet of waterslides, or challenge each other to games of water basketball, rope-climbing races, and sand-volleyball tournaments. More relaxing diversions include the outdoor bar and party deck, as well as the lazy river—which will never live up to the example set by the Colorado River in terms of canyon carving and doesn't really care. Kids can safely splash in their own activity pool or participate in regular events such as slide races or treasure hunts.

Knucklehead's Bowling & Indoor Amusement Park's 80,000-square-foot facility is bursting with a dozen family-friendly attractions. In the bowling alley, a light show illuminates pins and balls to the tune of festive music and a black light adds an eerie neon glow to cosmic bowling. You can also bowl under conventional lighting, of course, opting for automatic bumpers to prevent gutter balls and marshmallow pins to muffle noisy strikes. Elsewhere, go-karts zoom around a track, bumper cars collide, and visitors swing hand-over-hand through a weblike ropes course. A roller coaster zooms throughout the space, and the arcade whirs and flashes with video games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Madden, as well as traditional games that award prize tickets to their deftest handlers.