North Aurora, IL Indoor Activities

The designers of Funway Ultimate Entertainment Center built the interactive, 5-acre playground to give friends and family access to engaging activities any time of the year. During warmer months, kids and energetic adults transform into watery pinballs at the bumper boats and pilot speedy go-karts on a 700-foot outdoor course. Batting cages let guests knock the covers off balls and the rust off their swings, and soccer cages give footy fans the chance to test their kicking and trapping skills. Guests can also soak in rays while putting around a wagon-trail-themed mini-golf course sporting 16 tricky holes, and the trampoline-enhanced game of Jump Shot creates a whole new way to enjoy basketball. When the weather is not as favorable, guests can head to the indoor area at Funway, which is packed with a plethora of activities for family daycations, including a modern 20-lane bowling alley and an old-fashioned roller rink with a choice of quads or inline skates. Bumper cars provide a dry alternative to the wet-and-wild bumper boats, and Rock & Roll indoor mini golf glows under black lights. Rounding out the rollicking activities is the arcade, boasting more than 75 video games and pinball machines, along with the laser maze and hunger-quenching Big R Corner Bar.

The thwack of bats hitting balls squarely on their stitched faces echoes throughout The Hitting Zone, a 16,000-square-foot indoor baseball and softball training center. There, skilled trainers draw on their own experiences in the field to help batters achieve that satisfying sound during private and group lessons. Coach Rick DeHart shares what he learned while playing for the Montreal Expos and the Kansas City Royals, and Chris Wilmot’s lessons are shaped by his time as a first baseman for the Cougars. Other trainers share stories of college ball and coaching high-school students while they demonstrate pro pitching and hitting techniques in six turfed training tunnels.

Budding swingers can also apply their newly learned skills in five baseball and fast-pitch-softball cages equipped with ATEC automatic pitching machines that aspire to play for the Yankees one day. A 12-inch slow-pitch-arc softball cage also awaits batters, who can fuel their efforts with refreshments from nearby vending machines. In addition, The Hitting Zone also welcomes birthday celebrants inside a 24'x27' party room, where they can eat cake in between whacking balls and listing all of the Great Bambino’s nicknames in alphabetical order.

At Luigi’s Pizza and Fun Center, no belly goes unfilled, and no guest leaves bored. Between bites from a menu offering hamburgers, hot wings, and pizzas, kids and adults alike can explore Luigi’s entertaining confines. An arcade with more than 100 games entices with flashing lights, cheery sounds, and whispered advice on how to get to the kill screen, and a mini-bowling alley hosts frames. Nearby, a three floor, 4,500-square-foot laser-tag arena glows with friendly beams, and ghostly black lights transform the space into an otherworldly battlefield.

In its more than 12 themed play areas, Kids Town not only entertains little ones, but also helps them develop skills for creative self-expression and social engagement. Kids explore the indoor pint-sized city, wandering through the central market with a kid-sized grocery cart before paying a visit to the princess palace, sheriff's office, fire department, and pet clinic. Afterward, youths can cozy up to the pretend-only fireplace to read a book on the petite plaid sofa or enter the dramatically lit party room, with its galactic carpet and Earth-bound walls. All the while, the facility keeps kids safe with careful sanitation—aided by a strict socks policy and nontoxic, all-natural BabyGanics cleansers—and by forbidding all peanut products.

Although Toula Smith found that running helped calm her anxiety, she still felt like something was missing. She didn't feel like she ever had complete control over her problem until she tried yoga. She fell head over feet for this discovery, eventually opening Breathe, The Art of Yoga. At this studio, she welcomes students of all ages and skill levels to experience the physical and mental benefits of yoga during 60-minute Vinyasa Flow and guided meditation classes. During yoga sessions, she keeps the temperature inside the studio at a cozy 85 degrees to help each student stretch their muscles to the fullest, detoxify, and melt any accidentally swallowed ice sculptures.

Huddled within a 20,000-square-foot facility, Bounce Town's private and semiprivate play arenas encourage sock-clad youngsters to bound, glide, and frolic atop abundant inflatables. Air-filled mazes and 50-foot obstacle courses challenge participants to traverse hurdles and twists, while frog- and Batman-themed bounce houses accommodate leaping youths. Kids who have conquered their brief bounds into midair and gained an understanding of how physics works can also find new challenges scaling the rock-climbing wall. When gathering a group for play time or birthdays, throw parties overseen by personal attendants or bring the celebration home with a bounce-house rental or a Bounce Town photo-booth rental.