Theme & Amusement Parks in Portland

Cavorters of all ages caper about Joker's Family Fun and Games's massive indoor play zone, which is stocked with games and attractions that inspire climbing and sliding. Kids can scramble into the three-tiered A-Maze-Zing playhouse to navigate tubes, web bridges, and conference rooms, and toddlers can maneuver through the mini maze or hop aboard the train ride for a sightseeing jaunt around the tracks. Future adults can challenge one another in sundry classic arcade games such as skee-ball and air hockey, and more than 50 video games await thumbs desperate to win garlands of exchangeable tickets. Whippersnappers achieve liftoff in lieu of jetpack overalls on a Jolly Jump air bounce then safely glide down a 22-foot inflatable super slide. At the 14,000-square-foot Portland location, youngsters can also blast comrades in a space-age laser-tag zone, scale a towering rock-climbing wall, and master putting skills on an 18-hole mini-golf course. After extreme bouts of frolicking, families can quell tummy rumbles with slices of housemade pizza slathered in Joker's signature sauce or peek at the menu to peruse sandwiches, burgers, and chicken tenders.

Since its inception as a restaurant and mini-golf course in 1960, Funtown Splashtown USA has steadily expanded to include manifold family-friendly theme-park attractions and water-park slides. The park invites thrill-seekers to rush down the slopes of the wooden Excalibur rollercoaster or free-fall 220 feet from the zenith of the Dragon's Descent tower. At the Splashtown waterpark, guests combat the summer sun aboard two-person slide tubes or circular family rafts. And at the Portland Pirates Paradise attraction, visitors fire water cannons and slip through eight water slides. Between slips and slides, families can unwind on the 1,200 lounge chairs or grab a snack at the picnic areas, so long as they make sure to wait at least 30 minutes before swimming or picnicking again.

The 4-year-old lion Mufasa Obama roams his cage, purring between bites of raw meat, as his sister, Tawana, roars behind him. Mufasa, dubbed “Maine’s Little Lion King” by D.E.W. Animal Kingdom and Sanctuary’s caretakers Bob and Julie Miner, may be the nonprofit sanctuary’s most visible inhabitant, but he’s far from its only attraction. Across 43 acres of land, the roars and deep purrs of big cats mix with the quacks of ducks and the snorts of pigs. A staff of volunteers tends to gibbons, spider monkeys, and lemurs as they swing from trees inside a primate enclosure. Meanwhile, orphaned and injured native-Maine animals such as owls are sequestered for rehabilitation before being released back into the wild or signed for exclusive Tootsie Pops endorsements.:m]]

Within Dudziak's School of Gymnastics’ two-story, 12,000-square-foot facility, athletes back spring across three tumble tracks into foam and resi pits or flip atop four in-ground trampolines. With the help of this equipment, certified instructors lead students, primarily aged K–12, through lessons in gymnastic and tumbling. Their routines cover skills from tumbling basics to high-flying maneuvers as advanced as opening an airplane’s sunroof. Summer camps and afterschool programs help keep kids active when they’re not in school.