Theme & Amusement Parks in Salt Lake City

As one of America's oldest and final bastions of the pizza, arcade, and animatronic-variety-show trifecta, Chuck E. Cheese upholds an important entertainment legacy. Though their core philosophy and slogan, "Where a Kid Can Be a Kid," sounds like a simple-enough mantra to maintain, many years have passed since Atari inventor Nolan Bushnell opened the first location in San Jose.

Despite the ever-changing nature of entertainment consumption, Chuck E. Cheese has done nothing but flourish. Intrinsic to this continuing knack for capturing kids' imaginations is its incorporation of modern entertainment and adherence to the robotic act that got it started in the first place. Chuck, Jasper T. Jowls, and Helen Henny are all still there, suspending a new generation's disbelief in gargantuan singing animals. Their charms, though, have been bolstered for the appetites of modern kids with more immersive games, wilder rides, and sweeter prizes.

Skytubes traverse the ceilings as an oversize human Habitrail, offering fantastical escape for energetic kids above the lights and sounds of the arcade. Staples such as skee ball and hoops now stand alongside sense-saturating simulator rides and the latest video games. At many locations, even the variety show has been modernized for the digital era. In its place is an interactive experience dubbed Studio C, where, thanks to bluescreens and video cameras, kids get to jam with Mr. Cheese himself.

Traditionally, if you wanted to find out the length of a giraffe's tongue, you'd have to hide in a tree with a ready hand and a yardstick. Utah's Hogle Zoo has streamlined the process, however: one of its animal encounters allows guests to feed the long-necked creatures alongside a keeper, who will happily tell you that their purple tongues stretch for 20 inches. The giraffes are just one of more than 800 animals inside the zoo grounds. Spanning 42 acres of verdant hillside property, the exhibits strive to showcase fauna in arenas that mimic their natural habitats.

The polar bear inside Rocky Shores—the zoo's largest exhibit to date—lumbers through a landscape inspired by North America's western coast, with a pool that affords guests underwater views of the bear’s attempts to secure its swim cap. Snow leopards, Siberian lynxes, and amur tigers prowl the Himalayan-inspired scenery of the Asian Highlands. At Elephant Encounter's African Lodge, visitors can touch an elephant skull or a rhino horn before glimpsing the pachyderms in the flesh. Summer shows send eagles and hawks swooping overhead in the Wildlife Theatre. From loping wolves and toothy crocodiles to the sagely gorillas of the Great Apes house, the beasts all benefit from the staff's enrichment efforts, which encourage learning as well as instinctual behaviors.

As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Utah's Hogle Zoo demonstrates a commitment to wildlife conservation that extends beyond its gates. Many of its special events contribute funds to preservation programs. For example, the Orange Utahn Art show raises donations for endangered primates, selling original works by both local artists and the zoo's orangutans, who compose colorful paintings. Guests can even get a closer look at imperiled species by saddling up on top of one—the Conservation Carousel arrays 42 hand-carved sculptures of at-risk animals, such as the red panda, the giant panda, and the false panda, which is just a black poodle that rolled in some paint.

Get Air's four pit trampolines allow bouncers to jump from competition-grade rectangular trampolines into miniature abysses filled with soft, square blocks of foam. But the expansive indoor facility fosters more activities than just jumping. Angled borders surround a dodge-ball arena made up of four long tumbling tracks, and two Aeroball courts host a combination of volleyball, basketball, and trampolining. AirJam basketball takes place in its own area, while kids shorter than 48 inches can play without fear of falling adults or skies at the Small Air area.

Gravity is a limit, and the safety-conscious staff at Get Air Sportsplex won't stand for that—they help guests of all ages defy Newton's obsession. Their facility is chock-full of aerial-activity apparatus, including 50 huge trampolines, an 80-foot dodge-ball court, and five foam pits. Each foam pit is outfitted with TVs so that jumpers can watch delayed replays of their cannonballs and airborne tricks. There's a kids' area, too, that invites little ones to bounce on a trampoline slide and foam pit without risking injury or the most common outcome of jumping on the bed: having your parents replace your bed with a sleeping bag. An expansive parkour arena dares adventurous guests to test their physical discipline. Friendly staffers also prepare party rooms to help groups celebrate birthdays, corporate events, or a pogo stick's retirement party.

Seven Peaks' multiple locales thrill guests with attractions ranging from water slides to go-karts to bowling. At Seven Peaks Waterpark Provo, the aquatically inclined can cascade down 16 water slides, seesaw around the mammoth half-pipe tube ride, or ride the crests of the 400,000-gallon wave pool. Guests can scan the attractions at Seven Peaks Waterpark Salt Lake City, such as 11 water slides and the Amazon River, then plummet off the Cliffhanger, a curvy slide that ends with a sudden five-foot drop into a pool. The Lehi and Orem locations house an assortment of waterless excursions, including mini golf, go-karts, batting cages, laser tag, and laser golf carts. The Utah Pass of All Passes lets guests use the Fun Centers’ bowling lanes to show off elite bowling skills developed from years of rolling watermelons into doghouses. Pass holders also receive: access to skating at Peaks Ice Arena, admission to events at Rocky Mountain Raceways, and admission to baseball and arena-football games where they can don a shirtless torso with the team's logo emblazoned in whipped cream.