Theme & Amusement Parks in Sterling Heights

At Whirlyball Novi, teams in motorized cars call whirlybugs spin and bump their way through one-hour bouts of a competitive wiffle-ball game that combines aspects of basketball, hockey, and jai alai. Bright red and yellow whirlybugs, powered by electricity and the tears of the defeated, race across a 4,000-square-foot court as their drivers toss balls to each other with plastic scoops. Referees keep track of each team's score as friends look on from the comfortable leather couches of the lounge. After matches, teams sip on drinks from the bar, feast on one of several meal packages, or continue calling each other "liver-licking kumkwats" over games of pool.

Jump City's indoor play land works hard to live up to its name. The vibrantly colored metropolis surrounds visitors with enough inflated slides, obstacle courses, and bounce houses to make any balloon animal regret its decision to move to the suburbs.

A miniature locomotive passes beneath the shadow of a towering monkey statue. Nearby, a dragon-shaped roller coaster zooms past oversized ferns and a yawning hippo. Tropical accents like these define Jeepers!’s frenetic, color-saturated space, which, in addition to five amusement park rides, entertains tykes aged 12 and younger with more than 80 arcade games. Once kids have expended their excess energy, families can retreat to the concession stand and refuel with a menu of pizzas and burgers.:m]]

More than 12,000 patients once walked the halls of Saint Lucifer's Haunted Asylum. There, cruel electroshock experiments and unexplained tragedies were the norm, and “release” was nothing more than a laughable concept. It was a place where patients frequently disappeared in five miles of underground tunnels, a place where the body count was abnormally high. It was called evil and said to be haunted. And then it was ordered closed by the state in 1974.

Yet, once a year during the Halloween season, the asylum opens its doors to intrepid visitors. These guests must navigate the ward's halls in the company of tortured spirits—patients who were subject to the whims and tools of a mad doctor. Even after they have braved the hospital, they must then pass the seven gates of 13 Feet Under, where zombies, bloodless corpses, and ghouls devoid of facial features prowl.

The two terrifying locales have earned a spot on Haunted Attraction magazine's "Must See 25 Haunted Houses" of 2011 for their devotion to harvesting screams. According to an ABC feature, they employ professional actors to enact their up-close scares, rather than relying on college improv teams who demand that patrons shout out their greatest fear before entering.

Creepy clowns, bloodied ghosts, and decaying zombies lurk behind every twist and turn at the Slaughtered at Sundown haunted house. Voted the best haunted attraction of 2011 by WDIV readers, the house's pitch-black passageways wind through a chilling cemetery, simulated scenes of violence, and plenty of loud noises and pop-up scares. If they happen to survive the darkness, intrepid guests can brave a trip through the terrifying countryside on the Slaughtered Town hayride, where they'll encounter horrifying figures such as a headless horseman who seeks revenge against those who always beat him at Marco Polo. Those lucky enough to emerge from both attractions unscathed can calm down and enjoy their own snacks and beverages at Slaughtered at Sundown's bonfire area.

A small family-run European circus, a Dutch unicycling school, various roofs—these are just a few of the places where Cirque Amongus' staff of performers has been known to hang out. Through hands-on programs, teachers enrich students' sense of teamwork, motor skills, and self-esteem by teaching them circus-arts fundamentals, which they'll use to dazzle friends and families in performances. Voted one of the top places to host a child's birthday party in Michigan by eHow, Cirque Amongus lets kids sample acrobatics at birthday parties, perfect juggling routines at afterschool sessions, and run the mile in clown shoes during school visits. Children can also practice unicycling at drop-in workshops, or test out new magic tricks at open-stage nights.