Theme & Amusement Parks in Westlake

Emerald corridors spiral across a landscape of vibrant flowers, trees, and rocky outcrops to comprise Mulligans Family Fun Center’s 18-hole miniature golf course. A gushing waterfall broadcasts tranquil vibes throughout the circuit, as pale-red bricks keep balls from straying off-path or absconding to audition for position in a juggling act. Mulligans' pavilion adds to the vacation atmosphere, allowing guests to arrange romantic post-golf picnics with snacks and refreshments available at the clubhouse. The center also includes a basketball court, where guests can practice free throws or javelin-tossing putters at the backboard.

Now in its 23rd year, the I-X Indoor Amusement Park returns to the International Exposition Center with more than 20 acres of rides, games, and attractions. The indoor wonderland opens its doors from late March to early April on select dates, giving Cleveland families a springtime window to zip around on more than 30 thrill rides or read poetry to farm animals at a petting zoo. The newly added Cirque Shanghai dazzles eyes with a mammoth spectacle of daring acrobatics and motorcycle daredevilry, while daily Big Cat shows showcase the abilities of rescued tigers from a Sarasota, Florida, animal sanctuary. A collection of carnival fare, such as corn dogs, cotton candy, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and deep-fried baseball caps, rounds out the summer-like atmosphere.

Happy shouts float across Swings-N-Things Family Fun Park, whipping out of the mouths of drivers racing around go-kart tracks and captains ricocheting off one another in bumper boats. The satisfying clunk of colorful spheres falling into holes on the mini-golf course perks up ears in the sprawling complex of indoor and outdoor attractions. Go-kart drivers whiten their knuckles behind the wheel of 9-horsepower Honda engines, tearing through a quarter mile of twists and turns on the Grand Prix track as if it were a high-school principal’s lawn. Alternatively, patrons frolic across the park’s two outdoor mini-golf courses before practicing their aim in a laser shootout game, and children ages 10 and younger scramble their socked feet over slides and rides inside the Kids Korner indoor play area. Swings-N-Things Family Fun Park is easily accessible from the area's major highways.

An opening in the rock face slides open, and the warriors pour into the bizarre archaeological site. Rough-hewn blocks, cool to the touch, form close tunnels that let fast breaths echo. Light trickles in through a hole in the ceiling, as though something else had gotten here first. Suddenly, the warriors scatter, and adrenaline-tinged shouts drift up through the constant fire of up to 60 laser guns as the explorers tear through the 20,000-square-foot, newly expanded space. As they sprint past shrouded aliens and desiccated palm trees, their suits transmit stats to the outside world, where real-time scoreboards track their prowess and battle-cry harmonies, and plasma monitors display shootouts taking place in the fog-filled arena.

Extreme Laser Tag sets the stage for space-age combat with its labyrinth of smoky corridors, ramps, and neon-lit walls. Equipped with Nexus Generation laser-tag technology, the arena can host up to 60 vested combatants as they split into teams and vie for points by scoring chest shots on their opponents.

Large plasma monitors outside the arena display the hectic battles in real time, with beam-by-beam battle stats showing who is the scoring leader and who has been melted into plasmic goo. The facility frequently accommodates birthday parties, large corporate gatherings, and fundraiser groups; everyday customers and private partiers often join in battlefield alliances, exacting laser-powered revenge on bosses and double-crossing imaginary friends.

Lasers flash across a 4,000-square-foot arena. Bumper boats splash against each other in a 135,000-gallon lake. An elastic EuroBungy harness flings bouncers skyward for death-defying flips. These are just a few of the attractions and activities at Fun 'n' Stuff, where families can also fill their days by racing go-karts, climbing a rock wall, or gliding around a rink on rented roller skates. Guests who want to breathe in fresh air can putt through two 18-hole mini golf courses, whack balls in five hardball and four softball cages, and slide down a 24-foot inflatable slide. The littlest visitors play in a ball pit, whereas the Extreme Looping Bikes send older ones soaring through the air, just like the majestic eagle they rode to their middle-school graduation.