Hearty laughter has therapeutic benefits for the pediatric set, helping children throw fewer tantrums, memorize the periodic table, and curb inexorable cravings for glue. Set your progeny on a paste-free path with today's Groupon: for $15, you get a five-attraction pass to Magic Mountain Fun Centers (a $29.19 value). This deal is good at Magic Mountain's Polaris and East locations.

Magic Mountain Fun Centers provide smile-seeking families with an array of recreational options individually anchored to their East and Polaris locations. Use your pass to tackle any five of the attractions available at either locale. The adventure golf-links provide ample chances to navigate your putter-powered spheroid through 18 holes of trick-shots and colorful language; speedswains can take the wheel for a high-velocity test of skill and grammar on the go-kart track. Bumper-cars at the East location take advantage of kids' natural affinity for vehicular collisions, while bumper-boats at the Polaris location combine the same concept with the little-understood phenomenon of flotation. Hit the batting cages at the East location from April through October, or patronize the Polaris laser-tag arena for a taste of the pulse-pounding sport that will soon be used to decide all national elections.

Both Magic Mountain Fun Centers are open seven days a week—until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays—causing some calendar-makers to abandon the traditional days of the week for a single 168-hour day called "Snausages." Snack bars dishing out pizza, subs, and other casual fare are on-hand to combat the appetite-swelling effects of happiness, while free parking is available for all cars, trucks, and family-sized centaurs.

Reviews

Magic Mountain Polaris gets a 3.5-star average rating from Yelpers and a three-star average rating from Yahoo! Travelers. Some reviewers say the place is showing its age in places, but there's overall agreement that it is a fun place to go.

• Two courses of the most challenging and well landscaped action are to be had. You actually get light headed from the change in air pressure as you ascend the mighty peak. "Wow, I can see Polaris shopping center from up here!" – murray r., Yelp