Tops for family fun
<p>Scott Wagenseller looks on as his 4-year-old son Hunter throws the ball down the alley during his turn Tuesday at the bowling alley at Triple Play Family Fun Park. the amusement center won the 2010 Brass Ring Top Family Entertainment Centers of the World award earlier this month.</p>
HAYDEN - The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions recently awarded Triple Play Family Fun Park the "2010 Top Family Entertainment Center of the World" for the year 2010 at its annual attractions expo held in Orlando, Fla.
There are approximately 10,000 family fun centers in the U.S. alone.
The association's "brass ring awards" are the most prestigious awards within the attractions industry worldwide. The program was designed to build on the high quality and excellence that the "brass ring" has already come to signify.
The association's attractions expo 2010 is a large conference and trade show for the amusement park and attractions industry. Members include family entertainment centers, zoos and aquariums, water parks, museums, science centers and theme parks.
All family entertainment centers were encouraged to enter this competition by submitting an application as well as a DVD with pictures of the exterior of the building entrance, main sign parking lot, ticket sales counter, bathrooms, food concessions, redemption counter and merchandise display, party rooms and at least two pictures of revenue generating attractions, which include: go-karts, bumper boats, indoor mini golf, outdoor mini golf, bowling, climbing wall, laser tag and the arcade as well as a photo of staff members in uniform.
Additional examples of a general flier, birthday flier, print advertisement, and a copy of a television commercial were also encouraged. Also, each facility was judged based on a visit performed by a professional mystery shopper, who evaluated each facility's performance from the customer's perspective in the areas of pre-visit telephone call, website review, general appearance, staff hospitality, cleanliness, landscaping, attractions, food quality, state of repair, safety and more.
"Words cannot express how excited we are to have received such a prestigious award," said Jennifer Ross, marketing and sales director for Triple Play.
Dolly Parton was also at the awards ceremony where she accepted a similar award for her theme park, Dollywood. She was recently a guest on "Larry King Live" to talk about her award and stated that awards like these are like the"Oscars of the industry."
John Geddes, owner of Triple Play; Mike Murphy, general manager; and Ross all traveled to Orlando for the association's attractions expo to accept the award this month.