Wichita’s largest indoor play structure is opening inside Carousel Skate Center
In its almost 40 years of entertaining Wichita kids, Carousel Skate Center at 312 N. West St. has been a place where generations have learned to fly and limbo across the wide blue floor — or maybe desperately clutch onto the wall while their friends sail by.
Starting this weekend, it will also become a place where kids with lots of energy and a desire to climb, swing and bounce will likely beg their parents to take them.
On Saturday, the center will open a massive new play zone that owners somehow managed to squeeze into the back section of the existing building. The structure is 60 feet long and 18 feet wide and is like the biggest fast-food restaurant play place you’ve ever seen.
It’s made by a Springfield, Missouri,-based company called Amazing Play, and the company’s owner, Darrell Weaver, says he’s installed so many of them, he’s lost count. They’re popular in indoor entertainment venues and in skating rinks across the country. Weaver said that nearby, he’s also installed giant indoor play zones in places like Salina and in Tulsa.
It’s a “soft play” structure, made out of steel and the type of material used to make seat belts. It features four stories of climbing, two slides, several bridges, a suspended hammock and even a swinging pendulum kids can ride. It’s so big, 100 children at a time can play on it at once.
“Our goal at Carousel is to provide family entertainment, and for years, it’s strictly been roller skating,” said Journey Bodyk, Carousel’s communication manager. “This new play zone will allow families with children who don’t like to skate or who can’t skate to still have fun.”
The play zone will officially open on Saturday. People who pay $6 will be able to play as long as they’d like. It also costs $6 to skate, but people who want to do both can pay $10.
Carousel is owned by Jerry Ottaway, whose family founded Joyland. He and his grandson, Carousel operator Austin Ottaway, had long wanted to expand the center’s offerings and at trade shows had learned about other skating rinks that had found success with play zones. They’re particularly popular with parents of small children who need to burn some energy, especially in the winter, when it’s too cold to play outside.
“Living in Kansas, the weather is so unpredictable, you can only play outside on playgrounds a little time out of the year,” Bodyk said. “We’re hoping this will provide that playground experience all times of the year.”
The owners’ challenge was deciding where they could put such a big structure in the existing building, which despite having 20,800 square feet was mostly filled up by skating rink surface. After much discussion, they decided to take about 20 feet off the back of the rink, creating a cement block wall to form a new skating boundary. Bodyk estimates that only about 1/8th of the previous skating space was eliminated.
The structure is so tall, crews had to remove the false ceiling over where they wanted to erect it, and they hope to remove the rest of the ceiling over the rink next summer to open the whole place up.
Weaver was busy this week putting finishing touches on the play space, and skating rink owners soon will install a row of booths alongside it where parents can sit and watch their children play. They’ve even installed USB plugins beside where the booths will go so that parents can charge their cell phones while they wait.
The owners aren’t putting any restrictions on what ages can utilize the play area. Parents can even get in with their kids. The only rule is “no roughhousing.”
Since the owners have announced their new addition on Facebook, some people have asked how they plan to keep the structure clean. It’s made out of material that can be sprayed down daily and power-washed frequently, Bodyk said, and the owners plan to stay vigilant about the structure’s cleanliness.
It will be accessible to children who visit the skate center for school fund-raising skate parties as long as they pay the additional $6 and is also available to rent for birthday parties.
During the school year, Carousel is open for public use from 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 316-942-4505.
This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 4:29 PM.