Game Plan

Kids who live in the Santa Clarita Valley are onto something that may still be a secret to San Fernando Valley kids.

There’s an amusement park in Santa Clarita that is smaller and less well-known than that major attraction in town, Magic Mountain. Tucked away on a hillside near Saugus Speedway, it’s called Mountasia Family Fun Center. And visiting there has become something of a habit-forming weekend experience for kids from the area.

The attractions at the park include go-carts, bumper boats, batting cages, a pair of 18-hole miniature golf courses, a 14-seat Stinger Motion Simulator Ride, a 10,000-square-foot video-game arcade and a 13,000-square-foot roller rink.

It’s also smoke-free, has a distinctly friendly atmosphere and apparently has a lot of repeat customers.

“We were here just last weekend--and my kids want to come here all the time,” said Lisa McMartin of Canyon Country. Nearby, her son Blake, 11, had stepped into the park’s “prize cage,” a combination phone booth and wind tunnel where, for $2, kids are given 15 seconds to grab as many prize coupons as they can while the little paper treasures swirl around in a blast of air.

(A notice outside the “prize cage” admonishes: “You must grab coupons out of the air only. Hold them in your hands at all times. No stuffing into shirts or pants.”)

Moments later (15 seconds, to be exact), Blake emerged triumphant, bearing a pass for a party of 10 to skate for free at the park’s roller rink. “He got two [such coupons] last time we came,” said his mother. “There are also a lot of passes to attractions here given out as awards for fund-raising efforts at school [because] this is the happening place for kids.”

Of the 20,000 visitors to the park each month, about a third are using discount coupons. The coupons can be gotten via the Internet--https://www.hotcoupons.com--which is a good thing considering that the rides average $4.

Shalon Zimmerman, a College of the Canyons student who works as a team leader at the park, said, “Weekends, and when school is out, kids nag their parents [to bring them here]. As soon as they walk in the door the kids get excited and just take off and don’t bother their parents.” So much for filial gratitude.

McDonald’s operates an on-site food counter, which produces an apparently endless supply of party food for the birthday groups that come to the park. “Party Packages” are available for $5.95 per person.

As the weather gets problematic, the park’s combination of inside and outside attractions is something to keep in mind when planning a weekend.

An interesting way to get to the park from the San Fernando Valley might be to ride Metrolink to the Santa Clarita station, which is nearby. OK, there’s a 10-minute walk involved. But hey, a family needs exercise. And the kids get to take a ride before they get on the rides. Metrolink’s weekend schedules are convenient for such an outing. Call 808-5465 (no area code needed) for train information.

BE THERE

Mountasia Family Fun Center (go-carts, bumper boats, roller rink, miniature golf, batting cages, game room), 21516 Golden Triangle Road, Santa Clarita; off Soledad Canyon Road near Saugus Speedway; Saturday hours 10 a.m.-midnight, Sunday hours 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; rides, etc. average $4; info (805) 253-4386. Discount coupons available via Internet (https://www.hotcoupons.com)