When you’re in the family fun business, you know the value of exciting, interactive experiences for all. Your entertainment center is a key feature of your community. Adding new attractions will put you on the map as an innovative, family-friendly destination.

Families seeking thrills flock to adventure experiences like high ropes courses and interactive play equipment. Creating a custom course for people of all ages is the perfect way to draw in new guests and promote family bonding time at your entertainment center.

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What Are Adventure Experiences?

Adventure experiences are a variety of fun, challenging play courses designed for multigenerational interaction. Many people think of playgrounds as just for kids, but ropes courses, high adventure obstacles and all sorts of other interactive equipment challenge both body and mind and prove that imaginative play is for anyone and everyone.

Several types of courses and playgrounds fall under the umbrella of adventure experiences, including:

  • Belayed high rope adventure courses: Families will feel like they’re exploring the treetops of a forest while climbing high in the air on a ropes course with harnesses. Belayed adventure courses present unique challenges, such as navigating tightropes, crossing wobbly bridges and dodging obstacles hanging between platforms. And it all happens high up in the air, presenting an added thrill. You can install ropes courses indoors or outdoors.
  • Non-belayed high adventure courses: Non-belayed courses offer many of the thrills of a belayed course without the need for harnesses. Free play gets a thrilling upgrade with climbing platforms, obstacles and slides, all in a structure that takes guests to great heights.
  • Interactive challenge courses: With plenty of options for different age groups, challenge courses provide imaginative fun and playful competition. Guests can set goals for themselves and keep coming back to beat their personal bests. Interactive courses awaken the senses with tactile play, lights, bright colors and patterns.

What Are the Benefits of Adventure Experiences for Families?

Challenging adventure courses encourage family bonding time through play and the excitement of encountering interesting obstacles together. Adventure activities for families are designed for all ages, so kids, parents, grandparents and everyone in between can join in the fun. Adventure experiences give families the chance to:

  • Work together: Adventure courses promote group problem-solving opportunities. Family members can help each other get to the other side of obstacles and figure out challenges as a team.
  • Play together: Play is a great way to wind down and relax while strengthening shared connections. Most of the day, family members are involved in individual obligations, such as work and school. Adventure experiences give everyone a chance to unwind and come together to do something fun as a family.
  • Spread positivity: Families can use these fun challenges as opportunities to cheer each other on. Encouraging words bring people closer together.
  • Exercise: Adventure experiences also promote physical activity. Part of being a family means looking out for each other’s health and well-being. Completing an adventure course together is a great way to encourage healthy lifestyles while having so much fun that kids and adults alike will forget they’re exercising.
  • Create traditions: Traditions bring families closer together with familiar, fun routines. Whole-family play is a great way to get everyone to spend more time with each other on a regular basis. When everyone enjoys an activity, they’ll come back again and again, excited to continue having fun with their loved ones and seeking new adventures.
  • Think creatively: Creative thinking is an important factor in child development. Adults can help their kids cultivate learning skills by taking them through courses that challenge people of all ages. Crossing obstacles requires imagination. With adventure equipment, kids can choose where to go next and how to get to the other side. Themed equipment boosts creativity even more by helping kids and adults dream up scenarios that inspire them as they move along the course.

Benefits of adventure experiences for families

Adventure experiences also cater to a range of difficulty levels. Bringing families together for an activity often means combining different interests and abilities. Your entertainment center’s customized adventures can welcome a variety of abilities, so families can find an activity that works for everyone. Offering several difficulty levels also allows families to come back and try new challenges as they gain skills.

What Are the Benefits of Adventure Experiences for Entertainment Centers?

Adding a new adventure attraction to your entertainment center can give it a fresh upgrade. New attractions are great for business, and they can revitalize your space with exciting features your guests will be excited to try. Adventure experiences offer the type of thrilling play people will come back for again and again.

In addition to repeat business, some advantages of adventure experiences include:

  • Longevity: With equipment built to last, your business’s investment in an adventure experience will maximize your profits. Courses include premium structure and harness materials that will let the fun continue for years to come. Attracting everyone from new customers to regulars, adventure experiences quickly turn a profit to help your business grow.
  • Can’t-miss factor: Adventure courses are an excellent way to promote your establishment as a noteworthy attraction. Installing a colorful, thrilling outdoor course people can see from the road is a great way to draw attention to your business and invite people to see what your family entertainment center is all about. Many people have yet to encounter an adventure course, and seeing that their local entertainment center features one will inspire them to give it a try.
  • Customization: Whether you have a sprawling outdoor area or a section of your indoor complex you want to get more use out of, you can design an adventure course to suit your needs. Choose from a variety of equipment elements to create the perfect adventure for all ages. Mix and match original pieces to create a unique experience visitors won’t be able to find anywhere else. You can also customize your adventure course with your business’s logo or colors and themes that match your brand.
  • Versatility: Many adventure experiences can be installed indoors or outdoors, making them the perfect way to maximize your center’s space. If you’ve been unsure of how to build up your outdoor space or you’re looking for another attraction to add some more excitement indoors, adventure experiences are your solution. Outdoor courses allow families to take advantage of sunny days and spend some time outside, while indoor options give guests the chance to exercise during cold or rainy weather.
  • Flexible business model: You can incorporate an adventure course as a revenue-builder in many ways. If guests pay an entrance fee for your entertainment center, you can include your adventure course in that cost. Or guests can pay an extra fee to explore your course if you’re interested in setting it apart as a featured attraction. Either way, including an adventure experience in your entertainment center is a great way to lead your business to financial success.

How Can Adventure Courses Make Your Entertainment Center Stand Out?

Adventure experiences provide several levels of fun for the whole family. Create an attention-grabbing addition to your entertainment center with a variety of obstacles and courses.

Belayed Adventure Courses

Ropes courses are a noteworthy attraction at entertainment centers and beyond. Choosing a supply company with unique, customizable obstacle designs lets your course stand out with features unlike any other.

Belayed adventure courses

Belayed courses are also modular, which means you can strategically add new obstacles as your business grows. Expanding your custom adventure experiences by adding new features from time to time can keep your entertainment center fresh and exciting. Many family play destinations offer dated attractions that stay the same for years or even decades. Adventure experience courses can be updated and expanded for years to come, so families will keep coming back to try out the new obstacles.

Piecing together an obstacle course is almost as fun as climbing one. Adventure courses with belays can get extra creative with the thrills they offer since guests use harnesses throughout the entire course. Some course obstacles you may want to consider include:

  • Wobbly bridges: Give guests a balance challenge with wooden bridges that shift and shake when stepped on.
  • Thin walkways: Bridges with only a few thin boards set out lengthwise challenge climbers to use careful footwork to get to the other side.
  • Cargo nets: Guests can climb large nets up and across to the next obstacle while getting a full-body workout.
  • Swinging platforms: Individually suspended wood planks can act as stepping stones that swing when climbers step from one to the other.
  • Tightropes: Climbers can summon all their balance skills on this thinnest walkway option.
  • Hanging obstacles: Add even more challenge to a bridge or tightrope by suspending pieces of rope or other objects from above for climbers to weave through.
  • Hanging rings: Rings offer another exciting walkway option. Climbers can step through large, swinging rings to navigate to the next platform.
  • Zip lines: Climbers need a way to get back down again. Zip lines offer an exciting ride back to the ground. You can also use them as efficient ways for climbers to cross long spaces between platforms.

Non-Belayed Adventure Courses

The advantages of harness-free exploration are numerous. Non-belayed courses include a series of interconnected nets surrounding every obstacle, letting guests climb and play freely and set their own paths.

These courses have elements that cater to all experience levels, so kids and adults can play alongside each other on the same course while working through obstacles that are fitting for them. All guests will have the opportunity to explore heights, take on challenges and have fun.

As with belayed courses, you’ll have lots of choices throughout the design process. From obstacles to colors to themes, you’ll work with your designer to create an innovative play structure. Some elements you can consider include:

  • Netted walkways: Nets make up the entire enclosure system, but they can also double as walkways and walls, adding a bit of a challenge while walking or crawling through. You can even add other obstacles within the nets for an increased challenge.
  • Slides: When guests work their way to the top of the course, they’ll need a way to get down again. Long, twisty slides provide a fun trip back to solid ground.
  • Climbing rings: Hanging interactive pieces such as rings and hexagons level up course walkways, giving guests items to swing on or climb. Families can make a game of seeing who can travel across a walkway using only the climbing shapes without touching the net.
  • Ladders: Opt for a standard ladder or stairway — or have guests climb to new heights with innovative designs featuring three-dimensional climbing access and creative rung shapes. Spiral staircases and walkways also provide easy access to the highest peaks of your play area.

Interactive Challenge Courses

Challenge courses provide an energizing activity full of games and obstacles for both kids and adults.

The Hive is an interactive obstacle course for older kids and young adults that includes many challenges in one innovative structure. Teams race against each other and the clock to complete obstacles in this action-packed game system.

Interactive challenge courses

One of The Hive’s biggest benefits is its compact design. This course offers several games and activities, all in one hexagonal hub that only requires a small amount of indoor space. Its features include:

  • Ball obstacles: Players can climb the structure and squeeze through the stack of rubber balls to complete challenges as fast as possible.
  • Adventure ropes: Strategically placed rope configurations allow players to climb through the structure.
  • Game targets: These light-up sensors create a visual experience and help all the players interact with each other.
  • Top-level barrier nets: Nets that let players climb to the top of the structure intensify the competition.

Younger players can also join in the fun with these age-appropriate add-ons:

  • Adventure spheres: Challenge younger kids with obstacles made from different-sized spheres for them to climb.
  • Light walk: Sensors in the floor light up as kids walk on them for an interactive light show.
  • Ground games: Patterns in the carpet double as an eye-catching inspiration for imaginative play.

Plan Your Adventure Experience With Soft Play®

Here at Soft Play, we’re passionate about the power of play for people of all ages. Adventure courses are a fantastic way to bring families together for thrilling challenges that help everyone stay active, work together and have fun.

Soft Play offers a wide selection of imaginative adventure products for you to mix and match to create the perfect experience for your guests. We’ll work with you every step of the way, from planning and design to installation, so you can offer families unforgettable play opportunities for years to come.

Contact us today to start planning your one-of-a-kind adventure experience!

Plan your adventure experiences