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)