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by Rob Morris
Jun 06, 2012
It’s inevitable, you know.
We might catch a break and have a cool and rainy May. And if we’re really lucky that cool weather will begin to stretch into June.
But Oklahomans know all too well that all too soon the blast furnace doors will swing wide and the thermometer will begin it’s blistering climb toward triple digits.
For residents of Moore and South Oklahoma City, the options for keeping cool during those epic heat waves (Summer of 2011, anyone???) have just gotten a whole lot sweeter with the opening of Andy Alligator’s Water Park.
This is no spur-of-the-moment effort by the Allison family, who’ve been highly successful with their family-based concept for Andy Alligator’s Fun Park. This is the product of careful planning and research says Kyle Allison, the park’s general manager.
“We’ve actually spent a couple of years traveling around the United States,” says Allison, “All the way from the east to west coasts. We wanted to check out a lot of different parks to see what kinds of attractions would fit our concept.”
The Andy Alligator’s concept is unique in that it is designed specifically to create a great family experience, especially for those families with children under the age of 15. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t offer the chance for teenage fun. It’s simply a philosophy that puts family dynamics first.
Allison says, “What we want are that families are going to come out together and have a great time. It’s not so big that kids can get lost or out of sight.
But there are plenty of great attractions that make it just right for a family.”
Among those attractions are the 800-foot long Lazy River and a massive bucket that fills with 800 gallons of water and then every five minutes dumps a load of “H-2-OH MY GOSH THAT’S A LOT OF WATER” onto the eager crowd of kids below! (Don’t worry, mom. It’s a lot of water that’s delivered with spectacular gentleness so it won’t hurt your kiddos.)
There are also a number of various slides and splash attractions. And let’s not forget the parks nearly five-story tall tower with Oklahoma’s only four-lane mat racer and big tube slide. Families will find slides designed for smaller kids, separate play areas for toddlers and hundreds of deck chairs.
Oh…there’s one more thing: private cabanas.
“You can rent these private cabanas for the day,” says Allison, “They have private seating area with drinks, cable TV and wireless internet.”
Private cabanas. 800 gallons of water spraying over your head every 5 minutes. Mat races down a five-story tall slide. Not a bad way to turn up the cool when the temperatures crack 100 degrees.
Andy Alligator’s Water Park is now open from 10:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. 7 days a week until students return to school in the fall. Then the park will return to weekend hours. The park is also available for private party bookings. For more information on booking the park, as well as ticket prices just call 405-321-7275 or surf over to andyalligators.com.
HEY DAY ENTERTAINMENT CENTER/DOUBLE DAVE’S PIZZA
Climate-controlled fun, 365-days a year.
Just across the street from Andy Alligators you’ll find another heat-beating treat for local residents.
Hey Day Entertainment Center has been open for five years now and offers a thermometer-smashing option for families that want to make plans without having to worry about what kind of weather they may face.
Believe it or not, Hey Day was actually born out of owner Brad Little’s road trips with his son’s soccer teams.
Little says, “We were going on these trips and inevitably we’d end up at a Main Event or a Dave & Buster’s and I kept thinking that the Moore/Norman area really needed a 1st class center like this.”
If you haven’t been out to Hey Day and you’re wondering what “1st Class” means…how about a full arcade, mini-golf, 7,000 square feet of laser tag and a ropes course. That sounds like a lot, but Little and his crew took things one step farther and paired all of that entertainment center with a Double Dave’s pizza franchise.
“We could’ve just put a concession stand in,” says Little, “But we wanted to do something more, something a lot cooler. We convinced Double Dave’s Pizza to allow us to open a franchise as a part of the entertainment center and as far as I know, we’re the only Double Dave’s franchise that operates this way.”
So let’s tally up the score on Hey Day: mini-golf, climate-controlled arcade, laser tag and ropes course fun 365-days a year and some of the tastiest pizza in the state. That adds up to a great way to put the smack-down on Oklahoma’s hottest summer days.’
For more information on Hey Day, including summer season passes for unlimited laser tag, mini-golf and ropes course just call 405-310-3500 or check out the website at heydayfamilyfun.com.
ICE, ICE BABY
Blazers Ice Centre Offers Many Ways to Chill
If you’re looking for refuge from the blistering Oklahoma summer sun, you just can’t get much cooler than an ice rink. And fortunately for residents of Moore and Oklahoma City there’s a premier rink nestled right off of I-35.
General Manager Larry Donovan says Blazers Ice Centre offers a wide variety of great opportunities for summer fun.
“Youth hockey, figure skating, birthday parties, private groups, public groups. We’ve got something for everybody all summer long, 24-hours a day,” says Donovan.
There’s also a “beauty and the beast” offering that could be especially attractive to parents looking to give their kids a way to blow off some summer steam.
On the beauty side, Blazers Ice Centre offers figure skating classes.
Donovan says, “There are 4 and 8 week programs that cover basics and beginners all the way up to introduction to figure skating.”
As you might imagine those programs are very popular, but the “beast” offering is something really unique: 5 weeks of free youth hockey taught by a Stanley Cup champion. It’s open to kids from age 4-through-12. And listen to this: it’s free.
Seriously, Larry? Free?
“Our Kids First program is absolutely free,” says Donovan, “It’s a five-week program where kids will receive personalized attention from an NHL 3-time Stanley Cup champion, Mike McEwen. The equipment’s given to them. The ice time’s given to them and they get to try it free. It’s a great program.”
Donovan says it’s an easy way to introduce kids to the sport of ice hockey. And it takes place on Thursday nights from 5:15-to-6:15 p.m.
If you’d like more information on any of the offerings at Blazers Ice Centre, just call 405-631-3307 or skate over to the website at www.blazers-icecentre.com.
