Utah State University - » Fun Park refocuses on core service: Fun

Fun Park refocuses on core service: Fun

February 24th, 2013 Posted in Arts and Life

By Curtis Lundstrom

NORTH LOGAN—The Cache Valley Fun Park thinks new staff and a recommitment to customers will redefine fun in Cache Valley.

“It’s a different type of customer service,” says BreAnn Skivy, the new general manager. “We get to play and have a good time with them. It’s not just get ’em in, get ’em out, and get them on with their thing. That attitude is the number one reason we’re revamping.”

And with the variety of entertainment options, revamping is exactly what owner Terry Johnson was looking for.

“We needed fresh blood,” Johnson said. “I believe the success of a place like this is that they have to have fun with the kids. When it gets to where you’re grinding down to the point that it’s a job, we’ve gone astray.”

Along with new management, renovations are being made to improve the facility over the next several months in preparation for the company’s 15^th anniversary.

Johnson and Skivy agreed that while the physical changes will have a positive impact, the real difference will be made by the employees and their role in creating a positive atmosphere.

“We’re getting back to a personal feel,” Skivy said. “We’re a commodity in Cache Valley. There’s nobody else that has what we have entertainment wise. Logan Lanes with bowling but that’s it. Everything else we don’t have competition and that’s something we need to take one and run with.”

Some of those unique forms of entertainment include laser tag, country swing dancing and roller skating, but activities also include arcade games, a soft play facility, bowling, billiards and even Zumba.

Skivy was expecially excited about Zumba, A lot of mothers bring their children to play on the soft play equipment while the Zumba class goes on, she said.

Costs range from $2.50 for five minutes of laser tag to $6 per hour for a pool table, but Andrea Choate of Hyde Park says she comes to the Fun Park because it’s a cheap way to entertain her three kids—especially in winter.

“We like the fun park because it’s cheap,” Choate said. “It’s cheaper than the Jump Zone, it’s cheaper than driving to a hot springs. It’s cheaper and easier to get to is the main thing. I pay for the soft play and my kids earn money for the arcade.”

Group rates are also available when set up in advance, whether for business, church or school groups, but Skivy said the staff takes extra pride in working with schools.

“We really accommodate to schools,” Skivy said. “It gets to our key demographics. They go back to mom and dad and say, ‘It was so much fun!’ and then we get the whole families coming in. We make schools happy.”

Johnson said they’ve worked with schools in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming to provide coupons and discounts, but puts emphasis into Utah State University as well.

“The university is a critical part,” Johnson said. “For years we’ve been the facility they bring people to when they’re recruiting. When they have their parties they come here and we show them a good time.”

Coupons for bowling and roller skating appear each semester in the campus coupon book, and many students take advantage of $2 Tuesdays when all activities cost just that.

The Fun Park also works closely with the USU swing club in conjunction with country swing nights on Mondays and Wednesdays, offering the entire facility for its use.  Special offers are posted via the Fun Parks social media pages on Facebook and Twitter, and students and residents are encouraged to ask what discounts are available when they go.

“It’s not just to bring in money,” Skivy said. “It’s to remind the community that we’re here for you. It’s a locally owned business. We’re like a mini Disneyland to the kids of Cache Valley. We offer that simplistic, good, clean fun that is not anywhere else. It brings families together.”

More information can be found online at http://www.cachevalleyfunpark.com.

TP