A family entertainment center ( FEC ) in the entertainment industry, also known as an indoor amusement park , family amusement center , family fun center , soft play , or simply fun center , is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small children to teenagers, often entirely indoors. They usually cater to "sub-regional markets of larger metropolitan areas." FECs are generally small compared to full-scale amusement parks, with fewer attractions, a lower per-person per-hour cost to consumers than a traditional amusement park, and not usually major tourist attractions, but sustained by an area customer base. Many are locally owned and operated, although there are a number of chains and franchises in the field. Some, operated by non-profit organizations as children's museums or science museums , tend to be geared toward edutainment experiences rather than simply amusement.
28-454: Dubailand was an entertainment complex planned to be built in Dubai , United Arab Emirates , which was owned by Tatweer (which belongs to Dubai Holding ). When announced in 2003 it was one of the most ambitious leisure developments ever proposed anywhere in the world costing $ 64.3 billion. The development was put on hold in 2008, due to the 2007–2008 financial crisis , Great Recession , and
56-567: A Legoland park in Dubailand. The project would have cost AED 912 million, occupy a total of 3,000,000 sq ft (278,709 m), and would feature more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions geared towards families with children ages 2 to 12. At this point, Dubai Properties Group took over Dubailand from Tatweer. American park franchises Six Flags and DreamWorks announced having dropped their projects, citing loss of interest. In September 2012, Dubai Properties Group announced
84-531: A drip irrigation method with an average amount of 757,082 litres (166,535 imperial gallons; 200,000 US gallons) of water per day. According to the officials of Dubai Miracle Garden, the Dubai municipality retreats the grey water of the city and sends it directly to the garden. The garden again re-filters the water and converts it to high-quality water for its usage in the garden. The garden is only watered after it closes at night. In 2015, Dubai Miracle Garden opened
112-473: A 4,500,000 sq ft (420,000 m) development. It would also comprise nine retail outlets on an area of 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m). Over 40 food and beverage outlets, including carts merchandising light refreshments, would be developed over 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m). On 6 May 2008, Tatweer announced a strategic alliance with Merlin Entertainments Group to build
140-438: A consistently developed and promoted theme that appeals to the target market segments, "the fun factor in the overall decor". Parental concerns are also important. While children themselves rarely think of it, a major factor in the attractiveness of an FEC to parents is on-site safety and security, as adults may drop off older children at such an establishment to entertain themselves. An increasingly important factor for success
168-628: A converged outgrowth of theme restaurants that increasingly developed their in-house amusement features, small-scale amusement parks needing more offerings than just a few rides and midway games, and diversifying formerly one-attraction venues ( water parks , skate parks , billiard halls , bowling alleys , and so on). All three categories have moved over several decades continually toward stock, popular entertainment solutions supplied by third-party vendors. Chuck E. Cheese , opened in 1977 as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, California ,
196-419: A large suburban area outside such a city. Their busiest times are weekend afternoons and Thursday through Saturday evenings. Because most of the attractions are essentially the same from FEC to FEC, two of the most important factors in a particular center distinguishing itself to potential customers are a highly visible location (hard to obtain because other uses for the land are often more competitive ), and
224-473: Is a flower garden located in the district of Dubailand , Dubai , United Arab Emirates . The garden was launched on Valentine's Day in 2013. It occupies over 72,000 square metres (780,000 sq ft), making it the world's largest flower garden, featuring over 50 million flowers and 250 million plants. In April 2015, the garden won the Moselle Award for New Garden Experiences of the year by
252-558: Is high-quality food and drink to attract parental spending as well as whole-family dining. Various major media and entertainment brands, including Disney , Lego , NASCAR , Sega , Sony , United Artists/Regal and Viacom , have been attached to family entertainment centers, often much less "traditional" than local and chain FECs, with custom-built, unique attractions, usually heavily branded, and most often located in major metropolitan areas. The first such urban entertainment center (UEC)
280-742: The Dubai Butterfly Garden , the world's largest and the region's first indoor butterfly garden and sanctuary for over 15,000 butterflies from 26 species. As part of a licensing deal between the Dubai Miracle Garden and The Walt Disney Company , a topiary of Mickey Mouse was unveiled in February 2018. Flower structures of Minnie Mouse , Goofy , Pluto , Daisy Duck , Donald Duck , and Huey, Dewey, and Louie were installed later that year. The Dubai Miracle garden has achieved three Guinness World Records. In 2013, it
308-399: The Dubai housing crash in 2009 , but resumed in mid-2013. Updates in 2013 showed that $ 55 billion had been raised towards the works. Some projects were cancelled, although Dubailand has since become the name of an entertainment district in Dubai where some of the planned projects for the Dubailand complex have opened. Other projects are being built and are planned to open in 2025. Dubailand
SECTION 10
#1732788040542336-498: The 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m ) and construction of the 850,000 sq ft (79,000 m ) multistory car park, which increased the total area of the garden to 2 million sq ft (190 thousand m ). It included the addition of the floral clock, the butterfly garden, retail stores, and mosques. Usually it displays most fragrant and colourful blooms, with more than 150 million flowers with 120 varieties, including some of which have never been cultivated in
364-572: The Garden Tourism Award 2015. The concept of the first miracle garden project was formed under an agreement between Dubailand and the Dubai Properties Group destination. The project development was complete under the agreement with Akar Landscaping and Agriculture Company, led by Jordanian businessman Abdel Naser Rahhal. The cost of the project was estimated at AED 40 million (US$ 11 million). The first phase
392-561: The Great Dubai Wheel would not be built. In 2008, most of the developments in Dubailand were put on hold and virtually all of the staff and workforce were fired due to the 2007–2008 financial crisis . On 19 January 2008, DreamWorks announced plans to build a theme park in Dubailand. On 4 March 2008, Tatweer announced a strategic alliance with Six Flags to build the 5,000,000 sq ft (460,000 m) Six Flags Dubailand theme park . On 1 May 2008, Tatweer announced
420-511: The Gulf region. The Dubai Miracle Garden generally operates from October to April every year. It is closed from May to September due to high temperatures averaging of 40 °C (104 °F), which is not conducive for flower viewing. The garden will be open daily from 9am to 9pm, from Monday to Friday and from 9am until 11pm on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) and public holidays. The flowers are maintained by re-use of treated wastewater through
448-803: The U.S. is the National Association of Family Entertainment Centers (NAFEC) , which is a division of the International Laser Tag Association (ILTA). Some U.S.-based companies also have venues in Canada (noted above), but this is rare due to the legal/political difficulties involved in cross-border corporations. North American FECs vary wildly in themes, size and features. Some of the larger businesses in this category have included: Dubai Miracle Garden The Dubai Miracle Garden (in Arabic : حديقة الزهور بدبي)
476-604: The costs involved, and instead install off-the-shelf systems provided and maintained by industry equipment vendors. Any given FEC may lean more towards outdoor activities, arcade gaming, or passive entertainment and dining. Each may cater to different age ranges, all the time, or during certain hours, e.g., children and entire families in the daytime, and teens to young adults in the evening, with specific promotional programs to attract different market segments at different times. FECs tend to serve "sub-regional markets", such as small cities, quadrants or boroughs of larger cities, and
504-491: The development was traditional Arabian folklore and the tales of One Thousand and One Nights . In 2006, planning permission was granted for the Great Dubai Wheel, a 185-metre tall (607 ft) giant Ferris wheel with 30 passenger capsules, to be built and managed by the Great Wheel Corporation . It was expected to open in 2009, at a cost of over AED 250 million. In January 2012, it was announced that
532-524: The largest collection of theme parks in the world. The Sahara Kingdom theme park, situated in the Attractions & Experience World, would cover 460,000 m (4,951,399 sq ft) and would combine high end virtual and physical theme park rides, attractions such as a state of the art gaming zone, IMAX theater, and integrated live and virtual entertainment shows, together with a retail zone, four hotels and residential accommodations. The theme of
560-399: The launch of Freej Dubailand. Freej Dubailand would boast hotels totalling 2,600 keys, and feature retail, food and beverage outlets, as well as a spectrum of entertainment attractions. On 2 May 2008, it was announced that the design and conceptual master plan for a Marvel Superheroes theme park had been finalized, the first of its kind. It would have included 17 rides and attractions on
588-468: The revival of the Mudon residential community project, estimating the completion of the project at around 18 months. Construction on the site resumed in early 2013, with the 72,000 square metres (780,000 sq ft) Dubai Miracle Gardens opening at the beginning of March. The adjacent 2,600 square metres (28,000 sq ft) Dubai Butterfly Garden opened in 2015. In October 2016, Legoland Dubai
SECTION 20
#1732788040542616-452: Was announced on 23 October 2003. It would have an area of 278 km (107 sq mi), twice the size of Walt Disney World , and comprise 45 "mega projects" and 200 sub projects. Over the years, there were 22 projects under construction. Dubailand was divided into six zones (worlds): Attractions and Experience World, Sports and Outdoor World, Eco-Tourism World, Themed Leisure and Vacation World, Retail and Entertainment World, and Downtown,
644-454: Was completed and opened in February 2013 which consisted of 21,000 sq ft (2,000 m ) outdoor facility including vertical and horizontal landscaping design where each of them have their own design. The development of phase one took two months and required 400 workers. The second part of the project was initiated in mid-June 2013 and completed in October, involving 70% expansion of
672-473: Was declared as the world's largest vertical garden. Currently an Airbus A380 flower structure in the garden spread over more than 500,000 fresh flowers and live plants is listed by Guinness World Records as the biggest flower structure in the world. The 18 metres (59 ft) topiary of Mickey Mouse, which weighs almost 35 tonnes , is the tallest topiary supported sculpture in the world. Miracle Garden has another record that is, The longest flower wall in
700-709: Was one of the earliest widely known examples of these in the United States. Most FECs have at least five common major or "anchor" attractions, to provide diverse patrons (often in large parties) at least one to two hours of entertainment, to encourage repeat visits, and to reduce time spent waiting for any given attraction. Some of the more usual attractions include (depending upon size, climate, etc.): The most common anchor activities are miniature golf, kart racing, arcade and redemption games, and food & beverages, according to industry specialists StoneCreek Partners. FECs rarely use custom-built attractions, because of
728-469: Was opened at Dubai Parks and Resorts , 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Dubailand. In December 2016, Motiongate Dubai , which incorporates DreamWorks' attractions, opened at Dubai Parks and Resorts. This list includes both places that have been built and opened and proposed places that have not yet been built. 25°05′N 55°18′E / 25.083°N 55.300°E / 25.083; 55.300 Entertainment complex FECs are essentially
756-701: Was the Sony Metreon in San Francisco, California (1999–2006). Some nonprofit, educational installations, such as the Exploratorium in San Francisco, also have aspects of FECs in format and atmosphere, but with activities geared toward learning and experiencing rather than simple entertainment. Some for-profit enterprises also use this model, or mix edutainment with simpler amusement attractions. The main national industry group in
784-662: Was the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, California , which opened in 1993, linking several Universal properties. Including various retail outlets, restaurants, and attractions, the CityWalk created a great deal of "sustained buzz" in the retail real estate industry, which began "embracing the notion that Universal Studios, Sony, Disney, and other entertainment companies could create new anchors and entertainment programs for shopping centers". Another significant UEC
#541458