The Place to Play : Discovery Zone Is a Dimension for Children

Having spent the past hour climbing ropes, scaling ladders, scooting through tunnels and splashing in a sea of brightly colored plastic balls, 5-year-old Chase Kloehn had no desire to leave the Discovery Zone.

He ducked behind a pillar, forcing his mother, Debbie Kloehn, to resort to five minutes of coercion. Not until she promised a trip to McDonald’s were her giggling son and 2-year-old daughter, Ashley, persuaded to leave the indoor playground.

“It takes something special sometimes to catch their interest,” Debbie Kloehn said as she packed up her offspring. An at-home mom, she and a friend had driven from Yorba Linda to visit the facility, which opened last week in the Anaheim Hills Festival Center. “There is more here than just the same old swings.”

Discovery Zone’s owners hope that their store will prove so fascinating that children will coax their parents to make frequent return visits.

President Anne Ludlow says the business is the first of its kind in Orange County. It features 60-foot-long plastic and vinyl tunnels, as well as rope ladders that children can climb to jump into vats of red, blue and yellow balls about the size of oranges. There are mazes, plastic hills, toy airplanes and cars, and water beds for rolling on.

Running, sliding, climbing and jumping are the order of the day.

“We want children to improve their balance, stamina and upper body strength,” Ludlow said, “all while having fun.”

Discovery Zone was founded about four years ago in Kansas City, Mo., when Ron Matsch, a fitness center owner, talked to gymnastics coach Al Fong and learned that many children in Fong’s beginners’ classes were so out of shape that they could not do the most basic exercises. Together, they opened the first Discovery Zone, and it proved so successful that they began selling franchises. There are now 50 Discovery Zones in 21 states. The corporation is privately held.

The indoor playground concept has proved so successful that McDonald’s, which has long had outdoor fun zones at its restaurants, has started “Leaps and Bounds,” its own chain of indoor playgrounds that are almost identical to Discovery Zones. The fast-food chain has opened five Leaps and Bounds in Chicago and Cincinnati since September, 1991, and plans to open 30 more nationwide by next year. Spokeswoman Rebecca Caruso said it is logical to assume that the expansion will include California.

Peter Oakes, an analyst at the brokerage Merrill Lynch, said he thinks that Leaps and Bounds, as well as other indoor playground chains, will be lucrative.

“It’s an opportunity for children to interact with other children and adults,” Oakes said. “It’s fun. It’s a physical activity. I believe the surface has barely been scratched. I’m very impressed with the concept.”

Ludlow, whose seven-member group also owns a Discovery Zone in Los Angeles County plus the franchise rights to Orange County, intends to open a third store near San Juan Capistrano sometime later this year. Tennis great Billie Jean King is one of the partners.

Admission is $5.49 for each child. The children--only those 12 or younger--must be accompanied by adults, who will be admitted free and can play on the equipment with their youngsters if they choose.

“This is not a drop-off center, and we’re not a day-care center,” Ludlow said. “The place is designed so that, no matter where you are, you can watch your child.”

The 40 college students she has hired as “hosts” and “hostesses” are there to supervise the fun and prevent accidents, she said, but they are not allowed, for example, to take a 3-year-old to the bathroom.

Adults who do not bring children are not admitted.

“What’s nice is you don’t have to worry about people taking your kids,” said Candy Guastella, an aerobics instructor who had come to Discovery Zone with the Kloehns and her sons, Vince, 4, and Buddy, 2. “And it’s better than the park because coming here is an event, like Disneyland, but it’s affordable.”

When you walk into the Discovery Zone, you have to deposit your shoes at the front desk so you won’t damage the vinyl covering that pads the equipment. The 10,000-square-foot room is decorated in bright yellows, greens, reds and oranges--colors an 8-year-old might have chosen if given permission to paint his or her own room.

“It is very bright,” Ludlow said. “Children love it, but for adults it is a little overwhelming.”

Discovery Zone has a snack bar that serves child-friendly foods such as hot dogs and pizza, as well as parent-friendly items such as salads and quiche. There is a side room where birthday parties can be held. More than 100 were booked before the business even opened, Ludlow said. There are also Skee Ball machines for those children who are taking a breather from the more strenuous activities offered.

Ludlow grimaced when somebody compared her operation to Chuck E. Cheese, the chain of child-oriented pizza restaurants.

“Our emphasis is on fitness, and food is a sideline,” she said. “At Chuck E. Cheese, their emphasis is food with fun as a sideline. And we don’t sell beer or wine. We are here strictly for the children.”

Ludlow was an elementary school teacher for 12 years and a mathematics consultant for school districts for five years before purchasing her first Discovery Zone. As a teacher, she saw firsthand that many children lack stamina.

“I would do calisthenics with my first-graders, and I could do more jumping jacks then they could,” she said. “I said, ‘There’s something wrong with this picture.’ ”

Ludlow said Anaheim Hills, with its scores of younger and relatively affluent families, is a perfect place for such a business.

“There are a lot of young couples who have multiple children,” Ludlow said. “I’m not talking about two children. Many of these families have four or five children. And every one of them wants their children to be happy.”