A Double Dose of Amusement in Anaheim

One fun zone per neighborhood generally does it, but that’s not the case in Anaheim. Right next door to Camelot Golfland, for instance--an arcade castle, miniature golf course and water slide--is Anaheim Family Fun Center, offering batting cages, go-carts, roller-skating, bumper boats--and at least one a-mazing activity.

10 to 11: Want to lose yourself for an hour or so--literally? Head for the Craze Maze ($4) at Anaheim Family Fun Center.

Then try to get out.

A score card is marked with the letters M-A-Z-E and numbers 1 through 8. Simply punch in your start time; find your way to the top of towers designated M, A, Z and E; punch out the corresponding letters on the card; punch out the numbers, located throughout the maze; and find the exit. Punch-holes are shaped like the letters and numbers--a Z-shaped punch for the Z, and so on--so you can’t cheat. And try to resist sneaking under the partitions.

Depending on your mind-set, finding yourself back at the starting point within moments can elicit amusement, despair, or both. I was positively jubilant upon finally reaching what I thought was my first destination, only to be greeted by the sign “Sorry, no punch in this tower.”

The secret: Just keep moving, and if you ever hit a tower, fine. A bench and a water faucet are wisely provided at the center of the maze, and if you ever really get desperate, there are escape routes to the perimeter. The pattern changes monthly. For a group, it’s a blast; solo, it’s a foray into fortitude, frustration and claustrophobic folly.

11 to 11:10: “Load one ball at a time and fire away!” were the verbal instructions dockside at Battle Boats ($3.75). The boats run on real engines, your bottom gets realistically wet, and you can practically smell gunpowder when the cannons shoot. Among posted signs: “Do not open turrets in battle area.” “Do not get out of boat in battle area.” “Do not shoot at dock.”

If you don’t have the mettle, or your sea legs, get a Rambo bucket of balls and shoot from outside the battle area; targets include a bomb, helicopter, parachute and . . . ducks.

11:10 to 11:20: Once inside Camelot’s castle walls, where pizza and other snacks are available, pass on the usual “Total Carnage”-type games in the arcade and peek into video future with the truly impressive “Time Traveler Hologram” (25 cents). “To save the universe,” explained an attractive (if necessarily small) female hologram, “navigate the strings of time to the year 2552. Your quest begins in 1873.” You are a cowboy hero. “If you die, use the cube to reverse time and escape death. Travel through time. . . . You are our last hope.”

Who could resist that entreaty? Not me, and apparently, I saved the universe.

11:20 to noon: The miniature-golf area can count itself among the more colorful such courses ($4.75; children 5 to 11, $3.50). It’s watched over by pink, yellow and green dragons and armored knights, and it’s eclectic if not exactly encyclopedic in its architectural scope: Sure, the ubiquitous miniature golf windmill shows up, but holes also variously incorporate a five-tier Japanese pagoda, a pastel-pretty Victorian manse and an imposing California-style mission. It’s worth a look even if you don’t play a round. As in real golf, water can be a hazard. Unlike real golf, if you’re on the green, you’re off the course.

Noon to 1: The water slide costs $3 for 10 rides, $5 for 20 rides or $7 for an all-day pass.

Ascend an eight-flight stair tower, descend via giant tubes resembling a pair of semi-coiled double helixes, splash down in a small pool and ascend again. Water slide rules: You must be 42 inches tall if you can swim, 52 inches if you can’t. Everyone must shower before riding the slide. Bathing suits are required. Absolutely no horseplay allowed.

No horseplay?

In that case, if you’re ages 2 to 11, upstairs in the west wing of the castle ($3 an hour) await the Galaxy Blaster, Air Bounce, Foam Forest and Horizontal Heckler. Parents can leave or stay and, said group activities manager Linda Hokanson, “horsing around is encouraged.”

1. Anaheim Family Fun Center

1041 N. Shepard St.

(714) 630-7212

Open Sunday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to midnight.

2. Camelot Golfland

3200 Carpenter Ave.

(714) 630-3343

Miniature golf and arcade center open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to midnight. Water slide open Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.; summer hours, daily 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (weather permitting).

Parking/Buses

Buses: OCTA bus 38 (Orange to Cerritos) runs east and west along La Palma Avenue.

Parking: There is ample free parking at both locations.