VALLEY BUSINESS : Key to Club Disney: Family Fun : Entertainment: Formula seems to be working, with four more locations opening since 1997’s first in Thousand Oaks.
Sylvia Mizokami of Oak Park recently bought an annual Club Disney membership, saying it’s the perfect place to entertain her four children ages 5 months to 10 years.
“It’s something to do together,” she said. “We come as much as we can.”
Nearly 2 1/2 years after the first Club Disney was launched in Thousand Oaks, the 24,000-square-foot entertainment center remains a hot spot for families in the county.
And although Disney declines to release attendance figures, it appears that the flagship club has been successful--four others have been opened, three in the last seven months.
The Thousand Oaks club, which opened in February 1997, was followed by one in West Covina in January 1998, two near Phoenix last winter and one in Lone Tree, Colo., in May.
Plans for more clubs nationwide are in the works, said Club Disney spokeswoman Michelle Spinale.
Disney puts clubhouses in safe suburban areas with growing numbers of families, she said. In addition, Thousand Oaks was chosen because of its proximity to Disney headquarters in Burbank.
“We bring Disney to the backyards of these people,” Spinale said. “It’s an ideal market for this type of concept. We position ourselves as the ultimate place to play for children and their grown-ups.”
Most visitors of the Thousand Oaks clubhouse come from about a 30-mile radius, she said, but the club attracts tourists too.
Birgit Troester of Germany made her first trip to the club two years ago, during a trip to Southern California with her then 9-year-old daughter.
“My daughter . . . asked to come back,” she said. “I can tell the kids have a lot of fun here.”
Rick Caruso, owner of the Promenade at Westlake, said many Club Disney customers play, then shop and eat at the mall’s other stores.
“In terms of family entertainment, I don’t think anyone does it better than Disney, so it’s the kind of tenant I like having on the property,” he said.
Many of the club’s customers are repeat visitors, Spinale said.
Eight-year-old Kristea Boatner of Oxnard said she never gets tired of playing at the club. She knows all the employees by name and gives them hugs when she visits.
“I like this place because it has many of my favorite games,” she said. “They put in new games a lot.”
The brightly decorated center features familiar Disney characters along with more than 140 activities. Kids can climb through an obstacle course, play arcade games, use a computer, have a pretend tea party, help put on a fashion show, learn to dance like Mickey and slide down a 30-foot slide.
As popular as Club Disney is, it has made some refinements.
Although ticket prices overall increased by 50 cents in June, adult prices were cut in half last October, good news for parents who were at the club primarily as overseers. The admission is now $4.50 for adults and $8.50 for children.
In addition, the original cafe menu had many “healthy and gourmet” foods for adults, but Disney found that adults enjoyed the hamburgers, pizza and French fries just like the kids, Spinale said.
“I think adults really enjoy the interactive food elements--the fries served in a sorcerer cup and pizza shaped like Mickey,” Spinale said.
Most children want to come back because the club’s big themes change every six months with the release of Disney movies, and art projects change about every six weeks, Spinale said.
On a recent afternoon, the “Tarzan” activity center from Disney’s current animated feature was the most popular place in the club, with children lined up to swing on a “vine” like Tarzan and play the jungle drums.
Four-year-old Jacob Adam of Santa Maria said he liked the sounds in the “Tarzan” area best.
“I like all the ‘Tarzan’ stuff--it really sounds like him,” he said, as he demonstrated while beating on his chest.
Seven-year-old Alejandra Rivera of Winnetka, whose favorite subject at school is art, spent much of her time at Club Disney recently at the crafts center making a model jungle scene from the “Tarzan” movie.
“It’s fun doing a project,” she said.
The club also hosts birthday parties--about 35 a weekend--with themes from Disney movies.
“Birthday business from the beginning was very popular because everyone wants to do something special and different,” said Alison Evans, assistant general manager.
Another important aspect for families is the security system, Evans said. The club is gated, and children and their grown-ups--Disney often refrains from using the word “parents,” given the number of nontraditional families--have bar-coded bracelets to ensure that kids can’t leave alone.
“It’s comforting to the parents,” Evans said. “Disney thinks about that so the parents don’t have to.”
