By Teresa Wippel

While my kids were growing up, Edmonds’ Funtasia Family Fun Park was a mainstay of our entertainment routine. The indoor portion of the building — located on 220th Street Southwest just east of the Highway 99 intersection — houses a wide range of video games, pinball machines, bumper cars and laser tag, offering an escape for a wet weekend afternoon. The facility has always been a favorite for local birthday parties, with a “Fun Fortress” climbing area where younger children to burn off excess energy, and several of the attractions, both inside and out, that are suitable for all ages, including batting cages, a go-kart track, an 18-hole miniature golf course and a pool filled with bumper boats.

Last May, Funtasia was purchased by Family Fun Center, a familiar name for many because of the large fun park the organization operates in Tukwila (ironically, after growing up with Funtasia, both of my kids ended up at the Tukwila location for high school graduation parties). I’d heard that Family Fun Center was making some changes to the Funtasia facility, so I stopped by Saturday morning to take a look.

Jennifer Yee, the fun park’s group sales and marketing manager, said that much of the remodeling involves “showing a little love” to existing attractions, including new carpet on the miniature golf course, new netting for the batting cages, refreshed paint and flooring. The fun park’s selection of about 75 video and virtual reality games will also be updated.

In addition, two new attractions are becoming visitor favorites, Yee notes:

– The Max Flight “virtual roller coaster,” which holds two passengers per ride and actually flips upside down while those inside view a screen as if they were on a real coaster.

– A Frog Hopper attraction for younger children, which gently drops them down several levels.

While expansion plans for the park are somewhat limited by the existing footprint, other new attractions — yet to be named — are planned for the current parking lot, Yee said.

In addition, Family Fun Center has expanded the former Funtasia’s party room into a full restaurant, complete with big-screen TVs, and now offers an expanded menu that includes sandwiches and salads in addition to the standard pizza, mini corn dogs and french fries. The goal is to attract not only the usual kids’ birthday parties (they average 16 parties on a Saturday) but also to make Funtasia a destination for large group outings — think holiday parties and company picnics — that appeal to adults as well as children.

Next Friday, Feb. 18, Family Fun Center will celebrate its grand opening in the Funtasia location, from 5-8 p.m. You can meet Rocky and Bullwinkle, sample foods from the new Bullwinkle’s restaurant menu and win prizes, Yee said. In addition, watch your mailbox for a Fun Center mailer that will include a coupon for one free attraction.

Next Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 21-22, which are days off for students in the Edmonds School District — Family Fun Center is offering a Presidents Day Break special. For $9.95 plus tax, you get two hours of unlimited indoor attractions (you choose the two hours). On March 11, the Family Fun Center will feature the last of its Family Fun Fridays, which run from 5-9 p.m. each second Friday from October-March. For $15, you receive unlimited laser tag, Max Flight, bumper cars, miniature golf, Frog Hopper and Fun Fortress, Yee said.

The future will bring “a lot of new and exciting changes,” Yee said. “We’re really excited for the summer.”