What’s NEW // This & That
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COMING SOON
Bowling Joins Durango Expansion
High 5 Exchange Heads To Allen
Durango Casino & Resort in Las Vegas is making a sizable bet on bowling. As part of a $385 million expansion scheduled to open in 2027, the resort is adding a 36-lane Brunswick bowling facility. What makes the project especially interesting is that Durango originally opened without bowling and is now adding it as part of its next phase. The 275,000-square-foot expansion will also include billiards and entertainment rooms, luxury movie theaters, new restaurant and food hall concepts, an expanded casino floor, and Moonshine Flats, a two-story country-western entertainment venue.
High 5 Exchange has broken ground on a new family entertainment center in Allen, Texas, with plans to open in 2027 at The Farm, a 135-acre mixed-use development. The venue will feature 24 bowling lanes—16 traditional tenpin lanes with QubicaAMF’s EDGE String pinspotters, HyperBowling and Neoverse, plus eight Fly’n Ducks duckpin lanes. The attraction mix will also include laser tag, virtual reality, an arcade, escape rooms, Creative Works’ Limitless immersive experience, and outdoor miniature golf. Dedicated event spaces and food-and-beverage service will support birthday parties, corporate gatherings, and private events. The Allen location will be High 5 Exchange’s third Texas venue, joining locations in Lakeway and Austin.
NEW ATTRACTION
FREE ONLINE COURSE Too Many Attractions To Choose From? Adding a new attraction can get complicated fast. Before you start comparing products, it helps to know who you’re trying to attract, what you want the experience to accomplish, and what makes sense for your venue. Creative Works offers a free online course to help you work through those decisions. It covers identifying your target demographic, setting goals, factors that can influence attraction choices, and the difference between
TRENDS
The Birthday Kid Has A Vote 1 in 3 parents choose the birthday venue their child requests.
high-throughput and boutique experiences. You’ll also get an overview of the different categories of VR on the market.
Nearly 60% of kids start talking about their birthday at least a month ahead. 23% of parents named themes or decorations as what would make the next birthday better. Activities ranked first. Those numbers from new Chuck E. Cheese research suggest something worth remembering when marketing birthday parties: Mom or Dad may make the reservation, but the kid can start the sale. That makes what kids see before their parents begin comparing packages especially important. Photos and video of bowling, arcade games, prizes, food, and friends can create the I-want-my-party-there reaction weeks before anyone clicks “Book Now.” There’s another potential customer at every party, too: the kids who attend. A photo booth strip, bowling socks, or another small branded takeaway can help the experience stick around—and perhaps plant the idea of where their own party should be. The takeaway? Don’t market birthdays only to the person holding the credit card. The person paying for the party may not be the person who first picked the place.
If a new attraction is on your wish list, this is a good place to start before narrowing down the options. Scan the QR code to access the course.
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