MONROVIA, Md. — Taking a trip to an amusement park can be fun for the whole family but the costs of admission, food, and games can quickly add up. It can make a day trip expensive but it doesn't have to be that way.
Adventure Park USA in Monrovia, Frederick County offers an affordable experience for families.
No amusement park is complete without a roller coaster, or two, or three. The Elliott family from Clinton,Maryland was up for the challenge to ride the Wildcat although some family members were braver than others.
Cousin Chase Craig said “the best part was the drop.”
Dorian Elliott said “I’m not really a roller coaster guy. I ride roller coasters sometimes but I don’t really like roller coasters because my stomach drops a lot.”
But was it fun?
“Yeah, I had fun. It was fun. I might, I might get on that one but I’m not getting on that, whatever that is over there. I’ll go explore that maybe later ,” Dorian Elliott said.
Besides all of the fun, fast, and furious rides, one of the park's biggest attractions for Dorian's mom, Quianna Elliott, is that it's very affordable for families.
“It’s probably top of my list. It’s always going to be priority for me regardless. So, saving money and having fun when I have children, it’s a huge thing,” Quianna Elliott, said.
Adventure Park USA has a variety of rides from mild to wild. CEO and park president Erik Stottlemyer explained how much guests spend depends upon their need for speed.
“We’re ala carte, which is great. You can either do a wristband which is like a big park and you get to play all day or you can buy a fun pass and just go and play as you want to,” Stottlemyer said.
The family-owned park traces its roots back to 1979 when it started out as Frederick Putt Putt Golf with two 18 hole miniature golf courses and a video arcade. Eventually, the park moved to Monrovia and grew into Adventure Park USA where you'll still find an arcade, although a much larger one at 22,500 square feet.
“We’ve added bowling. We’ve got an amazing multi-level laser tag facility with all new equipment. We’ve got our XD theater which is a motion theater. It’s 3-dimensional and it is just an absolute riot to do,” Stottlemyer said.
Skilled arcade players can rack up enough points to win a prize.
“Everything from high end Apple products all the way down to the finger traps and everything in between,” Stottlemyer said.
If Frederick County Public Schools are closed, Adventure Park USA is open. However, the park isn’t just open for summer, but it’s open year round, both inside and out.
“As long as the weather permits, we keep the outside open. We have people that come out play miniature golf in the dead of winter, so golf course is always open,” Stottlemyer said.
“We’ve got 22,500 square feet inside. There’s tons of things to do inside in the wintertime to keep yourself busy and keep your kids active,” Stottlemyer added.
Besides the fact you don't have to pay to get in, another difference between the big parks and a smaller family entertainment center like Adventure Park USA is that the lines are a lot shorter.
