BUSINESSES GO KID CRAZY

Inside a colorful tower, a young mother has tired herself out, trying to keep up with her energetic young son.

Standing at the back corner of the unit, she spots her son as he and other youngsters shout with glee.

Then, whoosh, he's gone again, rocketing into and down a super slide and through the ball bath to the trolley slide. He's here, there and everywhere.

It's called Playrobics, and it's taking the amusement industry on a roller-coaster ride that thus far has no downside.

During a recent show of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), a dozen or more companies exhibited soft, commercial play products, spotlighting pay-for-play's accelerating role as both a stand-alone business or a major addition to amusement, food, park, and family-entertainment centers.

Clearly, soft modular play has proved to be a strong, profitable and repeatable draw wherever it is presented, and it is being presented worldwide.

"Soft modular is a relatively new product and phenomenon," said a developer of one company that designs Playrobics programs. "Locating a place to install a system can sometimes be the big challenge You need all the space you can find."

In some cases, play systems have been squeezed into smaller spaces. Some McDonald's and Burger King restaurants have added additional space for an enclosed miniature play port while shielding adult customers from the happy noises of playing children.

One Texas group of Burger Kings says the enclosed play ports have boosted its bottom line by 10 to 16 percent. In Cape Girardeau, the Burger King at 2346 Broadway is adding a 14-by-9-foot area containing plastic balls; U-tubs with domes, a splash-down slide, and other equipment popular with youngsters.

In Florida, a 1,325-square-foot Playrobics center is attracting 5,000 to 10,000 youngsters a month.

On a pleasing note to parents, manufacturers of the systems say that after a couple of hours at a play center children are ready to go home and nap.

"You have to have space," said Virginia Wiedefeld of Videos & Creme in Cape Girardeau. "Children delight in climbing, sliding and crawling. It makes them feel like exploring. They can hide and find each other. Overall, it's a good activity."

Videos & Creme, in Town Plaza Shopping Center, is installing a Playrobics center that will open June 9.

Herman and Virginia Wiedefeld and Gary and Chris Helwege are involved in the operation of the giant facility, the largest of its kind between St. Louis and Memphis. The Wiedefelds and Helweges have visited similar operations.

"Children will be the experts," said Herman Wiedefeld. "They're the major users and they'll tell you what they want most. They're the professionals. It's that simple."

So, what do you call a center designed to keep kids fit, enhance their motor skills, stretch their imagination and make them love it? The operators here call it a Family Fun Center, and it's all a part of Videos & Creme.

"It's designed as a fun, entertainment and exercise center for youngsters," said Virginia Wiedefeld, "but, adults can use it, too. In fact, we'll be urging adults to take part in the activities when it opens in early June."

The multilevel "Playrobics" center is housed in a 3,000- to 4,000-square-foot section of Videos & Creme, and is designed to offer a variety of fun for people of all ages, including a special toddlers' area.

"A child will be able to go through the obstacle center in 12 to 15 minutes," said Herman Wiedefeld. "They'll probably go through it three or four times."

A number of exercises have been built into the huge Playrobics complex, including fun things such as the Tube Jam, an activity that invites youngsters to scramble through a tunnel filled with tubes; a slide that drops the youngsters into a pit filled with plastic balls; and other tunnels, tubes and slides.

A trolley slide is a favorite of the Playrobics designs in most metropolitan areas.

"We have toured other areas with play-center setups," he said. "The trolley slide is the No. 1 event in most areas."

The trolley slide features another pit full of plastic balls.

Also likely to make the favorites list at the center will be the Krazy Kars, which will be in an are separate from the "Playrobics" complex.

"Actually, Playrobics is an exercise program disguised as play," said Herman Wiedefeld. "We give children a change-of-play environment every 25 to 30 feet. You have crawl events, bouncing events, balancing, walking and sliding," he said. "We have a number of different events."

Among events will be the Cloud Bounce, two, 30-foot trolley slides, three ball baths, Tarzan climb, tube climb, bumper bridges, web climb and a number of other slides.

"We will also have a micro-Playrobics unit designed for toddlers," he said.

The IAAPA says, "There's no business like play business." But an IAAPA spokesman quickly added that you'd better know it like no business you know. "You have to know your market, and its demographics," said the spokesman.