When I pulled into Raleigh’s Adventure Landing parking lot on a warm August evening, the nearly four-decade-old entertainment center looked like it had just opened. The line to buy arcade tickets and game passes stretched into the arcade itself. Families shuffled from go-karts to laser tag and mini golf. Things looked good at the Capital Boulevard business that had become a staple for families from across the Triangle. 

But this was not an average day at Adventure Landing. It was its last. 

For decades, Adventure Landing, one in a national chain of family entertainment centers and amusement parks, was the place for kids and teens to spend birthdays, school and church trips, and fun afternoons away from home. Last month, after 38 years of operation, Hank Woodburn, Adventure Landing’s owner, announced that he was not renewing his lease on the property that’s home to the center. Records show the business was dissolved on September 3, and reports state that Woodburn closed other locations in the last year. 

The arcade at Adventure Landing on the park’s last day Credit: Photo by Drew DiMeglio

Despite multiple emails and phone calls to a contact provided by an Adventure Landing employee, calls to a number listed to the park’s former owner, and certified letters sent to business and personal addresses for Woodburn, who resides in Florida, the INDY was unable to speak with anyone from the company about its closure.

Recently, the issue of teenagers in public spaces is a topic that’s been making waves in the Triangle. This summer, Raleigh experienced two “teen takeovers,” mass gatherings of teenagers that typically cause issues with public safety. On July Fourth, more than 8,000 teenagers gathered at Brier Creek and Glenwood South; fights broke out, nine people were shot, and police made 29 arrests. As a result, many businesses have implemented teen curfews. The Raleigh City Council was considering a citywide teen curfew, but dropped the idea, it was reported last week, following opposition from residents. The city will host a community listening session with local teenagers next month.  

When I learned that Adventure Landing was closing, I thought back to some of my own experiences at the park. A church lockout in middle school when I spent the night there. Getting treated to a fun day of mini golf and go-karts after making the honor roll. 

I also remembered the time I celebrated a friend’s 17th birthday at Adventure Landing. I remembered wondering why his family had picked such a place. Weren’t we a little old?

Credit: Photo by Drew DiMeglio

Still, my friends and I enjoyed ourselves, and I remembered how nostalgic it felt to be there. The party was two years ago, and I hadn’t been back to Adventure Landing since the COVID pandemic. At the time, it already looked closed. It was a relic and a reminder of simpler times.

The news of the closure evoked similar feelings of nostalgia in many of my peers who also grew up making memories at Adventure Landing. A viral TikTok video edited in the style of the credits for Spider-Man: Brand New Day captures the sentiment; the video has garnered more than 500,000 views, 80,000 likes, and a comment section full of lamentations.

On Adventure Landing’s final day of operation, I talked with Ray and Sydney, a brother and sister who, like me, grew up attending birthday parties, school trips, and family functions there. 

Brother and sister Sydney and Ray on Adventure Landing’s last day Credit: Photo by Drew DiMeglio

“I was just talking to my dad about the nostalgia,” Ray said. “I even remember the field trips that we used to take here. We would all be hanging out in the mini-golf area by the waterfalls; we would all chill, talk, and kind of get lost, get away.”

Sydney brought up a concern that goes beyond nostalgia.

“It’s a good teen hangout place, because we really don’t have that anymore,” she said. She’s not alone in that thought.

Raleigh City Council Member Megan Patton, whose northeast Raleigh district was home to Adventure Landing, told me that’s something she hears a lot from young people and their parents. Patton said a key issue in the recent proliferation of teen violence and disruption in public spaces is a lack of practice in the development of social skills.

“The less [teenagers] practice the types of skills that make it possible to navigate a complex world, the less muscle they have sort of developed for that skill,” she said.

Patton said third places—social spaces that aren’t home, work, or school—are crucial for teenagers.

“Malls, movie theaters, roller skating rinks, parks all have an important role to play in allowing teens to gather amongst themselves so that they can build those skills,” Patton said. 

But third places have a large burden to bear. Teen misbehaviour is not a recent phenomenon and will probably always be a fact of life. 

Steve Fleming, the owner of Raleigh’s Galaxy Fun Park, a similar family entertainment center to Adventure Landing, told me he understands the need for third places for teenagers, but says it’s “very difficult to try to cater to that.”

“If [teenagers] are not going to be able to respect the surroundings and keep people safe, businesses like ourselves don’t have a choice but to make sure that we’re doing everything we can in our power to keep our patrons safe who aren’t causing trouble,” Fleming said. His business uses waivers, which help employees manage who is entering the park.

Beyond the safety issue, Fleming pointed out that the economy is a direct driving force behind the success and failure of family entertainment centers. 

“I don’t think there are so many of us in our industry doing things wrong as it is families having to make a decision on where they spend their hard-earned dollars,” he said. “The climate is not as exciting as it was before with families just flocking to entertainment parks or indoor parks.”

Data backs up Fleming’s point. The share of spending from the lowest 40% income families on family entertainment centers, other location-based leisure and entertainment businesses, and museums has declined 30% from 2019 to 2023, according to consulting firm White Hutchinson. 

Adventure Landing’s iconic shipwreck shark Credit: Photo by Drew DiMeglio

Fleming said that, along with a drop in spending, the pandemic had a major impact on the industry.

“What changed our market and our industry the most would be COVID, no doubt about it,” he said. “I mean, everything—the mindset and the approach to the day-to-day, and having mom and dad bring their kids.”

Despite the fact that Adventure Landing was a competitor to Fleming’s Galaxy Fun Park, Fleming, who went on a first date to Adventure Landing with his wife, highlighted how much he respects the Raleigh staple. 

“Guys like us in the industry, we have a lot of respect for the Adventure Landings of the world,” he said. “These are the people who started it back in the ‘70s.”

There are certainly other places families can celebrate a birthday or simply a Saturday out with their kids. There are other places church or school groups can go, places that may have more technologically advanced games and attractions, that are cleaner, maybe even safer.

But they are not Adventure Landing.

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