ISBN: | 978-5-5139-0349-9 |
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A family entertainment center (or centre), often abbreviated FEC in the entertainment industry, is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small children to teenagers, and often entirely indoors or associated with a larger operation such as a theme park. They usually cater to "sub-regional markets of larger metropolitan areas." FECs are generally small compared to full-scale amusement parks, with fewer attractions, a lower per-person per-hour cost to consumers than a traditional amusement park, and not usually major tourist attractions, but sustained by an area customer base. Many are locally owned and operated, although there are a number of chains and franchises in the field. FECs are sometimes called family amusement centers, family fun centers (a variant possibly coined by Boomers! Parks of California, branded Boomers! Family Fun Centers until 1991) or simply fun centers. Some non-traditional FECs, called urban entertainment centers (UECs), with more customized and branded attractions and retail outlets, are associated with major entertainment companies and may be tourist destinations. Others, sometimes operated by nonprofit organizations, may be geared toward edutainment experiences rather than simple amusement. FECs may also be adjuncts to full-scale amusement parks.