Atlantis Fun Center

I had a wonderful time here last week with my husband and teenage stepsons. How refreshing to visit a real arcade! I thought they had gone the way of the dinosaurs… This is a fun place for kids and adults alike, particularly Gen Xers and 1^st-​Gen Millennials. There are many more modern games (Guitar Hero, DDR, House Of The Dead, etc), but they also have some classics in there (skee ball, basketball shooter, etc.) As is to be expected, you will spend far more money winning tickets to get a prize than you would spend on the actual item, but that’s totally part of the fun. My inner 9 year old was pretty jazzed, and if I wasn’t so full from dinner that night, I totally would’ve gotten some cheese fries and an Icee. A refreshing break from the stereotypical Reno activities (crawls) that some of us tire from. The cherry on top for me would be if they had a few (just a few!) old-​school arcade games like Frogger or Pac-​Man. I *did* however, «win» a Papa Smurf plush, which is totally a win in my book!

It seems the world is always searching for the Fountain of Youth. It has eluded explorers for centuries, yet it’s the one treasure our culture continually seeks. As we age, we all just want to be younger so we can experience the best parts of life all over again, and there’s no shame in that. But who says as we age we can’t make the time to do that for ourselves? We can! And tonight I did!
The Fountain of Youth is different for each generation, and it can be found in whatever wonderful experiences you associate with your youth. For any child born in the late 70’s or 80’s, thats easily gotta be the arcade!
I personally remember the days when a quarter represented a lot of money to me. It took 4 to make a dollar, and I was lucky to have 2 – 3 to my name at any given time, and having the chance to put $ 5 in the change machine was like cashing in a million dollar check because it meant I’d have TWENTY tokens or quarters to play in the games.
I would do anything to go to an arcade. The best was when a friend had a birthday at one. Heck, I’d even try and get invited to my brother’s friends birthdays just to play in the arcades. It worked about 50% of the time, whenever my brother wouldn’t complain that I was coming. There were two words that could put an ear to ear smile on my face as a kid, FREE PLAY. You only saw that at the best birthday parties, and those were the days I wished would go on forever.
But my all time favorite time to go to the arcade was with Grandma. She’d always ask what I wanted to do for my birthday, and my answer was the same every time… Sushi and the arcade! She’d give me whatever number of quarters I asked for just to watch the smile grow on my face as I mashed the buttons. Those were the days. Care free, innocent, and just having fun. I miss them a lot, along with my Grandma.
Tonight reminded me of those days gone by when I’d roam the arcade selectively choosing which game was worthy of my limited supply of coins, or which one might land me the most tickets. The days where hunting through the machines to find the lone quarter someone had forgotten or a glowing start button that meant I’d get to play just one more time before my parents told me it was time to go. The days of my youth I’d relive all over again if given the chance. Tonight I found my Fountain of Youth, and it was awesome.
I can’t wait to go back again!