Anniversary celebration planned for play area
By Guy Chapman – Navarro County Gazette
Altitude Trampoline Park plans to celebrate its one-year anniversary 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. The park is located at 1705 S. I-45 East in Corsicana. As part of its weekend party, Altitude will offer $5 off jump passes, and free hot dogs and free activation fees for new memberships.
It was nearly a year ago when the Navarro County Gazette visited the grand opening event of Altitude Trampoline Park. Since then, the park has been a popular venue for locals and travelers alike, with guests coming in from several Texas locations such as Arlington to Buffalo, Fort Worth to Houston. One group from New York visited the 30,000 square foot entertainment attraction entirely by chance.
“One Sunday afternoon, Pat (Wollenberg) and I were leaving and ran into a couple of guys in the parking lot who happened to be from New York City,” said John McClung, Altitude Trampoline Park Manager. “They got tired of being quarantined in New York and wanted to see what Texas is all about.
“They were driving from Houston to Dallas, and I guess they stopped for gas and saw our H20 (water park) out on the lake and probably spent about an hour with us. They were just amazed. They had never seen anything like this in New York.”
McClung refused to sell them a ticket, opting to show them a little Texas hospitality instead with an hour’s worth of jumping and some shaved ice from the park’s Rocky Mountain Snow snow cone stand. The park manager chuckled as he recalled their reaction:
“We don’t know if you’re trying to talk us into moving to Texas or not, but you’re doing a hell of a fine job of it,” McClung laughed.
The New York group promised to revisit the park again, and three months later, they made good on their word.
A true family collaboration, McClung sits with his management staff during the interview: General Manager Pat Wollenberg, and Marketing Manager Chris McClung. Together, the leadership staff faced its share of challenges with the park’s first year, having experienced multiple opening delays, an ongoing global pandemic, and this year’s snow storm.
“We managed to thrive in the middle of COVID last year, and that was brutal,” Chris said. “That was difficult, but yeah we pulled through that.”
“We have persevered,” Wollenberg agreed.
These days, running the trampoline park has been a much smoother and more enjoyable experience. While the park’s main draw remains out of town tourists, there are plenty of local regulars that come out to enjoy the park’s amenities every week. Altitude Trampoline Park also employs 45 staff members, some that have been with the park since its opening, and provides on-location security to ensure a pleasant, family-friendly experience.
“The rewarding thing for me is the comments we get from customers,” McClung said. “”I can’t believe this is actually in Corsicana.’ We’ve had several people say this is the nicest trampoline park they’ve ever seen.”
“The nice thing is they thank us for bringing this to Corsicana,” Wollenberg added. “I think that’s one of the nicest things. They say ‘Thank you so much for bringing this to Corsicana and giving our young people something to do.'”
New changes are already planned for the park, with video arcade games being installed as early as next week, and future plans include adding batting cages and putting more emphasis on birthday party experiences. The family sees the park as always evolving, though its main emphasis will always be making sure the attraction’s entertainment factor remains high.
After making it through its first year, the family feels optimistic about what the future holds for themselves and the park’s impact on local entertainment.
“I’ve always felt that the whole project out here is going to put a new face on Corsicana,” McClung said. “And I think that’s happening slowly. It’s drawing people in, and it’s drawing tourists in from a wide area.”
“I think the city will benefit from it.”
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