Funtagious poised to purvey good times in Tyngsboro

TYNGSBORO — Over the years, Joe and Lisa DiPilato have taken their two sons to dozens of birthday parties and outings to local amusement attractions.

They couldn’t find a place where they, as older parents, wanted to join their children in whatever activity they were doing.

Their solution? To build their own indoor family amusement center complete with mini-bowling, black light mini-golfing, arcades, a game with air-compressor cannons that shoot foam balls, pool tables and more.

“I wanted to make sure, as an older parent, I could do stuff with my kids and they could be constructive and productive,” Joe DiPilato said, as he gave The Sun a tour of his new business he named “Funtagious.”

The name is a play on contagious, where you can “Catch the fun.”

He sees is new job as a “purveyor of fun.” He said he has his own test of how he measures how much fun guests are having as they go through the center.

“If people are laughing and don’t want to leave, then you did your job,” he said.

DiPilato said he wanted to make sure the center appeals to all ages, so grandparents could come in and bowl while their grandchildren were playing in the arcade nearby.

The bright orange, green, red and sea blue-colored walls are covered in murals with an under-the-sea theme. The murals glow in black-light and come to life with 3-D glasses.

DiPilato, who lives in Westford, is an electrical engineer and is a former executive of a local high-tech company. His wife, Lisa, is a former educator and children’s librarian.

He took the prototypes for the different attractions and made them his own. For example, he took the attraction with the air-compressor cannons that shoot foam balls, or “Balladium,” from a back-street alley theme and custom-designed it into a pirate theme to match the rest of the center.

Joe and Lisa used both their training, and the advice of their sons Nicholas, 15, and Anthony, 9, for design and content decisions.

“We tried to go on our own experience together to try to make it an adventure for the kids,” said Lisa.

The nine holes of black-light mini-golfing take you through a pirate adventure. Starting out to sea as captain of the ship, then capsizing into dangerous waters, landing on a desert island and then eventually finding the buried treasure chest.

The authenticity and quality of the features were important to DiPilato.

“Our goal is to offer a clean, quality and safe environment,” said DiPilato.

Every feature is accessible for wheelchairs. And almost every inch of activity is captured on security cameras.

Funtagious has opened for private parties and corporate events. DiPilato plans to open to the general public in the next couple weeks.

He said feedback has been great. Most people just say “Wow” as they go through, DiPilato said.

He said adults have just as much fun as children. A 21-year-old said she wanted to celebrate her birthday there.

He said there has been a lot of buzz in the community about the center located in Pond View Place directly across Middlesex Road from Skate 3.

Selectmen granted a special permit to DiPilato in 2009. He has spent the last three years transforming the upper-floor of the plaza that formerly occupied Ellen’s School of Dance.

“What better business is there than to be a purveyor of fun,” he said.