FEC design

Family entertainment center design, or FEC design, is the planning of a themed centre with activities, rides and event spaces under one theme. Mast Parks plans FECs, from theme and layout to rides, merchandising and operations. The two spellings, centre and center, mean the same thing.

Mast Parks offers family entertainment centre design as part of Master Planning, its design service. The master plan is the blueprint of the park: architectural drawings, crowd movement, ride and attraction selection, theming placement and revisions until the client approves it.

This page explains what family entertainment centre design involves, where Mast Parks has done this kind of work and what an owner should settle before starting. It stays at the level of what the work is for. The detailed method is part of Mast Parks' professional practice and is not published here.

See the park type hub: Themed FECs. Before design, a feasibility study decides which park or concept suits the site. After the master plan, Architectural Designing produces the construction-level drawings.

A family entertainment centre is planned for many ages at once. A single visit may include a toddler, a teenager, parents and grandparents. The centre has to offer each of them something to do, keep them close enough to share the day and give them places to eat, rest and celebrate. Compared with a large park, an FEC is usually smaller and often closer to the city, so guests may visit more often and for shorter periods.

That changes what matters. Variety, flow and repeat visits matter more than a single flagship ride, and event spaces for birthdays and groups become an important part of the income. The key design difference is that a good story is packed into small spaces, often indoors, and caters to groups who may not take part in the activities the FEC offers.

Guest flow

A smaller site can feel crowded without careful guest flow. The master plan draws the routes between activities, the places where groups wait and the spaces where families who are not taking part can sit and watch.

Attractions

The mix of activities is indoor and outdoor, quiet and active, for different ages: small amusement rides, go-karting and adventure activities, and event spaces. Go-karting has its own planning needs, such as the track layout and the safety separation between the track and spectators. A good story is packed into small spaces, often indoors, and the design caters to groups who may not take part in the activities offered at an FEC. In a go-kart track, the pit stop is designed first, then the excitement of the track. Sharp turns need proper safety elements, and steepness and terrain are considered. Spectator areas work best with views from several angles, ideally a gallery view.

Theming

One story and look run across every activity, so that a small centre feels like one place. At FEC Raipur the theme is the story of a crazy elephant and his partner in crime, a monkey.

Drawings and revisions

The master plan for a family entertainment centre is drawn as architectural drawings and sketches with exact measurements. The client reviews the plan, asks for changes and sees it revised until it is approved. Nothing moves to the construction-level drawings until the plan is approved.

FEC Raipur. A five-acre themed FEC with indoor and outdoor activities, go-karting, adventure activities, small amusement rides and event spaces such as birthday parties. It includes the first themed indoor playground. Mast Parks handled theming, ride planning, architectural drawings, financial planning (ROI), merchandising planning, content design and guest flow. See the project.

FEC Ahmedabad. A themed FEC with go-karting. Mast Parks delivered all services from scratch, including theming, design, merchandising, ride planning, marketing and operations planning. See the project.

See all themed FEC projects.

An owner brings the site, with its survey and any documents about its boundaries and access, together with the budget and the concept agreed in earlier stages. The owner also brings their views on the plan as it develops, since the revisions depend on them.

The owner receives the approved master plan for the family entertainment centre.

Family entertainment centre design is used by private landowners, existing park owners, family businesses, government and tourism bodies, and temples and religious trusts. Family businesses with land near a city often see an FEC as a first step into parks, and existing park owners use the format to add a new site.

The master plan gives the owner a clear answer to these questions before any building starts:

• The mix of activities, and who each one is for.
• How a small site is divided and how guests move around it.
• Where the event spaces sit, and how private they are.
• Whether the centre is indoor, outdoor or both.
• How the theme appears across every activity.

An FEC that adds activities without a plan can end up with too many of one thing and nothing for part of the family. Without a theme, it can look like many other centres. Without careful guest flow, a smaller site can feel crowded, and without event spaces it can miss an important source of income.

A family entertainment centre often earns less from the single big day out and more from the many smaller visits: the Saturday trip, the birthday party, the school group. This pattern shapes the plan. Spaces for events need to be bookable, private enough for a party and close to food. Activities need to be varied enough that children have reasons to return.

Owners who succeed with one FEC often want a second. A good first design makes this easier, because the theme, the mix of activities and the operating procedures can be repeated and adapted.

Owners get more from this service when they arrive with answers, or at least with a view, on the points below. None of them needs to be settled in advance, and Mast Parks can help to settle them.

• How much land is available, and is it one piece?
• What has the feasibility work recommended for the family entertainment centre?
• What is the budget range for the first phase?
• Which attractions matter most to your audience?
• Who visits most often: young children, teenagers, or whole families?
• Are there features on the site, such as trees, water or slopes, that you want to keep?

• Master plan. The blueprint of the park: where everything goes.
• Guest circulation. How guests move through the park.
• Zoning. Dividing the park into areas for different kinds of attraction, theme or audience.
• FEC. A family entertainment centre: a themed centre with activities, rides and event spaces.
• Indoor playground. A themed play space inside a building, for younger children.

Mast Parks organises its work as 13 services in four stages, listed here in the order a project usually follows. Family entertainment centre design (Master Planning) is shown in bold. An owner can start at any stage, but each stage builds on the one before it.

• Concept and Planning. Feasibility Studies, Financial Planning, Concept Creation, Theme Development.
• Design and Execution. Master Planning, Architectural Designing, Project Management Consultancy.
• Rides, People and Operations. Ride and Attraction Planning, Team Hiring and Training, Operations Planning.
• Launch and Growth. Marketing and Branding, Merchandising, Content and Events.

Most owners use several of these services together, and some use the full set from idea to opening. See all 13 on the services page.

Mast Parks works with the owner at each step. The owner approves the work before it moves to the next stage, and revisions are part of the process. The owner knows the site, the region and the ambition. Mast Parks brings experience of designing and delivering parks across eight park types. For a family entertainment centre, the best results come when the two work as one team, with decisions made quickly and in the open.

To start a conversation, use the contact page. Mast Parks will ask about the site, the park you have in mind and where you are in the project.