(Updated December, 2023) For about 3 weeks in May and into June every year, ACP Entertainment services over 20 post-graduation parties, or was we call them “Senior All Nighters.” We see the process of planning these all night parties usually take anywhere from 10 to 13 months in total with parents from the incoming senior class usually attending the previous class’ party. Sometimes those incoming senior parents are heavily involved with setting up the event on the day of so the current senior parents enjoy the graduation ceremony.
As you begin to plan your event, there is no doubt that there are many things to think about! Some of the biggest things to consider is 1) Where your event is going to be held, 2) What your budget will be, 3) What food offerings you plan to have and 4) What entertainment do you plan to bring in? We’re going to breakdown some explanations and suggestions for those consideration points.
Venues
The very first question we will ask you is “What is your venue?” Most of the time that question is met with hesitation since the venue location is a secret. Trust us, we know it’s a secret and it goes without saying. However, we really need to know your venue because the space that each venue has for entertainment and activities varies. For example, we know that the YMCA downtown Grand Rapids has their gyms on the 3rd floor and the only way to get to them is via stairs or a regular elevator. This limits what we can bring to that venue because everything must fit into an elevator or be light enough to carry up the stairs. In the same matter, GVSUs fieldhouse has a large garage door that we can load everything into. We can even set up our adventure or carnival rides in the fieldhouse.
You’ll also want to take into consideration what the venue itself has to offer in terms of activities. For example, Davenport University has an indoor rock climbing wall that can be used but no pool, while the SpartanNash YMCA has a pool but no rock climbing. Also, does the venue offer a kitchen that you can use? Do they require you to use their food services? Do they allow food to be brought in at all? Also, what will the venue allow in terms of games and attractions? For example, some venues will not allow casino games.
Searching for a venue can be difficult and daunting, so we’ve compiled a list of venues that have previously hosted grad bash parties. To see the list, scroll to the bottom of this blog post.
Budget
The second question we will most likely ask you when calling to book your senior all-nighter is, “what’s your budget?” We aren’t asking this to get every last dollar in your budget, we’re asking to get an idea as to what you are working with. Is your budget $3,000 where you’d be looking for a couple/few attractions or is it $10,000 where may want to bring in a dozen or more attractions and entertainers? Come to us with your vision of what you’d like to do but make sure to have your budget numbers in mind. This helps us determine what we can do within those guidelines.
Another thing to take into consideration with budgeting is the different areas in which you plan to spend your budget dollars. Budget line items to consider would be venue, food, prizes, entertainment, decorations and miscellaneous. Always put a little flex room in your budget for the little things that are easily forgotten!
Food
The number one thing that your graduates are thinking about after graduation is, “WHERE’S THE FOOD?!” So what should you do? You definitely want to have a main meal at the beginning of the evening and then snacks throughout the night. Some events will opt to have a breakfast at the end of the night, however that’s not often recommended. They just want to go home after a long fun night, plus they will be full on snacks and sugar!
The big deal for food is the main dinner and there’s many different ways to provide food to the graduates after their graduation ceremony. One option is to go to a restaurant after graduation and before the entertainment venue. If you decide to go this route, you must pre-arrange this with the specific restaurant to make sure they have the seating for your group. Most of the time you can work out a special deal for the group to eat at the restaurant as well. Another option is to have a buffet line (or just pizza and sides) at your venue. A somewhat wide selection is recommended because even graduated high school seniors can be picky eaters.
Attractions & Entertainment
Ahhh our favorite part, and what we’re the best at-the fun stuff! There are three main categories for the entertainment; activities, novelty and live entertainment.
Activities include inflatables, rides and games. Our most popular inflatables for post grad parties are in our inflatable interactive and obstacle course categories. Here’s what we most recommend: J-Course, Zap a Mole, Fire Ball, Speed of Light, Hippo Chow Down, Leaps and Bounds, Shooting Stars, Inflatable Axe Throwing and Bobbing for Apples.
While most venues can’t fit them inside, carnival and adventure rides can easily be placed just outside of the venue and make a big impact on your event! Some of our favorite rides for all-nighters are mechanical bulls, the mechanical unicorn, Ballistic, Mind Winder, Face to Face and the Velocity Super Slide. The mechanical bull takes the cake-by far-for the most popular ride at all night parties!
The last activity category is games which is non-inflatable and non-take away (meaning they can’t take something from the experience). Our top games for all-nighters are our Strike a Light, Chaos!, Bounce-a-Ball, 4 in a Row, and casino games like Blackjack and Poker. Regarding casino games, they are for recreational play only and no prizes or money can be given away at the table or in result of game play.
Novelty Entertainment consists of something that results in a take away for the grads. Our most popular novelty options include our Photo Booth, Wax Hands, Caricature Artist and Glitter Tattoos.. Most of these options are staples for senior all night parties, however they commonly have a lower throughput per hour than other attractions.
Live Entertainment is often performers like a Magician, Hypnotist, Stilt Walkers and Jugglers. The most common live entertainment at a grad bash party is a hypnotist. Hypnotists are usually the finale of the evening but it doesn’t have to be that way! A common misconception is that the kids have to be tired in order for hypnosis to work-not true! It’s good to have the hypnotist show either before or after the main activities but not right in the middle.
A couple other considerations for your senior all-nighter event:
The entertainment part of the night should be no more than 4 hours. Any more than 4 hours will be a waste of your fundraising dollars. After 4 hours of playing in the middle of the night, the grads are exhausted and are more interested in sleeping than playing games.
Give them lots of options and have a loose schedule! Your graduating class will be very diverse in their interests. When planning your event, provide a wide variety of activities for them to do and know that not everyone will want to partake in each activity. Also, keep a limited schedule. This is their party and they just want to have fun, not be managed by a strict agenda. Now obviously there has to be some sort of schedule, but keep the time slots down as much as possible.
Lately it’s been a common trend to have food trucks provide all of the food for post grad events. While this is a neat idea, you have to have a lot of food trucks in order to make this work efficiently. For an attendance of around 200, you need at least 4 food trucks in order for them to keep up with the demand of hungry teenagers. We highly recommend having a buffet line of some sort for your main food and then bring in food trucks as a source for snacks or as a secondary source of main food. We promise, we aren’t hating on food trucks, we love them too!
We hope that helps a little bit with your planning! If you have any questions or would like to start planning your all night party, give our team a call and we’d be more than happy to help. As promised, here is a list of (some not all) venues in the West Michigan area in which all-nighters can be, and have been in the past, held. Check them out!
We are often asked to bring our carnival rides and midway games to festivals and fairs. While we’re happy to do so, we work in a very different manner than carnivals do. Carnivals come out to your location and directly charge patrons to ride their attractions, play the games and purchase food. This type of operation is called “Pay to Play” or P2P. An operation like ours, called “rental” for ease of term, does the exact opposite. We charge a set amount to the organization as a whole to come out and operate completely pre-determined dates, time frame and rides/attractions. If the organization that hires us wants to charge for tickets, they absolutely can. Ticket sales and facilitation would be on the organization. Simply put, although both a carnivals operation and our operation is similar in the way that we both carry carnival rides, we operate very differently.
Full carnivals have an incredible operation, they basically move a small city to every location they operate at. A modern day carnival will move between 15-30 rides, 6-8 food trailers, 6-10 game trailers, 2-4 massive generators and 15-30 Bunkhouses and RV’s to each location. Not only is that a ton of equipment, it’s a lot of staff. In fact, a Michigan based carnival can travel with anywhere between 50-120 employees.
So besides a lot of people and equipment, what’s the big difference? With such a massive operation, the carnival companies have to make worth their while especially with them taking all of the financial risk. Currently, every carnival in Michigan has been in business for decades. If the company itself hasn’t been around for decades, the owners of the carnival have been in the business for decades if not their entire life. They know exactly what fairs and events will draw the larger crowds and bigger dollars needed to make it an enticing stop for their show. Unfortunately, not every festival, fair and event is big enough to support a carnival for more reasons than just the size of the community.
Frankly, your event may just not be big enough financially to host a full fledge carnival. In today’s world, an average Michigan carnival has to be able to bring in at least $60,000 to even consider going to a festival or fair. There are hundreds of events across Michigan that don’t have carnivals and this is most likely the reason; not enough people = not enough revenue.
There’s also an incredible supply and demand issue in the Carnival industry in present time. The industry has lost hundreds of carnivals in the last 10 years alone. Factors in those carnivals closing down are commonly contributed to rising costs, transportation regulations and labor shortages. These are all factors that carnivals still in operation have to face every year. Most carnivals now rely on legally sourced immigrant workers to staff their carnivals because getting reliable local labor is next to impossible. Cost of diesel has gone through the roof which is what powers the trucks to move everything from location to location and the generators to power the show. Buying new rides is three to four times more expensive than it was just 10 years ago and it takes 2-5 years to take delivery of a new ride. The list goes on, but needless to say, owning and operating a carnival in 2023 (and beyond) is not for the faint of heart.
For those hundreds of festivals and events across Michigan that aren’t big enough to host a carnival, that’s where we come in. We “rent” rides to events that can’t attract a carnival which is a complete 180 from what carnivals do and how they operate. Now we say “rent” because you as the customer would pay us to bring in the rides. We still setup, staff, operate and tear down the rides and attractions but we are only bringing in what you order.
Our average event is 4 hours long but we’ve operated as long as 4 days in a row. Since we generally only operate for a day, our team comes in the same day and leaves the same day. On occasion we’ll come in the day before or stay a day after depending on the circumstances, but the team will just stay in a hotel. We aren’t carting around an entire village with us when we go to an event like a Carnival does which is just one reason we are able to accommodate smaller events unlike a carnival.
We love our fellow carnival operators in Michigan, in fact we have great relationships with most of them. We wanted to take the time, for our sake and theirs, to explain the differences between the two types of operations. We hope that this article has been informative and thought provoking. If you have any questions, as always please reach out to our team and we’d be happy to answer them for you.
As a reminder, please go and support the carnival at your local festivals or fairs. They work really hard to bring you quality and safe entertainment for the entire family!
To the average Joe, plugging into power is an everyday occurrence. You plug in your phone to charge, the vacuum, blow dryer or something similar every day. But what is that power outlet and will it work for our the equipment you’re renting from us? We’re here to break that down for you. You most definitely won’t be a certified electrician after reading this article, but you will certainly have a better understanding of the type of power we will need you to provide for us for your event.
If you’re looking for a quick summary to this article, scroll to the bottom of the page. If you’re looking for more of an in depth understanding of power needs, keep reading!
Going back to the type of power you use every day (phone, vacuum, blow dryer, etc.), in most cases that is called a 110v/120v outlet on a 20 amp breaker. Now to break that down a little more, the “v” means volts. When we say 110v that means one hundred and ten volts and same thing for 120v, one hundred and twenty volts. You may even see 115v but frankly, think of them all as the same. The reason that there are multiple sets of voltage numbers listed above (110v/115v/120v) is frankly preference to reflect the load capability of an outlet, plug end or cable. The normal operating range for this type of power is 110 volts and can go up to 124 volts. As long as the power is in the advertised/listed range of 110v-120v, you’re all set.
Horizontal photo of female hand inserting power cord receptacle into electric wall outlet
Now the 20 amp breaker portion refers to the “master switch” for the outlet(s) on that breaker. Here’s the tricky part, there can be multiple outlets on one breaker. So for example, if you look at a wall and see 4 outlets running down the length of the wall, it’s highly probable that they are all on the same breaker. That being said, when we say you need 2- 110v/20 amp circuits to run the equipment you rented, we’ll have to plugin to power on that wall and another wall to avoid popping the breaker. No, there is no fuse anymore. It is simply just a switch that you have to reset. In some cases, each outlet is labeled with the circuit number which makes it incredibly easy to identify what outlets are on what circuits. Circuit boxes are typically located in the garage or basement for a residence and in a storage, maintenance or electrical room for a commercial building. If you do not know where your circuit breaker box is, we’d highly recommend locating that and making sure you have access to it before the day of your event.
Now that we’ve gotten past the most common power, it’s time to go a little bit bigger; Single Phase 220V. The similar situation rings true when it comes to this voltage range, it may be advertised as anywhere from 220v to 240v. The difference here over the power mentioned above is there are two hot/positive legs instead of one like in 110v power. These two 110v hot legs combine to make 220v power, see what happened there? Same rings true when we talk about 120v, take two of those hot legs and put them together to make 240v which brings us back full circle to the rang of 220v to 240v. Typically 220v-240v will be on a 50amp breaker, frankly it’s very rare for that not to be the case. We use 220v/50 amp power for our some of our rides.
The final type of power is 3 phase. This is rarely found in any buildings, frankly only industrial buildings have 3 phase power and most of the time the voltage is out of range for our needs. We operate 208v 3 phase while most manufacturing facilities operate 480V 3 Phase. Expo centers will likely have have the type of power we need like in the DeVos Place in Grand Rapids. There’s an immense difference between single phase and three phase and frankly, we just aren’t going to go into great detail about it. If we need 3 phase power, we will most likely have to bring our own generators to power those rides. This leads us beautifully into the final portion of our power talk, generators.
We are often asked, “Isn’t it just easier for you to bring your own generators for power?” The short answer is yes but don’t give up hope just yet! If you are bringing a few inflatables to your event and the setup location is near a building, there’s a good chance you’ll have enough power to run 2-3 inflatables if not more. Typically there are only 1-3 circuits outside of a building but that’s not the standard across the board either. Again, please refer back to your building manager or maintenance department as they will definitely be able to tell you that your power situation looks like. In some cases we can use a generator that you provide but please contact us first before assuming your generators will work. Not all generators are equal and not all of them will power our equipment.
If you do need to rent one or multiple generators from us, we have many different options to choose from. Our smallest generators, what we call Class A generators, are able to power up to 3 inflatables and are pretty loud. These Class A generators are roughly 94 decibels at 3 meters away. Class B generators can power 1- 220v/50amp ride or up to 5 inflatables and is about 99 decibels at 3 meters. Our largest generators, Class C, are actually the quietest generators in our fleet ranging from 68-72 decibels at 3 meters. Our Class C generators range anywhere from 20KW to 60KW. To put it into perspective, the 60KW Generator will power your house and 5 of your neighbors houses running the entire house like normal-that’s a lot of power! You can hear the differences of each generator by watching this video, click here. Our event specialists will be able to pair the right generator for your event.
In Summary, which is what you may have been wanting this entire time:
A 110v/20amp circuit is a regular outlet that you have in your home or business
A circuit is what the individual outlets are wired to, be aware that in most cases multiple outlets are wired on the same circuit. Please know where the circuit panel is and have access to it on the day of your event in case a breaker is blown.
Most of our rides take 220v/50amp or three phase service and in most cases we will have to provide the power for these
Of the generators in our fleet, the large Class C generators are the most powerful and the most quiet and can power both rides and inflatables all at the same time
If you have any further questions about power requirements for your event, give us a call and we’d be more than happy to assist you
Every year at ACP Entertainment, we introduce multiple new and exciting attractions, this year is no exception! In 2023 we are thrilled to introduce over 20 new attractions (with more on the way) and activities and we are also celebrating 15 years of amazing entertainment.
Let’s talk about our rides to start our ‘New for 2023’ list! Lost Treasures is a play port/funhouse for the little ones and was introduced late last year-it’s a smash hit at every event! We also have a brand new swing ride called Cyclone which is a 20 seat chain/chair swing ride. Cyclone will now be our largest capacity swing attraction. Additionally we’re excited to introduce a brand new Classic Train from Wattman Trains, the Rolls Royce of Trackless Train Rides. This train is absolutely gorgeous with moving train wheels, smoke, sound effects and even a 4th car for maximum capacity.
We have quite a few new inflatables for 2023 as well, first up is the Rainforest KidZone and Barnyard KidZone. These two inflatables have a similar layout but a completely different theme with beautiful and vibrant graphics that will definitely wow your crowd. We also have a new game similar to Krazy Kones and Speed of Light that is called Zap a Mole. This time instead of using your hands, players will use a giant foam hammer like the classic “Whac-a-Mole” arcade game. Three new obstacle courses will hit our line up this year; High Voltage, Radical 30’and Radical 40’ Obstacle Courses. We also added, by popular demand, a second dual lane slide called the Wacky Double 18’ Slide. Finally the Big TopGames inflatable, which has 4 games in one, and the Grand Carnivalwhich is an inflatable carnival booth tent.
Two new digital games were added to our lineup in 2023, Four in a Row and Chaos!The digital Four in a Row game is an arcade version of Connect 4 and will have your guests engaged all night long! Chaos! is a game similar to Strike a Light but allows for 4 players instead of 2. Players will also have to cross over into other players area to tag lights of their color too. To say it’s chaotic is an understatement!
We’re extremely excited to introduce an entire new lineup of Midway Carnival Game trailers in 2023. Jungle Chase is a roller derby game, similar to skee ball, that has a jungle theme with racing monkey characters that up to 14 players can play at a time. The Water Race has racing dolphins that move according to how long the players can hit the moving bullseye targets. The Water Race game can also accommodate up to 14 players. Both of these game trailers will come standard with plush prizes in which one prize will be given away every 4-5 minutes. We also introduced a few new regular individual carnival games which includes Alien Pinball, Ricochet,Leaping Lizards and the Kiddie Hi Striker.
Last but definitely not least, we are introducing an entirely new attraction that we introduced in late 2022; Synthetic Ice Skating Experience. The 36’x40’ ice skating rink includes the synthetic ice, rental skates, carpets, chairs, fencing and lighting to your event space. No freeze time needed!
Wow, that’s quite the lineup for this year! We’re thrilled to be able to bring you these incredible new attractions and activities and we hope you are able to incorporate some of them if not all of them into your upcoming event(s). If you have questions about any of the new attractions for 2023, please don’t hesitate to give our team a call at 616-826-8220.
In 2023 ACP Entertainment is celebrating its 15th Anniversary. In the 15 years that ACP Entertainment has been in operation, we have serviced over 7,000 events and have had a hand in creating memories for hundreds thousands of kids and families alike. We feel like we have an incredible responsibility to continue creating safe, memorable and fun experiences for the now over 700 events that we service each year alone-and we intend to do just that.
You may be wondering, how did ACP get started and how did it get to this point in 2023? Here’s the story as old as time….well at least as old as its founder, Ryan Strayhorn.
At the age of 12, a very young Ryan found a passion in DJing and “opened” a DJ business called Amplify Christ DJ Services performing at school events, chili cook offs and prayer at the flagpole events. After doing the sound and lighting for a middle school talent show, Ryan changed the unofficial company name to Amplify Christ Productions. In the midst of these years, Ryan and his dad twisted balloons at school carnivals which is where he saw inflatables that were rented to the schools. Seeing potential, Ryan once again changed the still unofficial company name to Amplify Christ Productions & Entertainment. Quickly realizing how long of a company name it was, he shortened it to ACP Entertainment which is still the name today.
In 2008 and at the age of 15, Ryan finally convinced his parents to allow him to sub rent inflatables from another local company to start doing events. After only a couple short months of sub renting inflatables, obvious potential was seen by Ryan’s parents and they agreed to allow him to buy his first 3 inflatables in June of 2008. Later that Fall, the second batch of inflatables were purchased bringing the total count of inflatables to 6 and also severing ties with the sub-renting company. In August of 2008 Ryan turned 16 and could finally start driving to events himself instead of having to rely on his dad and in October of the same year, the company was legally incorporated.
As years moved on, more inflatables were purchased along with concession machines and carnival games. By 2013, ACP Entertainment had started producing company picnics and other events of large scale for thousands of people. Dad’s Classic Catering, ACP’s then in house catering division, was established in 2014 to better service company picnic events as a ‘Turn Key’ event planning company. In 2016, the first two real carnival rides were added, Ballistic and Pirates Revenge, which started the company in an entirely new trajectory.
In 2023, the focus of the company has dramatically shifted now servicing mostly company, school, church and other organizational events with carnival rides, game trailers and inflatables. ACP Entertainment is now the largest supplier of rental carnival rides in the state of Michigan and is one of the largest entertainment companies in the state. Not only are we one of the largest and best amusement suppliers in the state, we are also a company that brought many firsts into the state!
ACP Entertainment was the first to introduce many rental-only attractions for events across Michigan and even outside of Michigan. The following attractions were the first rental only attractions of their kind in Michigan; Velocity Super Slide, 40′ Ferris Wheel, Carnival Funhouse, Lost Treasures Funhouse, Frog Hopper, Midway Carnival Game Trailers and the Synthetic Ice Skating Experience. Although ACP Entertainment mostly stays in Michigan, we have also been a part of events in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Florida.
If you have booked with us in the past 15 years, all of us at ACP Entertainment want to thank you for your business and we look forward to working with you this year and into the future! Here’s to another 15 incredible years of creating Memorable Events for you and your guests!
ACP Entertainment is excited to announce the arrival of our newest Winter attraction; the Synthetic Ice Skating Experience. This new skating rink rental attraction is indeed an experience like nothing we’ve ever offered before with a 36’x40′ skating rink rental, adirondack chairs for skaters to take a break from skating, benches to put on/take off skates, ice skate ‘rental’/distribution station, music, lights and fencing.
What is a Synthetic Ice Rink Rental you ask? Instead of having a conventional ice skating rink that requires hundreds of gallons of water, special freezing systems and days to freeze and solidify, the synthetic ice rink rental is assembled and ready to use in just about two hours. The panels are 4’x4′ and snap together like a puzzle to form the entire rink. No freezing necessary! In fact, our ice rink can be installed indoors our or outdoors, used in cold or warm temperatures and can even be used in rain and snow!
Our Synthetic Ice Skating Experience makes its debut in November of 2022 and will be available for events all winter long in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. For more information and details about the ice rink rental, Click Here.
Ferris wheels are an iconic attraction of festivals and fairs, in fact it’s the most iconic carnival ride in the world. Ferris wheels are also the backdrop, centerpiece and/or most iconic moments in any movie featuring a carnival which only adds to the popularity of ferris wheels. Due to the popularity, we at ACP Entertainment have decided to purchase a brand new ferris wheel to add to our lineup of attractions. What makes it historic? First, a little history.
The very first ferris wheel opened at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago in June of 1983 and was invented by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. As you may have guessed, the name Ferris wheel comes from his last name and has stuck as the generic name of all attractions like his original 250 foot Giant Wheel ride.
While Ferris’ wheel was the first of its kind, the first portable ferris wheel attraction was built in 1900 by William Sullivan called “Big Eli.” This 45 foot ferris wheel was completely broken down and moved inside of a trailer which meant every piece had to come apart. The company that formed out of Sullivan’s innovation was called the Eli Bridge Company and is still in operation today.
Today, portable ferris wheels are trailer mounted which is much different than the original “Big Eli” wheel that had to be taken apart and transported in a trailer. Jerry Wisdom is who we have to thank for that incredible invention. In 1957, Jerry dismantled the family carnivals ferris wheel and mounted it to a trailer, a tank hauler trailer to be exact. And thus, the trailer mounted ferris wheel was born.
Today, all portable ferris wheels are trailer mounted in some fashion or another with the largest portable wheel called the “Midway Sky Eye Wheel” and stands 155 feet tall. This wheel takes 12 trailers to move and is operated by “Biggest Wheel, LLC” in Florida.
The manufacturer that we chose to build our Ferris Wheel is Wisdom Rides, ironically founded by Jerry Wisdom who first mounted a ferris wheel on a trailer. Wisdom is making history once again with the creation of the “Rental Wheel,” a portable ferris wheel specifically designed for the ride rental industry. ACP Entertainment will be the first company with this ride in the country and we’re incredibly excited to bring it to the Midwest market. Wisdom has designed this ferris wheel to setup and tear down within 2 hours with 2 people and can be transported with a 5500 pickup truck. This 10 seat ferris wheel can accommodate up to 30 riders and stands 40’ tall. It will feature a beautiful LED light show and even have pre-built sign channels for branding overlays.
ACP Entertainment has been in the carnival ride market for 6 years and have heard countless requests for ferris wheels. These requests led to the decision to buy not just a regular ferris wheel, but a ride that would perfectly match the demands of our business model and beyond. Unlike the rest of our attractions, our Ferris Wheel will be available for rent not only in Michigan but also Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York. Other locations may be considered upon request.
We are incredibly excited to bring this new ride to the market and look forward to continue to create Memorable Events across the Midwest! Contact our team to learn more and get a quote for your event by calling us at 616-826-8220 or emailing us.
ACP Entertainment was invited to be a part of Season 25 of the Bachelor which was filmed in the Fall of 2020 at the Nemacolin Resort in Farmington, PA. The producers of the show wanted to create a “Carnival in the Woods” for a one-on-one date with Matt James and Piper James (crazy how they just happen to have the same last name). ACP Entertainment was called in by Epic Party Team out of Phoenix, AZ to help create the scene and we were also joined by Big O Amusements out of Cardington, OH.
Attractions and rentals from ACP Entertainment featured in the show include the Ballistic Swing, Carnival Tents, Balloon Blast, Popcorn and Cotton Candy. Our team had to quarantine on site for one week before the shoot and receive multiple COVID tests before interacting with the cast and crew. To say that this was an unforgettable experience for our team is an understatement!
We want to thank the Bachelor, NKZ Productions and Epic Party Team for bringing us onto this great project!
Enjoy this compilation video of the scene that aired on February 6, 2021!
Venues come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. The very first thing to determine before choosing your venue is if your event will be held indoor or outdoor. It is always crucial to keep in mind how many people you plan on attending the event and whether a venue is large enough to host that expected number. Your venue type will also depend on the time of year and weather. Even though we can’t predict the weather, the general weather conditions, depending on the time of year that your event is being held, is important to keep in mind. If your event is in April, you may want to consider a backup indoor location or just plan your event indoor to begin with. If your event is in January, outdoor is probably not an option (assuming you’re in a state that has harsh Winters).
Outdoor venues are most common for picnics, festivals, fairs, family reunions, graduation parties and birthday parties. When choosing an outdoor location, it is ideal to have a backup spot in case of inclement weather (even though the weather is for sure going to be bright and sunny on your event date). Most of the time if your event is planned to be outdoor, a backup indoor location will most likely not be able to fit everything you planned to be outside. If that’s the case, like it is for most backup venues, that’s alright! Make the best of it by squeezing as much into the venue as possible while still making it fun.
Another major component of a venue is parking. You would think that if the venue can hold 500 people that it would have enough parking for at least half of that number, right? That’s not always the case. Make sure that the venue you choose has enough parking for 30% of the total guest count of your event. For example, if you’re expecting 500 people, make sure to have enough parking for at least 150 cars.
The final thing to consider is what the venue will allow in the park and local regulations. For example, some parks may not allow tents which would be a problem if there is no provided shelter. Another example is the city or township that the venue is in may not allow the use of PA systems over a certain decibel rating with our without a permit. Again, those are just two examples, so make sure you check with both the venue and local governing authorities to make sure that everything you are planning to do at your event is allowed.
Theme Parks and Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) are often considered as a potential location to host your picnic because on paper it sounds great since everything is already provided at the venue. However, unless you have the entire park closed off to the public and just for your event, there is no sense of community or fellowship between your guests and their families. Take a theme park for example, in order to rent out the entire park and shut it down for the day, the buy out price is astronomical and 99% of the organizations in West Michigan cannot afford it for their event. So the only other option is to keep the park open to the public and give your guests a park ticket and a food ticket. The same goes for smaller FEC’s, if you can’t afford to rent the entire center out, the park is open to the public so the venue is filled with people from your organization and random strangers. Another disadvantage to a large Amusement Park or FEC is that everyone is so spread out that your guests won’t really get to spend a good amount of time talking to each other or getting to know each others families. Our recommendation, if you were to go this route, is to fully rent out a FEC for your event that is closed to the general public.
While you take all of your options into consideration, don’t forget to use us as us at ACP Entertainment as a resource for picking a venue! With over 4,000 events under our belt, we know the ins and outs of most venues in the West Michigan area. Give us a call anytime for help with picking a venue at 616-826–8220.
Are inflatables Safe? Yes. Are all inflatables safe? No-well at least in our opinion.
Inflatables are, in essence, sewn together fabric filled with air to create a sort of playground structure. Does this sound dangerous? No, absolutely not. But just like anything else, this seemingly safe amusement attraction can turn dangerous and even deadly. At ACP Entertainment, we carry a wide variety of inflatables including bounce houses, obstacle courses, combos, slides and interactive inflatables. All of our inflatables we consider to be safe if used properly. Every inflatable has rules that need to be followed. When rules are broken is when people start to get hurt. But what inflatables are considered unsafe?
*Before you read any further, please know that the items listed below that we consider dangerous is our opinion of over 16 years in the inflatable industry. If you disagree, that’s quite alright!*
At ACP Entertainment, we will not carry traditional bungee runs, sumo suits or bubble balls because we have seen first hand or have heard about too many injuries surrounding thee 3 attractions. We refer to these attractions as the “Main 3.” There are other attractions here or there that we have opted not to carry or discontinue from our roster for safety reasons, but the main 3 are what we’d like to draw your attention to. While fun and hilarious to watch, the main 3 are dangerous and in some cases have been deadly.
Bungee Runs: The point of a traditional bungee run is to run to the end of the 30 foot inflatable, while attached to a bungee cord, to see how far you can get until the strong bungee pulls you back. The danger in this attraction is within the bungee cord itself. The most dangerous scenario is when the rider gets to the end of the inflatable (while connected to the bungee cord) and then jumps instead of running backwards. When the rider jumps, the bungee cord reels the player in uncontrollably until the player hits the back wall of the inflatable. How the player lands is where the injury can come into play. In 2007, a boy in Denver was injured on a bungee run and later a “judge awarded nearly $6.9 million to the family of [the] teenager who suffered a permanent brain injury,” according to the Sokolove Law firm on April 18, 2011. The second most common cause for injury is from the bungee snapping due to a faulty bungee cord, old age or excessive extension of the cord. A snapping bungee cord will hit the player in the back and can also hit spectators.
Sumo Suits: Sumo Suits is an attraction in which players climb into either an inflatable or foam-filled suit that is made to resemble a sumo wrestler. The players will also put on a foam helmet that is sometimes made to look like a sumo wrestlers hair in a bun. Once the players are dressed, they step onto a thin foam mat that has a ring in the center. When instructed, the players run towards each other to tackle one other resulting in one or both of the players falling almost immediately. Commonly, the player still standing will then jump on the player that fell as a sign of victory. The suits are very restrictive in movement for the players and don’t allow them to move freely. Since they can’t move like they would without the suit, they often will lose control of their body and fall easily. When they do fall, if they hit their head it could cause temporary or serious damage damage to their skull or brain. In Colorado Springs, a participant fell while wearing a sumo suit and caused her to have permanent brain damage. A Denver jury awarded her $2 million for her injuries that she sustained while playing in the sumo suits.
Bubble Balls: Bubble balls are most commonly used for a game known as “bubble soccer.” The game of bubble soccer involves anywhere from 4-12 players wearing these bubble balls and running around on a field or course, like a regular game of soccer, with the intention to score goals with a soccer ball. Now of course part of the fun is hitting their opponents with the bubble balls almost always resulting in the player flying backwards 5-20 feet and/or falling. At a first look, it looks harmless, in fact it looks safe since the players have a near-fixed air bag around them to keep them safe. However, the danger is what’s outside of the bubble. The most common known injuries are broken feet, twisted ankles and broken legs. Also if the bubble balls do not have shoulder restraints, the players head could pop out of the top resulting in them potentially hitting their head on a hard surface which could cause serious damage to the players spine, skull and/or brain. In Missouri, a man severely injured his spinal cord while playing in a bubble ball and because of those injuries he is now paralyzed (quadriplegic). He was awarded nearly $45 million dollars in a lawsuit against the recreation company.
While it is our opinion that the 3 categories of inflatables are dangerous, there are definitely other individual inflatables or attractions that we will also not carry. Just like anything, the level of danger that an inflatable has (especially a new design of inflatable) is unknown until it’s been tested on the market. Once it’s been out there in the market and stories unfold, it is our duty to A) inform our customers of the dangers relating to specific attractions and B) not carry those attractions in our inventory.
We can’t stress the fact enough that these are our opinions based on our over 10 years of experience and staying informed about the accidents across the world pertaining to inflatable attractions. Reading all of this about these attractions may be a bummer to hear, especially since they all look so fun, but we all want everyone to not only have a good time but remain safe while playing. If you have questions regarding these or other attractions, please do not hesitate to call our office at 616-826-8220.
Sources:
Bungee Run Lawsuit: Sokolove Law Firm: https://www.sokolovelawfirm.com/blog/boy-injured-in-bungee-run-gets-multimillion-award/
Sumo Suit Lawsuit: Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm: https://www.dallasfortworthinjurylawyer.com/denver_jury_awards_millions_in/
Bubble Ball Lawsuit: Columbia Daily Tribune: https://www.columbiatribune.com/news/20170717/boone-county-man-wins-45-million-in-lawsuit
