NEWS

Jolly Hoppers is thinking big

Jeff Barron
Reporter

LANCASTER - Jolly Hoppers owner Christina Patterson is thinking big.

"My goal is to have the ultimate family center," said Patterson, who also owns Tag-M Lazer Tag. "But right now, it's just kind of baby steps to get there. This has played into part of it. Now that we have this, eventually we can just combine it. Then it would be a whole facility instead of everybody having to go to a different one."

She opened Tag-M Lazer Tag in 2014 and purchased Jolly Hoppers in August. She and her husband, Travis, have made major renovations to Jolly Hoppers, which sits next to the laser tag arena at 730 S. Ewing St.

"We redid this (entrance) and just made it look a little bit cleaner and brighter," Christina Patterson said. "We've added a couple things into the arena. We added the new ball pit, a couple of new bounce houses, more sitting area, and we're currently working with the health department to get a little cafe to do milkshakes and frappuccinos."

The Pattersons also replaced the flooring in Jolly Hoppers, installed new carpet and tore down some walls to allow for more room. They also cleaned and painted the interior.

The main floor of Jolly Hoppers has several colorful bounce houses that children, and even adults, can enjoy.

"We have the big obstacle one that you can go through and bounce," Christina Patterson said of the inflatable obstacle course house. "We have the regular bounce house, which is the castle-looking one they can bounce on. A couple of them have slides you just come down and slide through them."

The new ball pit also is a favorite, she said.

"There's a lot of balls and there's different games in there," Christina Patterson said. "There are wood holes where you can make the basket (like basketball) for points instead of kids just throwing them everywhere. That seems to be the most popular thing right now."

There are open bounce hours, and Jolly Hoppers can be used for private parties. The business also has mobile bounce houses for offsite parties and events.

While both businesses deal in fun, it's not always easy for the Pattersons running them.

"It's very stressful," Christina Patterson said. "It's very stressful. It's just a lot of work just making sure everything stays clean. We're very picky with the cleaning procedure and disinfectant and making sure everything's done the way it needs to be. Thankfully, the businesses are side by side, so we're bouncing back and forth. So we're always around, always in charge of something."

She said another advantage of having adjacent businesses is that the children afraid of laser tag can play in Jolly Hoppers while other family members play at Tag-M.

Jolly Hoppers co-owner Christina Patterson bounces on one of the numerous bounce houses in the business.
Christina Patterson owns Jolly Hoppers with her husband, Travis.

jbarron@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron