CASPER, Wyo. — Old Town Casper’s family entertainment center will close its doors for good after January of next year, but the current owner says it won’t be the final goodbye for her or the beloved establishment.
Juliann Harvey owns and operates Old Town Miniature Golf and Entertainment Center, located along the Platte River behind the Best Western Downtown Casper Resort, formerly known as Parkway Plaza.
The resort had been closed for some time as the hotel has undergone changes in ownership and operator. Juliann reopened Old Town in 2021 after moving with her husband and three children from Colorado’s Front Range.
Before moving here, Juliann’s family already knew about this establishment and loved it. “My husband first worked (in Casper) before we moved here, and we would stay in the hotel and my kids would play here,” she said. That was around 2015. A few years later, the family eventually moved here permanently, but by then the miniature golf course had closed.
“It was kind of by chance that we found out they were going to rent it,” she said. Looking to book a family event, Juliann called the hotel and was told Old Town was closed, but was available to rent as a business.
“I had been researching family entertainment for years, and when they told me they would rent it, it all happened from there.”
Juliann is an architect by training, with experience in marketing and entrepreneurship. After moving to Casper, she began selling shirts for local school and sports clubs, and was eager to get into the family entertainment business.
The Old Town facilities had been unused for at least two years when Juliann took over. The golf course, with its idealized depiction of early Casper, was discolored and overgrown with weeds, and the building required extensive plumbing work. The two fountain systems on the course were also problematic: one was figured out relatively quickly, but the other took a little longer. “We worked on it for three years trying to make it work,” she said. “We finally figured out how, and then we discovered the leaks.”
“We did a lot of repainting and reinforcing the patio above, because it was pretty rotten up there.”
All the hard work paid off. They have been profitable and many longtime Casper residents who played there as children now bring their children.
“It’s been pretty awesome,” she said. “I hear all these stories and they’re so cool.”
“Now what we realized is we want to go bigger, and this location just isn’t going to work for us,” Juliann said. “It’s not about the success or failure of this space, it’s just that what we want to do requires a different space.”
What she envisions is a large family entertainment center that could offer many more attractions, including but also going beyond arcade games and miniature golf. His hope is to build a facility with multiple interior options, without having to rely on Casper’s often unforgiving weather.
“It’s windy outside, it’s snowing or raining,” she said. “The golf course is open all year round, but the times you want to play when there’s nothing better to do (because of the weather), you can’t play.”
“We want to do something where we can have a fun, cool, safe environment and have lots of things to do so you don’t have to remember it’s windy outside,” she said. declared.
She’s keeping her concepts under wraps for now, but is looking for ideal locations and building options.
Juliann says even though she and her future business are leaving Old Town, it doesn’t mean the end for the old facility so beloved by Casper residents.
“I know someone interested is already coming,” she said. “We resurrected it from inaction to what it is today, and they have an opportunity to do something different.”
Its run in Old Town ends after January. The last day open to the public will be a big going-away party, January 5. After that, events will be booked in the space throughout the month, and there will still be openings for building rentals between now and then.
After that, she will focus on developing a new concept and business model and hopes to reopen under a new brand and theme in a year or two.
Juliann says she believes family entertainment options are essential for Casper, both as a community and as a tourist destination.
“We know a lot of people come to this city for sporting events, shopping, etc. we want them to stay longer,” she said.