The Isaac Sisters

The Sisters, Asia, Aliyah, and Shakira Issac, just debuted their very first music video of their original song ‘Girls Night Out.’ The girls are only 13, 11, and 9 respectively, but they already know what they want to do as a career – sing! Their musical career started with their parents musical influces of Pop, R&B, Country and more when they began writing their own songs. They have appeared in numerous festivals around Texas including the Urban Music Festival, Chalk and Walk Festival, and Wildflower Art Festival. So far the girls have written 10 of their own songs and they are always looking for more opportunities to perform and become recognized entertainers.

‘Girls Night Out’

The Isaac Sisters approached us here at Playland and requested to film a segment of their very first video on at our rink. In the video, you see the girls pick up their skates from the rental counter and see some friends of theirs at the rink. They skate around and have a great ‘Girls Night Out’ together under the lights at Playland.

Playland Skate Center wishes the Isaac Sisters all the best in their future music career and if they every want to come back to film a sequel – we will be here!

What is Memorial Day?

Most of you probably know Memorial Day as the marker that summer is just around the bend, but do you know the meaning or history behind Memorial Day? First organized in 1868 by General John Logan, Memorial Day was originally declared in remembrance of the soldiers who gave their lives in the Civil War. Flowers would be placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery to recognize the soldiers that gave their lives fighting for their country. A particularly interesting fact about Texas and the rest of the Confederacy is that we did not recognize Memorial Day with the northern states. Instead, the states that had once been part of the Confederacy chose to recognize their dead on separate days until after World War I and Memorial Day was changed to recognize all soldiers who had lost their lives at war. Now, Memorial Day, also called Decoration Day is a day of recognition for those who have died during service to the United States. Texas also recognizes January 19th as Confederate Heroes Day to commemorate our Civil War soldiers.

Looking for a Memorial Day activity in Austin, TX? Look no further! This Memorial Day, May 27th, Playland Skate Center will be open for all of you who will be out of school and off from work. Come enjoy your long, holiday weekend with us! We will be skating from 12-6p for only $6!! We hope to see you here!

The History of the Texas Road Rash

The annual inline roller skate marathon race started in 2004 by Round Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department and Hill Country Speed. In its first year, the race attracted 110 skaters and has since grown to over 200 participants. Each year the race continues to grow and the organizers continue to develop ways to attract more skaters of all levels.

What’s With the Name?

When the event was founded, the creators spent many hours trying to brainstorm the perfect name. If you are an experienced inline skater, you know all about road rash and how unpleasant it truly is. They decided to go with the name because it is captures the essence of inline marathon skating and they embrace that fact with their yearly “road rash photo.” At the end of each race, all of the skaters that have received the kiss of road rash gather and show off their wounds. The person with the worst rash wound wins a deluxe first aid kit!

Want to Race?

The road rash marathon invites skaters of all levels and experiences, but they do ask to make sure that you will at least be able to complete the course. You can choose to participate in the marathon, or half marathon race. The course is at a slight 7% downgrade, but if skaters are not able to complete their first lap around the course, they will be assisted off course for their safety and the safety of other skaters.

Are you interested in participating in the Road Rash? First, why don’t you perfect your skating skills during one of our roller skate lesson programs! We’d love to see you win the Road Rash Race and carry Playland Skate Center‘s name proudly across the finish line!

Featured Fridays

Last night was our PJ Pants featured friday and we had so much fun! The last friday of every month we have a themed featured friday for you to dress up or participate in and have a great time. Our next featured friday will be May 24th – the theme will be announced shortly. Stay tuned to hear about the fun we will be having that night!

Mother’s Day

May 12th is Mothers Day – a special day just for moms when their kids and family should all gather together and celebrate just how wonderful their mother is and show her some of the love that she has shown you! Playland is celebrating Mothers Day with a Moms Sk8 Free session! Mom’s you get to skate for free with the purchase of a kids admission. Bring the whole family out for a day of fun on May 12th!

40 Year Anniversary

Can you believe it? Playland Skate Center is turning 40!! To celebrate our 40 year anniversary here at our skating rink, we are going to be throwing a HUGE party at the end of June! This isn’t just going to be any regular skate session, we are going to have a ton of other activities going on as well. Stay tuned for more information on the exact date and more details, but in the meantime we would love your help! We need any old Playland Skate Center paraphanelia from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. If you have anything ‘vintage’ about roller skating or Playland, please email a copy to info1@playland.com. We will be using it to decorate and help celebrate our anniversary.

Make sure you are staying up to date with all of these events as more details come out about their exact dates and times by following us here on our blog or checking out our upcoming events page. We hope to see you soon, sk8ting at Playland Skate Center in Austin, TX!

The Playscape at Playland Skate Center is a GIANT two story indoor playground. It is just for your younger kids – under 52″ to be exact – to come and romp around while the older members of the family enjoy other aspects of our family fun center. The indoor playground has two slides so brother and sister can race each other to the bottom. The trampoline can turn any frown upside down, because no one will be left out of the fun! We don’t miss any of the fun of regular outdoor playgrounds either because we’ve even got a swing for kids to swing along to the music!

You don’t even have to worry about your kids while they are in the Playscape either. You get to sit back, and relax for a few minutes while our Playland employees monitor your children while they climb up and down the ladders and walkways and wear themselves out for a good afternoon nap. We have benches nearby so you can sit and watch you kids play, if you want to be on hand ‘just in case.’

This summer, don’t let the heat keep you locked in the house. When temperatures rise, we’ve always got some cool new fun at Playland Skate Center. Bring the whole family to enjoy some time on our skating ring, playing on the Playzone – our indoor playground, or trying their hand at our arcade winning tickets for prize redemption.

Party Packages

We have party packages ranging from and 8 guest minimum to booking the skating rink all to yourself for 2 hours! The private parties inclue up to 75 people – each additional guest if $4.00, and each additional hour is $100. These parties include unlimited use of our skate mates, playscape, and roller skate rental. We do the clean up so all you have to worry about is having fun! You are welcome to bring your own food, drinks and paper products. While we have a great music selection, if you would like to bring your own CDs or iPod and really make it a personal experience, we can hook your music right into our sound system. For adult parties, alcohol is welcome for a small additional fee.

Our smaller party options come in a variety of sizes to fit your guest list. They all include reservation of party tables for 2 hours, skating games, at least 2 pitchers of drink and you can upgrade any package to include roller blades, skate mate rentals, or access to the Playscape – our indoor playground.

All parties, no matter your size, are always tons of fun at Playland Skate Center! Bring your school class, your swim team, or just a group of your friends to kick off summertime! Our dates fill up fast, so call us to book your party today!

Skate Mates for New Skaters

Skate Mates are made of plastic and have wheels on the bottom to push in front of you while you skate. They are shaped like a V with a 90 degree angle. You stand in the middle with one hand on each side and skate forward. The Skate Mates help you keep your balance while you are trying to learn the coordination of pushing your skates around the rink.

A Skate Mate for Many Sizes

Playland Skate Center has Skate Mates that come in 3 different sizes to fit most skaters. Our largest Skate Mate is recommended for skaters no taller than 5 feet.

Learn Confidently in our Beginners Area

Playland Skate Center is uuber friendly to new skaters. Not only do we offer you Skate Mates for a small fee, we have also divided off part of our rink that is dedicated to children and beginner skaters. This way, you don’t have to worry about being in anyone else’s way or any other skaters knocking you over while you get on your way to being a pro skater yourself! And we even offer roller skating lessons!

New skaters, young and old, come to Playland Skate Center to learn to roller skate with confidence in our beginners area with the help of a Skate Mate!

Img from Flickr.

• The first step in  maintaining your roller skates is making sure they fit properly. The number one reason that roller skates break down is due to improper wear and incorrect fit.
• If you have leather boots on your skates, you need to keep them nice and dry. Sweat breaks down leather so keeping your boots clean and dry will lengthen the life of your leather boots. You should also use leather conditioner on them to keep them from getting too dry and cracking.
• Just like on a car, roller skate wheels require rotating. When wheels begin to wear, rotate their position on your skate so that they will wear evenly. When wheels have seen too many times around the rink, make sure you replace them.
• Keep your bearings clean. If you hold your bearings between your fingers and give them a good spin, they should move in about 1 second. If your bearings do not move, it is time to either clean and add some lubricant to them or replace them.
• Every time you skate, take a moment to inspect your roller skates. Make sure nothing is too worn or in disrepair so you can avoid an accident and potential injury.

Playland Skate Center in Austin, TX wants to see you having fun and enjoying  your roller skates! Come by our rink during any of our public skating sessions  for a fun day of skating around the largest roller skating rink in Austin!

In 2010, a World Hunger survey determined that 19 million people in developed countries went hungry. To help put an end to hunger, we are collecting cans to donate to the local food bank. The cans you donate will go to support the local community and feed hungry families and children in need.

On Friday, March 29th from 7-11p all you need is one can of food to get $2 off your skate admission. Then, come join us rolling around the rink for a night full of fun and friends! We’ll be playing the latest and greatest music hits and we can’t wait to see you at the best roller skating rink in Austin, TX!

The first recorded pair of agsoline-powered roller skates were invented by Antionio Pirrello in 1956. They had a 19-pound gasoline motor that you wore as a backpack. The gas connected to the right skate to push you while you held your left skate in front of you to steer. A cable connected to the motor had a hand held clutch, accelerator, and engine cut-off switch to regulate the speed – up to 40 miles-per-hour of speed! These skates were featured in Life magazine, Popular Mechanics, and even seen on the TV shows You Asked For It and The Today Show.

There have been more recent versions of gasoline powered skates like the 50 pairs that got seized by British officials because they could reach 20 mph in 20 seconds and the officials were concerned about the wearers safety and did not want them sold to the public or online. They tended to stop suddenly and pitch the wearer forward, leading to numerous accidents.

There was another gasoline powered skate invention marketed for their ability to get 120 miles per gallon. They could reach speeds of 30 miles per hour “so you could weave in and out of rush-hour traffic jams, getting to work or home faster than ever before.” Apparently, these never went mainstream, though we could never guess why.

Next time you are thinking about adding a motor to your roller skates for some added speed – don’t do all the work, its already been done! Though we wouldn’t suggest it as the safest way to travel. Instead, just come strap on a pair of quad or inline skates at Playland Skate Center in Austin, TX and get some exercise skating around our roller skating rink!