Invest in a maze and you’ll invest in a strange attraction, one that defies neat logic and common sense. Customers—theme park patrons, ski area frolickers, or miniature golf aficionados—will walk up to your maze, shaped, perhaps, like a castle or fort; an intricate, multi-leveled series of passages and turns, dead ends, lookout towers, and observation decks, and they will pay to get lost. They will pay for that feeling of not knowing, of seeking, of turning in the wrong direction and hastily scrambling back.

And they’ll pay many times over. Over the course of a three-day weekend at Valdosta, Ga.’s Wild Adventures, 8,000 people lost themselves in “Mystery Maze,” a new addition to the park. It’s the latest in a long string of successes for Greg Gallavan of Winter Park, Colo.’s Amaze’n Mazes. The largest operator and installer of fence mazes in North America, Amaze’n Mazes boasts 27 mazes all over the country. Gallavan, who’s been in business for 16 years, has also installed mazes in Worlds of Fun in Fairmont, W.Va.; in two Gateway Fun Parks in Boulder and Greeley, Colo.; and in a plethora of ski resorts and family entertainment centers.

Maze rhetoric is not as straightforward as one might think. The three stalwarts of mazes are as follows: fence mazes, corn mazes, and shrubbery mazes, also referred to as garden or hedge mazes. Fence mazes can be further classified by use: there are stand-alone mazes, fun center mazes, maze-anchored facilities, and mazes in amusement parks. Additionally, there are a slew of other types of mazes—smaller, perhaps, but no less fascinating. Mazes range in size from 4,000 to 13,000 square feet (though most stay between 4,000-6,000 square feet) and can host approximately 25,000 runners per summer.

“Every miniature golf course should have a maze,” Gallavan says bluntly. “It’s an automatic $4-10 increase per customer. If you have a large family entertainment center with 36 holes of miniature golf doing $1.4 million per year, you should be able to generate at least $200,000 in additional sales from a maze that’s built with quality construction and operated professionally in a good location in your park.”

According to Gallavan’s math, it’s a no-brainer. A maze and two observation decks cost between $50,000 and $60,000, he says. Revenues from the maze average from $50,000 to $100,000 per summer season, which translates into profits of 35 to 45 percent. An Amaze’n Maze can accommodate up to 1,200 guests per hour, which eliminates wait time, and helps dissipate crowds at other rides. One hundred fifty to 200 people can be in a maze at any given time, and according to Gallavan, mazes are great for group business, like company picnics.

“The park in Greeley was bankrupt when our maze went in. Now business is up 180 percent,” he says. “In my home base of Winter Park, I operate a maze in the parking lot of a ski resort. Million dollar condos look over it. I was afraid I was going to get kicked out, but we’ve become the condo kids’ babysitter.”

An Amaze’n Maze isn’t just a labyrinth you have to wrest yourself out of. It’s also a timed challenge, a competitive game, designed to provide 15 to 45 minutes of entertainment. Gallavan’s mazes have four checkpoints, which might spell M-A-Z-E or L-O-S-T, or be shaped like Mediterranean islands, or bells, and you have to clock in, find each one, and clock out under a certain time. By accomplishing these tasks you win a prize. Uniformed, well-trained maze staff help make this endeavor satisfying, safe, and clean. Music’s also a nice touch, he says.

James Hanners, manager of Wild Adventures’s Wild West, in which Gallavan’s Mystery Maze is located, can attest to the popularity of the checkpoint approach. “We limit the number of people allowed in a maze at one time to 25 to 30,” he says. “And we try to discourage running, for safety’s sake. People just love it. An entrance operator clocks them in, and they clock themselves out. Families and friends can compare times.”

When asked how long it takes him to complete the maze, Hanners laughs humbly. “I know it like the back of my hand,” he says. “I have to.” According to Hanners, the maze can be assembled five different ways, and the park varies its floor plan throughout the year. “This is our slow season,” he says, referring to winter, “but on weekends and concert days, we’ll see up to 4,000 to 5,000 people using it, adults and children. It was a really good acquisition.”

If You Build It, They Will Come
Amaze’n Mazes began as Amaze’n Burgers, an indoor maze and hamburger restaurant in Colorado. Gallavan first became interested in mazes when he saw a picture of a Japanese maze called the Wooz Maze in Life magazine. “I was married to a flight attendant and could go anywhere, so I flew out to Sacramento to see this thing,” Gallavan recalls. “I couldn’t even get a friend to go with me. Everyone thought I was crazy. When I got to Sacramento, I saw there were as many ticket windows at the maze as there are at a popular ski resort. I saw the franchise possibilities.”

He was right. The U.S.’s appetite for mazes grew steadily. In 1984, successful mazes were giants, covering 15,000 to 20,000 square feet. These behemoths were stand-alone attractions. Then, in 1987, a Japanese company unveiled the Wooz Maze that so captured Gallavan’s imagination, and the concept of smaller, interactive mazes began to catch on. The two to three mazes in the U.S. in 1984 ballooned to the present day’s standing at more than 80.

Location is the premier consideration when building a maze, according to Gallavan. Vehicle traffic, parking, pedestrian traffic, lighting, signage, landscaping, and using quality, durable materials for permanent installations are also important. As is marketing—sending out a flurry of press releases, brochures, and rack cards to the community is a good idea. Advertise locally. Host community events, maintain a web site, and offer promotions and prizes to attract customers. Above all, Gallavan says, create something fun, because maze building is, at its heart, “a fun business.”

A Natural Design
Location, diversification, and amusement were on John Shaffer’s mind when he and his colleagues considered leasing space for a maze on the property of Luray Caverns, a series of underground caves in Virginia. Shaffer, director of public relations, didn’t want to detract from the natural splendor of the caverns, which are bristling with stalactites and stalagmites, but he did want to offer visitors more things to do, enticements to stay longer, as the caverns tour only takes about 90 minutes. He knew that mazes have an illustrious history, and have long been designed for entertainment and recreation, and as objects of art, magic, and meditation.

“The maze arose out of my desire to create additional opportunities for visitors at Luray Caverns,” Shaffer says. “I wanted it to complement our site, which is a natural wonder, and therefore a garden maze seemed appropriate. It blended well with our surroundings. We’re located in a wooded area in sight of Shenandoah National Park.”

According to Shaffer, the garden maze consists of 1,500 Dark American Arborvitae, akin to cedar trees. The trees are eight feet tall and four feet wide, and are enhanced with a misting fog to provide cooling and special effects. Covering an acre of land, the maze is ideal for groups, as it poses challenges and math puzzles that can be tackled jointly, including exercises on how to use a compass. At 40 separate points in the maze, the visitor must choose a direction to solve a puzzle. The pathways twist past fountains and even dip into a cave.

The garden maze, a leased operation, is not part of Luray Caverns proper, but it’s a win-win situation for both camps. John Schneider, the maze operator, can advertise his services to a half-million people a year, and Shaffer is able to meet his goal of diversifying activities for his visitors.
“People are drawn to multiple attractions,” Shaffer says. “It boils down to the visitor staying longer, spending more money, and having a more comprehensive experience.”

Art for All Ages
Nothing could be more comprehensive than the way Adrian Fisher has gone about creating mazes. The founder of Adrian Fisher Mazes and a renowned maze designer the world over, Fisher views mazes as artistry and architecture all rolled up in one. “I’ve done water mazes in which one wanders through waterfalls without getting wet,” Fisher says, just scratching the surface. “I’ve done mazes made out of stained glass. I’ve done mirror mazes, inflatable mazes, playing card mazes. I’ve done six-minute mazes, which can be unfurled right on a sidewalk or wherever you want them. I’ve done finger mazes, which are designed for playgrounds or parks and are accessible to children, and people in wheelchairs. I’ve done paving mazes—the stones one sees that form a beautiful shape. I did a peace maze in Israel. It was spectacular. We were out in the desert where David fought Goliath. I’ve designed the world’s largest corn maze—it’s in Christ Church, England, 16 acres large, with eight miles of path. It takes two to three hours to complete. It put me in the Guinness Book of World Records.”

Although some of Fisher’s mazes have a competitive angle to them, most are designed for families to meander slowly through and experience the artistic whirlwind. “My attitude is: Make the family feel good. Don’t frighten children. And define clearly whether a maze is competitive or not,” Fisher says. “I tend to want people to feel fulfilled.”

According to Fisher, the mazes he designs and installs in theme parks are usually more competitive. “In a theme park maze, you might have to climb a ladder and thread a wire though something without triggering an alarm. But adrenaline is running through you, your hands are shaking, and of course you trigger the alarm—that’s part of the experience. It’s got to make you exclaim and flinch.”

One of the great advantages of mazes at amusement parks, says Fisher, is that they can be used to entertain people who are waiting in line for a big ride. “Take 400 people out of line, with 20 minutes left to wait. Take them to the maze to play, and by the time they’re done—presto, on to the ride.” Mazes in amusement parks can also use the dead space under roller coasters, according to Fisher. “Three roller coasters cross the site of my Chinese Puzzle maze at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England. It’s a wonderful thing. Dragons and other creatures, fog and waterfalls and bridges. A central tower. Worlds of phantoms.”

In keeping with maximizing available space, Fisher installed a mirror maze in less than 5,000 square feet at Chicago’s Navy Pier. His eighth and most ambitious mirror maze, Amazing Chicago! is designed to look like the city whose name it bears, only the mirrors create the illusion of being in a space six times larger than life. So a city that’s already colossal grows bigger. “In a mirror maze, you can see what’s going on in all directions, and you have half a dozen views of yourself,” Fisher says. “So it’s very good for the ego.”

Fisher, who has installed mazes in 23 countries, says that every one of his designs takes advantage of 25 years of experience. Asked about his favorite maze from a dossier of almost every kind imaginable, he lists a Beatles maze he designed in Liverpool that is shaped like the “Yellow Submarine.” Currently, he’s building a hedge maze in honor of Handel’s Messiah in Dorset, England. It’s projects like these—highly imaginative, themed, and celebratory—that he likes best.

And when you figure, as Gallavan does, that “the initial cost of a maze is a bargain when compared to the revenue potential,” it becomes simple, straightforward, really, to decide which way to go—don’t turn left, don’t turn right, don’t be fooled by all the twists—just keep walking straight ahead, toward the maze in the distance.