When Area 51 World chief operating officer Michael Affleck goes on a business trip, he knows he’s going to be in for some big days.
On his last trip, Mr Affleck spent 10 days trying out the world’s latest virtual reality games, giant slides and arcade games.
“The (Asia Amusement and Attractions) Expo was just rooms of games covering the size of 45 soccer pitches,” Mr Affleck said.
Then he travelled across China, visiting two play centres each day, on the hunt for the best attractions to bring back to Area 51.
He’s currently finalising paperwork for a $60,000 virtual reality motorbike-on-a-rollercoaster.
“It’s so realistic, it’s like you’re really there. The bike has so much movement, when you go through the waterfall you feel a spray of mist, and there’s a fan so you can feel the wind blowing,” he says.
Mr Affleck graduated from Griffith University’s Nathan campus with a Bachelor of Business and cut his teeth in hospitality and event management.
At just 21, he’d host nine weddings in three days at Kangaroo Point’s The Landing at Dockside.
“I learnt to work at pace,” Mr Affleck says with a grin.
“I thrive on the chaos and I like to move fast.”
His journey from weddings to play centres included a stint at a chain of indoor trampoline centres in England.
“My wife Kelly is English. When Covid hit, we’d just had our first baby. Travel was locked down 23 hours before my mother-in-law was going to get on a plane and fly out to see her grandchild… no-one had met our son, so we moved to England,” Mr Affleck says.
“After 12 years of night shifts, I interviewed for a trampoline centre job and I fell in love with the metrics of it.”
“I try to help everyone find that 1% every day where we can get better,” he says.
After his first year at Oxygen Indoor Activity Parks, his park was named park of the year.
“We spent less, made more money and had more visitors,” Mr Affleck says.
He was promoted to regional manager and helped the business to improve and expand before moving back to Queensland and joining Area 51 in 2024.
The Underwood play centre had opened in 2022, after Bunnings moved out, with the 51 Kingston Rd address inspiring the centre’s name and alien branding.
“We had 90 staff,” Mr Affleck says.
Rolling out more play centres
After 12 months improving the Underwood play centre, he oversaw the opening of three new centres at Mt Gravatt, Redcliffe and Helensvale.
Two of those opened within the one fortnight. And, depending on how things align, he might be about to repeat that again.
He’s already opened another two centres this year, including the first interstate Area 51 at Castle Hill in Sydney and another huge centre at Bundamba in Ipswich.
The Area 51 World team of about 500 is expected to double over the next 12 months, with plans to open centres at Strathpine, Canberra, Melbourne and Brisbane Airport.
The growth creates more opportunities for Underwood staff.
“When we opened Castle Hill, we spent about $48,000 on flights and accommodation to fly staff down,” Mr Affleck said.
Underwood staff trained up the new team, with two people staying on for a year in a house leased by the company to help the new centre get established.
“Staff are already asking me if they can go to Melbourne,” Mr Affleck says.
“We’re trying pretty hard to promote internally.
“We have got some kids working here that are 15 to 16 that I classify as 10-year employees.
“If they’re going to uni, I ask them what they’re studying because I want to keep them and help them develop.”
Staff also receive free entry any time and two free passes each month so they can bring a friend.
Training is a focus too.
In a break from opening new centres, Mr Affleck redeveloped a structured 16-18 week staff training program to include theory, shifts shadowing team members, and supervised rotations progressing through floor, parties, reception and cafe.
The Underwood flagship
“Logan is the hub of innovation. We don’t wait here,” he says.
“Area 51 at Underwood is our flagship. We try out everything here first. We give the Logan people first crack at what we do and, if it works, we roll it out across the portfolio.”
For example, the mega slide is always busy, so 26 slides were installed at Bundamba, including a half pipe slide with an 8m drop that you ride head first on your belly on a mat.
Queensland’s biggest snow room – covering 1000sqm – was also installed at Bundamba after a successful trial of a smaller room at Underwood.
Duck pin bowling, which is ten pin bowling modified with shorter lanes and lighter balls for children, wasn’t popular and will be removed.
“We try to add something new every six months,” Mr Affleck says.
He won’t share details, but says he’s excited about what’s on the way for Area 51 at Underwood. There are plans.
He loves hanging out on the soft play climbing area with his two young boys Wylder, 6, and Harlen, 3.
If he gets a chance to spend time on the floor while he’s working, Mr Affleck heads for the climbing wall, particularly the 12 steps, where kids put on a harness and climb 12 padded, vertical poles, ascending to 6m before leaping off.
“I love coaching them and encouraging them to try to go a little higher each time,” he says.
“They get so excited when they make it further.
“It’s all fun and games here.”
Subscribe to stay up-to-date with news from across Logan. You’ll receive a link to our digital newspaper direct to your inbox each week. It’s free.
