PLENTY IN STORE AT NEW CLUB DISNEY : CLUB DISNEY GEARING PLAY TO CHILD'S AGE.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales Daily News Staff Writer

An invite to a Club Disney birthday party promises to be as scarce as a Tickle Me Elmo doll was on Christmas Eve.

The 24,500-square-foot ``imagination-powered play site'' designed by Disney's Imagineering Group won't open for a month Feb. 21 - and the birthday party calendar already is filling up, said Andrea Borda, a Disney spokeswoman.

``We started taking reservations for birthday parties on Jan. 14,'' said Borda, who wouldn't reveal how far into the future dates have been booked. ``And the phones haven't stopped ringing. All we can tell people is to keep on trying.''

The two-story family fun center at the west end of The Promenade at Westlake features play areas, birthday party rooms, a computer room, a dining area and, of course, a shop where children can beg their parents to buy them the latest Disney toys.

And the design is Disney throughout.

``We were looking to find a blank canvas to tell Disney stories and re-theme areas for those stories,'' said Jan Sircus, vice president and executive creative director of the project. ``We wanted an abstract, theatrical environment that could be dressed.''

Club Disney is the first indoor family theme park by the Walt Disney Co.

One play area - Curiosity Castle - is a fun house with a maze whose decorations change with each new release, spokeswoman Borda said.

There's a jungle-theme play area, a Winnie the Pooh area geared toward younger children, a toddler area, a crafts room and even a small theater space called the ``Starring You Studio.''

The play areas correspond to a child's developmental level, Sircus said, graduating from individual challenge to team play.

And though some of the bouncy fun rooms feature books and jungle gyms - cutting-edge toys promise to enthrall parents and children alike.

One room, called the Mouse Pad, houses 14 computer terminals with 14-inch color monitors, educational software and restricted Internet access. The computer area, housed underneath a cone-shaped hat painted like a sorcerer's cap, sits in the center of the structure.

``Each computer has age-appropriate software,'' Borda said. ``And each has restricted Internet access. We want visitors to be able to go to Disney sites, but obviously, we have to be careful with Internet access where children are concerned.''

The computer room also features an element that encourages parent and child to work together. Rather than seats in front of each terminal, there are benches.

``It's part of the effort to get parent and child to sit down together and go through the enrichment activity together,'' Borda said.

There is also a theater with a wall-size video screen backdrop, an animation demonstration that will feature an animatronic Dalmation and bar-coded wrist tags at the door.

``Every person who comes in gets a wrist tag with a bar code,'' Borda said, explaining that the bands will ensure security yet also emphasize that the club is a place where parents and children come together.

``This is not a place where you can just drop your kids off,'' she said.

Parents and children enter the building - no parent or child may enter alone - and pick up their wrist tags at a counter. They enter the play areas and, after completing a full circle, exit and the wrist bands are checked.

``So no child can leave without a parent, and no parent can leave without a child,'' Borda said.

``When you walk in, the spectacle of the space can be overwhelming,'' Borda said, raising her hand toward the two-story high ceiling. ``But it's really about interaction between parents and children.''

All groups, including birthday parties, will be asked to maintain a ratio of one adult for every five children. And many activities are designed for parents and children to complete together, such as working at the computer or reading a book.

But a few telltale design elements reveal the generation gap between parent and child. There's an ESPN terminal in one play area.

``That's so the fathers - or the mothers - can check the scores,'' Borda said.

There is also a small area called the Parent Time Out room - where parents who have been very good can rest.

The room, high above the main play areas, promises parents momentary respite from the tumult below. ``It's a parent-only space,'' Borda said.

``It should also give a little bit of a noise break,'' Borda said, adding that designers would not know until opening day how the sound of 850 children at play would register.

``That's the capacity of the building, and it's well below the fire code,'' she said. ``We didn't want children stepping on each other's toes.''

The parents' sanctuary has soothing dark blue walls, compared to the tangerine, turquoise and purple spaces below. But in keeping with the cartoon atmosphere, and like the rest of structure, the cone-shaped hideout has nary a right angle.

``We used soft and curving shapes'' designer Sircus said. ``And we used diagonal shapes that conveyed energy and action.''

The birthday rooms are also on the second floor, well away from the parents' hideout. For $250 for 12 partygoers, a birthday boy or girl gets a party theme, puzzle invitations, a private room, a cake and a theme menu. Children can opt for a Toy Story party, a Hakuna Matata party or a Princess Tea Party.

``And there's a special magic surprise, but it's top secret,'' Sircus said. ``All I can say is that Merlin visits every party for a special magic experience.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (color in CONEJO edition only) Club Disney combines play, birthday rooms and entertainment.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News