FORT RUCKER, Ala. (December 20, 2012) -- As the year comes to a close, people are making preparations and getting ready to start their resolutions, and the Fort Rucker Bowling Center wants to offer people a different way to ring in the new year.

Rucker Lanes will host its New Year's celebration in two parts: the Family Countdown from 6-9 p.m., for Families and younger children; and the Pin Down Countdown from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., for a more mature crowd, according to Ron Cook, Fort Rucker Bowling Center manager.

"We really want to stretch what we can offer here at the Bowling Center," said Cook. "We stretched it out for our Monster Bowl during Halloween and we had a really good reception out of that, so we want to bring that kind of fun to this event too."

The Family Countdown will feature three hours of unlimited Xtreme Bowling and include shoe rental, all-you-can-eat pizza buffet and fountain beverage. The cost is $15 per person for ages 11 and older, $10 for children 10 and younger, and $60 for a lane of up to five people.

The first event is something that Families can come and enjoy with their children and have a good time early in the evening, said Cook.

Shortly after the Family Countdown, the Pin Down Countdown will begin, which will feature a 1920s theme and include three hours of bowling, shoe rental, a sit-down meal, a beverage and a midnight toast, according to the bowling manager.

"We wanted to do something a little different this year and just have fun with it," he said. "This is the first time we're doing the countdown in this format. We had a New Year's countdown last year, but this year we wanted to change it up and make it bigger."

Cook said the bowling center gathered feedback from its patrons to decide how they wanted to set up the celebration, and the feedback they got from past events were mostly positive, and that's where the idea for a themed party and dinner came from.

"For the dinner, we're not talking about a typical bowling alley meal," he said. "We're going all out on this one, and it's not your stereotypical bowling alley food."

The cost for the Pin Down Countdown is $25 per person, $45 per couple or $100 for a lane of up to five people. The meal will include people's choice of soup or salad, steak or chicken dinner, and pineapple upside down or carrot crème cake dessert.

There will be a live countdown as the new year approaches and a toast as the clock strikes midnight, said Cook.

"We are connected, coast-to-coast, with the bowling music network, so we'll be doing a live countdown with all of the bowling centers in the U.S. that are connected to it," he said. "The countdown will show up on all of our screens and it's just going to be pretty neat, and we've also got a few tricks up our sleeves," adding that there will also be giveaways throughout the night.

Cook recommends that people make their reservations early because they will go fast.

"We've already got about half the house sold, so spots are going fast," he said. "Everything is being custom ordered, so it's very important that people come in and get their reservations early."

The cost for a reservation is $5 per person, which guarantees their meal, and people can pick up a form with all the details and full menu that people will need to fill out before the event. Patrons don't need to pay the full amount until the night of the celebration.

"It's going to be a really cool night and we just want people to come out and have fun with us," said Cook.

For more information or to make a reservation, call 255-9503.