Monkey C Monkey Do owners Roland and Brenda Lacombe are celebrating the 15th season of the Wiscasset business. The Wiscasset residents started the ropes course and adventure park in 2010. (Frida Hennig photo)
Roland and Brenda Lacombe opened Monkey C Monkey Do in Wiscasset in 2010 with hopes that their ropes course would leave guests feeling successful and confident, no matter how high they went or what they accomplished. In the midst of its 15th season, Monkey C Monkey Do is doing just that every day.
Wiscasset residents Roland and Brenda Lacombe were first inspired to create a ropes course after a road trip through New Hampshire, where the couple stopped to try a zip line.
“We went back home and talked about it the entire trip. We were both scared to death,” said Roland Lacombe. “Ropes courses that were open to the public were something new, so we researched things like ROTC and college ropes courses.”
The process of building and opening the adventure park in Wiscasset primarily involved research on similar businesses, discussing with insurance companies, and searching for certified builders.
“When you do something, you learn about it, and you find your resources,” Brenda Lacombe said.
Roland Lacombe spoke about the strict criteria for the materials used in the ropes course, pointing out that all cables and clips must be a certain grade, and any wood has to go through a non-toxic pressure treatment.
After years of research, Monkey C Monkey Do opened to the public in July 2010.
At first the adventure park only featured the ropes course, but since its opening, Roland and Brenda have added multiple zip lines, laser tag, and an ice cream stand.
Roland and Brenda Lacombe also own Escape Room Brunswick in Brunswick, which opened in 2016.
Much of Monkey C Monkey Do’s success can be attributed to its employees, said Brenda Lacombe. Each season sees about 25-30 employees, most of which are high school or college age.
“We’ve had some great employees over the years, we’ve been really blessed,” she said.
The employees go through three levels of training, and while the training does involve safety and rescue protocols, it also focuses heavily on customer service and how to offer support to guests who may be scared.
“We don’t hire climbers, because they’re not empathetic to kids that are scared, so we’ll hire people that want to learn how to climb or are just nice people,” said Roland Lacombe.
The three different levels of employee training consist of indoor training, which involves helping people into their harnesses and explaining the rules of the course; the non-critical course, which are those employees who watch over the course; and the senior staff, who are trained in rescue and CPR.
The main goal of the employees is to build confidence in the climbers, all while ensuring their safety.
Guests climb through the ropes course at Monkey C Monkey Do on Sunday, July 28. The adventure park sees around 11,000-12,000 kids every season, many of whom are from camps, church groups, or after-school programs. (Frida Hennig photo)
According to the two owners, there is no one specific part of the ropes course that scares everyone, because guests often have different fears.
“Some kids just want to zip line all day and they don’t want to climb, and some kids only want to climb,” said Roland Lacombe.
“That’s where having really good staff comes in, because they’re patient. Whoever is climbing, whatever they’re doing, you want them to feel successful,” Brenda Lacombe said. “If they leave without feeling that way then we have failed them.”
The owners are happy to see that kids often come back year after year to challenge themselves and see if they can accomplish more, or go higher than they did the previous year.
Summer clientele at Monkey C Monkey Do mostly includes camps and church groups, but the adventure park has people of all ages visiting.
Roland and Brenda Lacombe also established a micro course for ages 2 and up.
“There’s a little something for everyone,” said Brenda Lacombe.
Monkey C Monkey Do’s season typically starts around the beginning of May and ends in October. The adventure park sees about 11,000-12,000 kids every summer.
Roland and Brenda Lacombe’s next step is to find a new owner for the adventure park.
“We haven’t put a for sale sign on the building, but for the right person with the right ambition, we’d like to sell,” Roland Lacombe said.
“We want to see it continue and be better,” said Brenda Lacombe.
For more information about Monkey C Monkey Do, go to monkeycmonkeydo.com.
