If the economy is turning the corner, let's go out and have some fun.

Few sectors will be as grateful for the recession's demise as the leisure industry. It's a slave to discretionary income, and nothing good happens when pockets are empty.

There are certainly plenty of established leisure stocks worthy of your investing dollar. Disney (NYSE: DIS), among other things, runs the world's most popular theme parks, and has padded its family-friendly empire over the years with cruise ships, retail outlets, and record labels. Carnival (NYSE: CCL) is the leading cruise line, and with a whopping market cap of $27 billion, it's even branched out to market and operate some hotels.

Let's aim lower. A lot lower. I have spent the past few weeks taking a look at more obscure opportunities among Chinese, Internet, retail, and restaurantstocks. This week I'm going to delve into a few of the leisure specialists that Mr. Market appears to be ignoring.

You won't find any billion-dollar babies here. I'm going to stick to companies with a market cap of at least $100 million, because we also don't want to paddle too far into micro cap uncharted waters.

Ready? Let's go.

IMAX (Nasdaq: IMAX)
The company behind the gargantuan movie screens and enhanced sound and projection systems is rolling. Its stock hit a fresh four-year high this morning, as the good news keeps on coming.

This month alone, IMAX has delevered gobs of debt, expanded a partnership with a multiplex operator, and tacked on another flick to its release slate. After years of getting by, its joint ventures with major exhibitors are starting to pay off. By 2010, IMAX plants to have about 400 screens around the world, and there hasn't been a shortage of consumers willing to pay a modest premium to see spruced-up versions of cinematic blockbusters on the even bigger screens.

Analysts also see big things in IMAX's future. They expect the company to earn $0.46 a share next year, after a modest profit of $0.09 a share this year. Exhibitors have held up surprisingly well during the recession. One can only imagine how much better things get when the simple pleasures of escapism become easier to afford.

Steiner Leisure (Nasdaq: STNR)
If you have ever gone in for a spa treatment on a cruise ship you have probably been pampered by Steiner. The company operates the onboard spas on 127 of the largest ships from all of the major cruise lines. It also runs 50 resort spas for landlubbers, but its real advantage is in staffing and training its floating service centers.

As you can probably imagine, 2009 hasn't been a good year for Steiner. Folks aren't cruising as much as they used to, and once onboard, they are uncomfortable with spending on lavish treatments. This will change, of course, as the economy improves. Continued...