My little brother celebrated his 5th birthday on Sunday (actual birthday is 4-7) at Chuck E. Cheeses’. I just wanted to share a few thoughts on this expirience.
*This place is insane. It turns children into animals. They’ll do anything for an extra ticket or token, including grabbing them out of the machines before the rightful “winner” can grab them and throwing fits for more money from their parents. It was like Lord of the Flies in there. conch shell=tickets and tokens.
*Parental supervision is at a minimum. After the false sense of security supplied by the door greeter/kidnapper watcher, I guess parents figure they don’t have to actually watch their kids. I came upon this 2 year old kid who had standed himself at the top of a large shoe shaped game. No parent was around to help the child, who looked helplessly confused, and when I offered my arms as a way down, he gladly threw himself into them. Damn good thing I’m not a kidnapper.
*The party, which included gobs of crappy pizza, a poorly decorated small cake, tokens to keep the kids busy, and a visit from (oooh ahhhh) Chuck E. himself cost $170. This party included no togetherness. The kids spread out all over the place; their only concern was the games. It was so loud in there you could barely hear a person talking. My mom and grandma were so stressed out they might as well of had the party at home. The party attendent was attending two parties at the same time and everything is rushed so you’re out of there to make room for the next party.
*The music is about 7 songs heard over and over again, 3 of which are poorly covered Beatles songs. I’m all for introducing children to the Beatles, but couldn’t they get the rights to the originals? Back when it was Show-biz, they used to play real songs.
*Chuck E., though not featured in literature or even movies, only commercials, was a huge hit with the kids. Our party shared the Chuck E. visit with the party at the next table. The kids climbed all over Chuck E. while I took video and hoped there wasn’t a pedophile in there.
Overall, it is the perfect place to give yourself a migrane while teaching your kids bad manners and throwing away money. The children that I may have someday will never see the inside of one of those places if I can help it. A laser tag or skating party would have been so much more enjoyable. Anywhere less crowded that encourages physical activity. We used to have this indoor kid’s gym place called the Discovery Zone that was so much cooler than Chuck E. Cheeses’, but it’s gone out of business.
…Just more moral degradation for the sake of the dollar.
