# Tell me about Chuck E. Cheese **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887 "2018-02-15T18:43:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/41 "2018-02-16T07:09:25Z")
Yes, it’s terrible. But not because it’s Chuck E Cheese; because it’s a goddamn kid’s birthday party. Of \*course \*there will be screaming children. Of \*course \*the food will be terrible. Of \*course \*there will be awkward conversation with the other adults. I have never–as a child or an adult–been to a kid’s birthday party that wasn’t like this. At least Chuck E Cheese has skee-ball. (That said, the CEC clone I went to for my nephew’s b-day had literally the worst coffee I have ever had in my life by an order of magnitude. I am not even slightly exaggerating here. It was actually bad enough to count as a shared horror to reminisce on with the other adult participants.) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/42 "2018-02-16T10:40:33Z")
Just by the way, I drive by one here in Saudi every day. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/43 "2018-02-16T11:15:38Z")
Nothing makes me hate a kid more than when he says he wants to go to Fuck E Fleas. :mad: > [@JohnT](#): > > Horrible pizza. It’s actually improved and it still sucks. Which should tell you how bad it was before!:eek: > [@DCnDC](#): > > and replace drunk people with little kids. I’ve seen plenty of drunks @ C.E.C… Some of them still serve booze. It’s a train wreck waiting to happen. It’s a good place to watch how rotten some children behave. I’d never get away with slapping at or hitting my parents because I was frustrated or wasn’t getting my own way. One time I actually saw a little boy, about 4 or 5, spit across the table at [I presumed] his grandmother because she told him he had to finish eating before he could play more games. The dad just yelled “Hey! That’s not very nice Tyler”. My old man would have cracked me so hard across the face it would have hospitalized my mother! My grandson just turned 8. He got to go to that hell hole last year and knows well enough not to push the envelope. So he picked [The Mine shaft](https://www.mineshaftrestaurant.com). It has the same games as Chuckie but once you leave the arcade you’re back to reality in a decent restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/44 "2018-02-16T11:43:33Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > I took my niece to a Barney Live show. :eek: > If the manic energy and deafening noise level at CEC start to get to you, remember that you could be at a Barney Live show. I’ll see your Barney Live and raise you a Raffi Concert. Kids standing on their seats, screaming, “BABY BELUGA!!!” ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/45 "2018-02-16T12:20:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ll see your Barney Live and raise you a Raffi Concert. Kids standing on their seats, screaming, “BABY BELUGA!!!” :pLOL! Are kids and their [entertainment](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=693909&highlight=caillou) getting more annoying or are some of us just getting old and crotchety.? I’m going to be 58. I don’t recall as a child ever being taken to a place like Chunky Cheeze or any kind of concert. Don’t even think such things existed in the 60’s. I remember going to see the Oscar Mayer [midget](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Molchan) and getting a plastic whistle with a bunch of other kids, but that’s it. Kids birthday parties were held at their homes and nobody ever had a freaking bounce house at one. If a kids parents had rented that back then we’d have enjoyed the hell out of it and then beat the shit out of that spoiled prick Monday during recess. Just saying. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/46 "2018-02-16T13:40:18Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Nothing makes me hate a kid more than when he says he wants to go to Fuck E Fleas. :mad: Thanks, I’ll be giggling all day about that! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/47 "2018-02-16T14:09:01Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I’m going to be 58. I don’t recall as a child ever being taken to a place like Chunky Cheeze or any kind of concert. Don’t even think such things existed in the 60’s. Maybe, but it’s not a new thing either. Chuck E Cheese opened in 1977. ShowBiz Pizza (same concept but with a hillbilly bear jamboree) opened in 1980. Prior to that, I remember parties at McDonalds being a big thing with games and gift bags. You had children’s parties at rollerskating rinks and bowling alleys. Parents got on year-old waiting lists to let their little darlings be in the audience for Bozo the Clown and Sesame Street on Ice started in 1974. It’s not really a huge generational shift in concept although, like many things, it’s become larger over the years. ---
**Author:** ![biometricks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@biometricks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biometricks)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/48 "2018-02-16T14:22:35Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It will be better than you expect for the four year old, and worse than you expect for you. I’m guessing this will sum up the experience pretty well. **ZipperJJ** and some others have calmed my concerns a little, but it stil sounds terrible. > [@senoy](#): > > Chuck E Cheese is great for kids and not as great for adults. Pretty standard arcade really, but it is cheap, generally a token a game and about 50 tokens for 10 bucks. Every game gives out at least one ticket, win or lose, so the kids always get something. Mine always loved it when they were younger and we would go a couple of times a year as a random treat. It is a bunch of kids in various states of supervision, so it is chaotic and noisy, but it’s a kids arcade, what can you expect. 95% of the kids are as well behaved as you would expect them to be. The other 5% are rude or pushy, but again, it’s kids, you sort of have to expect that. Thanks, I was wondering how much the games were and the exchange rate. > [@TruCelt](#): > > - Stop by the dollar store before the party and have some little treat in your pocket that you know he will like. Then if he comes up short at the ticket counter you’ll have a prize to present to him. I’ve recently discovered how amazing the Dollar store is for kids crap, especially for school projects. > [@Driver8](#): > > Your 4 year old will probably be as okay as he is whenever he is in a group of kids at a new park, etc. My 6 year old was fine and seemed to enjoy himself. I think a lot of the arcade games will be too much for a 4 year old though. I can’t remember what 4 year old appropriate stuff they had, but I may just not have been paying attention to that. The pizza looks bad, but it isn’t for you, and almost all kids like bad pizza. Yeah, my thought was that the Arcade games may not appeal to my kid. He likes books, lego blocks, board games, and pretend play. I do want him to be exposed to other stuff though, that’s mainly why we’re going… so maybe he’ll surprise me and enjoy some of the games. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > If your kid is shy, you could always play skee-ball with him to start out. Skee-ball is always fun. He’s sort of shy or at least takes awhile to warm up to stuff like this with other kids running around and being rowdy, but I think it’s mainly because he’s the small kid and is afraid of getting injured. He’ll probably always be the short kid in school just like I was, so it’s something we’re working through. > [@pkbites](#): > > It’s a good place to watch how rotten some children behave. There’s certainly no shortage of those venues… > [@kayaker](#): > > I’ll see your Barney Live and raise you a Raffi Concert. Kids standing on their seats, screaming, “BABY BELUGA!!!” That’s some kind of mental picture you painted there. That’s for the information everyone, it’s been very helpful. Hopefully I don’t have any horror stories to report back with after the party. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/49 "2018-02-16T14:51:10Z")
> [@biometricks](#): > > Yeah, my thought was that the Arcade games may not appeal to my kid. He likes books, lego blocks, board games, and pretend play. > […] > He’s sort of shy or at least takes awhile to warm up to stuff like this with other kids running around and being rowdy, but I think it’s mainly because he’s the small kid and is afraid of getting injured. There’s a lot of different games so he’ll probably find something he likes. They range from stuff like really basic and fast “Slap the button when the moving light is in the blue zone, get tickets” to more involved “Sit on a horse statue and lean in different directions as the screen shows it running down a track to steer/jump it, get tickets”. Even if he hates everything, I guess you can slap the button thirty times and go home 😃 The game floor is a mixed crowd of kids and their parents so, if he’s not happy traveling in a pack of kids, you can easily stay by his side and cheer him on as he rides horses or rolls skee-balls. You won’t stand out or look odd for it or anything. It is, by design, virtually impossible to NOT win enough tickets to at least get some sort of token prize like a plastic bug or kazoo. You’re guaranteed a ticket or two even if you completely botch the game and the cheap gifts are 15-20 tickets. Speaking of, they have machines that will suck up all your tickets and give you a receipt to take to the prize counter so don’t sweat keeping track of how many 3-5 ticket strips your have or what your total is. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/50 "2018-02-16T15:19:12Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ll see your Barney Live and raise you a Raffi Concert. Kids standing on their seats, screaming, “BABY BELUGA!!!” Now I know why you have frequented a place that sells both cigars and ammunition. If I had been forced through an experience that traumatic ------------ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/51 "2018-02-16T15:25:14Z")
> [@senoy](#): > > …alcohol and children don’t mix. You’re not using the right blender. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/52 "2018-02-16T17:44:56Z")
The one thing I would make sure your kid understands is that they can’t always get the big prize. They’re gonna see the giant stuffed animal for 5000 tickets and they’ll only have 200 tickets to get a plastic frog. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/53 "2018-02-16T17:46:57Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Maybe, but it’s not a new thing either. Chuck E Cheese opened in 1977. ShowBiz Pizza (same concept but with a hillbilly bear jamboree) opened in 1980. Yeah, I’m 45 and I recall going to Chuck E Cheese and Showbiz a couple of times, but I don’t remember much in terms of large group parties. Pipe Organ Pizza, on the other hand, that place was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Sveltington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@Sveltington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sveltington)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/54 "2018-02-16T18:07:39Z")
I went to a Chuck E. Cheese many many years ago. My then boyfriend took me. We did not bring any kids. I learned I was very good at Whack-A-Mole. I do not recall eating while there. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/55 "2018-02-16T18:07:54Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > Yeah, I’m 45 and I recall going to Chuck E Cheese and Showbiz a couple of times, but I don’t remember much in terms of large group parties. You might not have gone personally to a party but the fact that these places have always had “Party Rooms” with the long cafeteria style tables should have told you something 😉 ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/56 "2018-02-16T18:17:55Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > :pLOL! > > Are kids and their [entertainment](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=693909&highlight=caillou) getting more annoying or are some of us just getting old and crotchety.? > > I’m going to be 58. I don’t recall as a child ever being taken to a place like Chunky Cheeze or any kind of concert. Don’t even think such things existed in the 60’s. I remember going to see the Oscar Mayer [midget](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Molchan) and getting a plastic whistle with a bunch of other kids, but that’s it. > > Kids birthday parties were held at their homes and nobody ever had a freaking bounce house at one. If a kids parents had rented that back then we’d have enjoyed the hell out of it and then beat the shit out of that spoiled prick Monday during recess. Just saying. There was Farrells Ice Cream Parlour back in the 60s. > **[Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farrell%27s_Ice_Cream_Parlour)** > > Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour was an American ice cream parlor and sandwich chain that was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1963. The chain became defunct following the closure of its last location in Brea, California, in 2019. > Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour was started at NW 21st Avenue in Portland, Oregon, by Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy in 1963. Farrell's became known for their offer of a free ice cream sundae to children on their birthday. The parlors had an early 1900s theme, with employees wea... ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/57 "2018-02-16T19:14:11Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ll see your Barney Live and raise you a Raffi Concert. No joke, I got really tense just from reading this. You two … have seen things. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/58 "2018-02-16T19:40:53Z")
The youngest Torqueling had her third and fourth birthday parties there. I will say this: I have never seen a kid have a great time at Chuck E. Cheese more than that little girl. She went nuts for it, from the games, to dancing with Chucky, to the silly little crown they gave her to wear. So in that respect, it was a huge success. The pizza is “fair”. It used to be terrible, but they’ve apparently upgraded somewhat. It is, however, very overpriced for what it is. There should be plenty of games to choose from of various sorts, plus Skee-ball, shooting timed hoops, that sort of thing. I remember ours even having some sort of “photo booth”, but it would sort of “sketch” your picture rather than a straight-up photograph. Other things: you and your kiddo will be hand-stamped with UV ink when you enter. They check the stamps when you leave so your kid doesn’t go home with the wrong person. So, at least they have some sort of security procedure. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/59 "2018-02-16T20:25:52Z")
You want to know about Chuck E. Cheese? _\_ All right. _\_ I’ll tell you about Chuck E. Cheese. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2018, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887/60 "2018-02-16T20:28:40Z")
> [@biometricks](#): > > That’s for the information everyone, it’s been very helpful. Hopefully I don’t have any horror stories to report back with after the party. You damn well BETTER. What, d’you think we do this for FREE? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-chuck-e-cheese/808887.md?page=4)