I remember going there when I was a little one. There weren't any lines for anything and most of the games worked.

However, yesterday, this was no the case at the I-240 & Walker location! I arrived for my neice's birthday party at 2pm to find a line out the door. Luckily my sister had a reservation for the party so we got to go around but I felt really bad for all of the people standing in line for like 20 minutes with their kids going crazy wanting to get in.

When my sister arrived to set up the party, she was sitting her stuff on the table and some guy comes out of nowhere and pushes her stuff out of the way and goes "thanks for the table." I wasn't there yet but apparently an argument proceeded that and he ended up moving. Who does that kind of thing at Chuck E Cheese?

The line was still there when I left 2.5 hours later except it had moved past the entrance and was still out the door. We wasted like $2 on games that either didn't work or wouldn't give out tickets. I went to the rest room and got to listen to two 16 year old employees gripe about their jobs. What the hell did you expect when you applied at freaking Chuck E Cheese?!?

Of course, a parent can't really expect to have a great time when they go to Chuck E Cheese, I know it's all about the kids. But now I understand why they sell beer.

I haven't been to Chuck E. Cheese that often but I hate it for the very reasons you listed.

I once had to go into the one on I-240 to pick up a donation for an event for my work and it smelled like a trash bin. I'm not making this up or exagerating, it truly smelled like a garbage bin and I couldn't wait to get out.

We had a small family party at Incredible Pizza Co. for my 6 year old a few months ago and had a great expereince even for the adults. The food was actually good, there were enough games for everyone so you didn't have to wait in line very often or for very long. Some activites had buzzers to put you in a virtual line. The games were all in working order. Plenty of security which is good for a place rife with kids and teens. And several ticket counters so you didn't have to wait in line to have yours counted.

I went to someone else's party at Perfect Swing in Norman and had the exact opposite experience. It couldn't have been worse. Here's something that will make Anderson made at me: when I put money into machine after machine and they didn't work or worked for only a few seconds, I complained to the management. I also told the manager they better hope that an Incredible Pizza doesn't come to Norman or they'd be out of business. They haven't done maintenance on any of the games, the golf course or anything else in several years.

traxx! I'm aghast, appalled.. How dare you! How Inconsiderate! You should have taken down the number on the machine, gotten home, written a 5 page letter asking for your dollar back and then called all of the manufacturers of the machines to speak to the person in charge .. you know it's not the management's fault and they have POLICIES!
lol - you know I'm teasing !

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" You've Been Thunder Struck ! "

Y'all are killing me.... Chuck E Cheese is so OLD I am surprised they lasted this long..

I remember going there when I was a kid, and hated it then also.. The dancing and singing men scared me..

SO I guess that is why I never took my daughter there..

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"You can't fix stupid it's foreverrrrrrrrr!!" Ron White

Love the happy hour specials there

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Dr. Spaceman: Now Jenna, medically speaking for your height your weight puts you what we call the "disgusting" range. Fortunately there are solutions. For example, crystal meth has been shown to be very effective. How important is tooth retention to you?

I remember when I was a teen and it was called Showbiz Pizza.

As for games not working, what really makes it suck is when your child wants so bad to play these games and one after another doesn't work. It's really disappointing to the kids and you hate to see your child disappointed like that just because a business owner thinks he can get away with it. The children don't understand all that, they just want to have fun and play the games.

Perfect Swing's problem is that they don't have any immediate competition in the area. That's why their games don't work and their mini golf course has all the carpeting coming up or not there at all. They consider an obstacle a brick paver, that anyone can buy at Lowes, placed in the middle of the playing area. And that's not a joke, just go there and see what I mean.

They're remodeling the Chuck E Cheese on Northwest Expressway. It should look completely different when they're done with it. I might actually go in there for the first time in probably 8 years once it's done.

Okay, all that talk about Incredible Pizza made me hungry. So, I loaded up the family and we gave it a try tonite.

I must say, if you don't like crowds then Monday is the night to go.

I took a group of 7 and we got right in, ate and rode the go carts 3-4 times each, played mini golf and did a few games of mini bowling. We didn't have to wait for anything.

A large church group was there, but that was about it.

I was really shocked, the pizza was pretty good and the salad bar was excellent.

I used my 200 tickets and got a basketball hoop and nerf ball for the office!

Took my youngest to a Bday party at the Chuck E Cheese on NW Expressway east of Rockwell (I was DREADING it!). The place was completely redone! It smelled good, was clean and fresh. They've removed some of the interior walls and it seemed roomier and more open. Games were great - ideal for the 4-year-old party. Pizza was decent and the emplyees were friendly and helpful. And it wasn't as LOUD as it used to be.

Best part: all of the games were only ONE coin. Drives me crazy at Incredible Pizza when I have to pay 2, 3, 4 coins for a game. Incredible Pizza is definitely preferrable for older kids, but I am looking forward to the little man's fifth birthday at Chuck E Cheese without have to take a peremptory imitrex.

We're planning a birthday party for my son's 5th at the NW Expressway location. I'm looking forward to seeing the new renovations.

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My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind
Albert Einstein

The CEC on I-240 was torn down and completely redone a few years ago, so it sounds like that didn't improve the situation a whole lot.

Perfect Swing in Norman is a joke. The place just looks sleazy. I mean how hard is it to paint your buildings every other year? The walls literally have paint flaking off of them.

I have the same complaint about most of the kids places around town though, such as White Water and Frontier City. Routine maintenance anyone?

As much as I dislike Chuck E Cheese in general, I have to admit the new site at I-240 (built from scratch) is MILES better than the previous disaster. They do a pretty decent job of keeping it clean (which is more than I could say about the previous location). That said, we're eclipsing that era in our kids' lives wherein that's among the default party locations.

Incredible Pizza is terrific. My daughter had a (very) belated birthday "get together" (wasn't really a full-fledged party) with some of her friends, and they've got that place down to a science. The pizza isn't half bad, either.

-soonerdave

As much as I love Incredible Pizza...I still miss Crystal's...

DANGETT. Forgot to go their this weekend while I was in Dallas! I have seen a commercial the past couple of weeks that looks like it is similar to Crystals and id apparently in the area. No idea what it is and I can't recall the name. Think it might start with a D. Now it's going to annoy me until I remember. Anyone have an idea?

http://www.crystalspizza.com/index.php

They still have one in Irving, Tx near DFW International.

Crystals Pizza & Spaghetti
930 W Airport Fwy , Irving, TX
Phone - (972) 579-0441

Crystal's was targeted toward a (slightly) older demographic, IMHO.

I don't know how many here remember the Crystal's at I-240 and Penn in the old TG&Y shopping center, but it was HUGELY popular for years.

Just after my wife and I got married (about 12 years ago), we were driving around the northside one day and wanted pizza for lunch, and thought it would be cool to do Crystals on NW Expy. When we got there, there was a sign on the door saying it was closed and out of business. No big deal for us, but as we were walking away, a van full of kids pulled up and a lady walked out with balloons and such for a party, and we told her they were out of business. She said "You've got to be kidding? I've already paid for a party..." I felt awful for her..

-SoonerDave

Dave and Busters?

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My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind
Albert Einstein

Well, my son's party was a huge hit this past weekend. He talked and talked about how much fun he had with all his friends. It was a lot more open and roomy than I remember it being before the remodel. One thing I did notice is that with all the recent rains, by the back corner (NE corner), the carpet was pretty damp in a large area. I don't think it was from a drink spill, it was too big. Perhaps they have a leakage problem?

Anyway, it was a big improvement over my prior experiences there.

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My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind
Albert Einstein