Advice on Chuck E Cheese?

Hi,

I love this for the kids. You have to sign up for their email, you get great coupons!! Every month and then special one on their birthday month.

Enjoy!

My advice would be to call and ask when they are the least busy and schedule the party accordingly. Have you ever been to Monkey Joes in the Trasino center? It tends to be less busy and I'm currently trying to steer my soon to be 4 year old daughter in that direction. Chuck E Cheese has alot of ads on TV and I think that's why it's always on my kids minds.
Good luck and I don't know very many moms either, I live in Appleton. You can send me a message if you want to talk and maybe even set up a playdate!

My daughter turned 4 in June and wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese also, so we took her and she had a blast, we went during the day and it wasn't too busy. If she wants to go I say take her, we told our daughter that when the tokens were gone it would be time to go... and she was fine with that.

My daughter is also turning four this year and is pretty much demanding to have her birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese. I also can not do crowds!!! I can't even take my kids there on any weekend because I can not take the crowds. So I was just going to throw her a little party there on a week day evening. I know a majority of guests will probably be working on the week days, so I'm just telling them to stop out there for a free dinner! HA! You don't have to do party a package, but if you do they offer free extras when you throw a party on a week day. What's nice is that you don't have to follow your kids around, just let them loose and be themselves! GOOD LUCK!!! And have fun!

My kids love Chuckies....When we go for birthdays, we try to go on what we consider to be the slow times....For example we go at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, or 7 in the evening. It's less crowded and more fun for everyone. We also have an easier time keeping check on all the kids. (We have 5) The only one that can't go alone is my 2 year old. But the rest have a great time. All the Chuckies we've been to, have had really great security right at the door, and I've never experienced or seen any child leave alone or with someone they weren't supposed to. Have fun :)

We have been taking our daughter (now 5) to Chuck E. Cheese a couple times a year since she was about 2. She LOVES it. Absolute rule--wash hands before eating or drinking! Actually, we try to go early on a Sat/Sunday morning after breakfast, play and then go somewhere else for lunch b/c the food is really not that great and is pricey. It is also less crowded then. Check out the one near you, they are all a bit different--some have little "rides" in addition to the games. SHe always has a blast. Have not gone with a group, so we've only had to keep track of her. They stamp each groups hand with the same number and they compare it (under the glow lamp thing) before you leave (they have a list of the number stamped and how many are in your group!

invite only a few kids and go early in the morning and they will have a lot of fun. you will need to keep your eye on them and be available to take them to the potty. they also may need help with the coins and some of the games and may also need help carrying the tickets around. i have never had a party there, but my kids love going...even my 4 yr old. I have seen people go there with a small group and bring their own cake. that way you dont have to pay for a package which may have you pay for a lot more people.

We started attending parties at Chuck E Cheese when my daughter was 3.5 years old and we had her 5th b-day party there. If you get the 10 a.m. party it is perfect because all the older kids don't seem to show up until closer to lunch time and you pretty much have the place to yourself for most of the party time. Don't worry about them being too little, they will have a blast!

M.,

When I take my kids to Chuck E Cheese for a visit, we always go right at 9am when they open. We are always the only ones there (maybe 1-2 other families at the most) until 10. We order our pizza when we get there and ask them to have it ready right at 11. We have a table held with our stuff and right at 11, we sit down to eat about the time the flood of children pour in. We leave right after lunch, about 11:30, when it really gets busy.

You will need parental supervision beyond your own if you are going to have a birthday party there. They have a child ID system to leave, but I have been there when they didn't check it right and it only detours kidnappers and children who try to leave the building alone, it doesn't do anything about supervising children while they play.

Honestly, I am a big fan of the simple, old-fashioned birthday party. We stay home and have cake and let the kids run around. We do a few games when they are school aged. If it was me, I would go to the park or something. When you start down the "zoo, Chuck E. Cheese" road, the kids tend to feel entitled to something bigger and better every year.

Good luck,
S.

i'd say go for it-- pick a weeknite- or lunch time that might not be so crowded if you're worried, but i believe it's pretty safe since they give everyone a ultralight stamp when they come in that has to be checked b4 anyone leaves (everyone has to leave together, basically, from how i understand it).
what area do you live in? i was just curious since you're looking for moms. are you in the GB area?

When my daughter was 4 that was actually the first time we held a birthday outing outside of the home. Chuck E Cheese was the place also. The earlier you go the better because the less of a crowd. Try to do a weekday instead of a weekend. If you do a weekend and decide to have friends and family come do your own party. It is much cheaper than the party's they have. We had our group together still and we brought in our own cake. We made sure we had coupons so we had plenty of pizza for everyone and tokens for the kids. You can log onto their website and receive coupons also. Good luck. Remember it's a place where a kid can be a kid!

My daughter has attended quite a few CEC parties! One particular successful one had only 3 guests and started at 3:30. (CEC is a couple of blocks from the daycare, so the parents arranged to take all the kids straight from daycare so the parents wouldn't have to.) Then the guests' parents picked up the kids a couple of hours later. There were only a handful of other customers, even by that time.

If your daughter is used to other people (preschool, church, regular outings), I don't think the potential crowd will be an issue. The kids are usually too wrapped up in the games to notice!

Using the "invite as many guests as the birthday girl is old" would be a good rule of thumb here, in case parents aren't able to stay and help watch. It should help ease your stress a bit!

Good luck, and have fun!!

We have never had a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese but have attended a few that were there.

My advice would be this:
1. Only invite a small number of children (4-6)
2. Insist that a parent accompanies each child.
3. Also, see if you can request to have the party in the smaller toddler section (our Chuck E. Cheese has this).
4. Make the party only 1.5 hours. If a kid wants to stay, then it's up to their parents.
5. Have birthday cupcakes rather than a birthday cake as it's easier for a four year old to handle and not as messy for cleanup.

Hope this helps.
:) K.

I took my daughter to a friend's birthday party there. Yes, the parents will need to be watching their kids. The thing I didn't like about it was that the party group kids really weren't together as a group except for when they were eating pizza and opening presents. Since it's open to the public, obviously it was full of other people as well, so the kids really weren't all playing together. Maybe it's just me, but I like having a place where the party group has the place all to themselves.