If you are looking for an activity to escape the heat this Labor Day weekend, try a trip down memory lane to Pinballz Arcade! Pinballz’s Lake Creek location has expanded from their namesake pinball machines, to an epic play zone with go-kart racing, ax throwing, bowling and other awesome activities. You will probably enjoy this place as much as your kids do!
Getting to Pinballz Lake Creek is pretty simple. It is tucked back from the highway, but very easy to get to and find parking. Once you get inside, you are pretty much left to your own devices. Kiosk machines line the front where you can get your gaming card for the day. If you want to do the go-karts or any of the other larger games, you do have to sign up with someone. Otherwise, you are on your own!
All of your standard arcade games and pinball machines are to the left of the entrance in a bright colorful line! It may be hard for you or your kids to keep your focus with all the bright lights beckoning you to each game. A lot of the games you can play with your kids, which everyone gets a kick out of. If you’re a competitive parent, you might need to continuously tell yourself, “It’s only a game. It’s only a game.”
Past the first round of arcade games is the eating area. It is nice and spread out. It is easy to move tables for the size of your group. The food is standard concession stand food. It is not good or bad, and it keeps you full. One nice accessory I have always appreciated about Pinballz, is the cup holders at every single game!
If you really want to be nostalgic, past the eating area is a large cluster of classic arcade games like Asteroids or Galaga. It is pretty cool to see what old school games they have collected.
Tips:
Cost The nostalgia of playing arcade games comes with the cost of playing arcade games. Remember as a kid your parents would give you some money and tell you not to spend it too fast? Then the money was gone in about 15 minutes! Pinballz is unfortunately not immune from the arcade money vacuum. Every so often they have deals with two hours of unlimited playtime or half off games. But every game play cost money, and they don’t have an unlimited gaming card like Dave & Busters or Chuck E Cheese.
Meeting Spot Pinballz at Lake Creek has gotten huge over the past year. Even before they added their go-kart racing, it was hard to keep track of little ones running by arcade games. The large eating area is where most parents set up camp. It is a good idea to stake out your meeting place before you wind up the kids and let them go!
Food and Drink No outside food or drink is allowed at all! I walked in with a Gatorade bottle and they made me throw it away. There is pretty good food and drink to buy. But don’t expect to bring water bottles or snacks for the day.
So should you make the trip to Pinballz Lake Creek?
0-3 (Proceed with Caution)
Pinballz Lake Creek does have a really nice play area for the smaller kiddos. The games are their size and easy to navigate. It is only one little section in a giant area. While they can definitely accompany their older siblings and have a good time, outside of this little area there isn’t a lot for this age group to do.
3-6 (go now)
While this age group may also be too small for a lot of the activities, there is still plenty for them to do. Lots of games for them to try or lots of claw machines for them to get frustrated with. This age group will have a blast!
6-10 (go now)
Head to the bank, pull out that pesky retirement fund and go! These kids will be in heaven! They can do so much throughout this whole area. They can do almost every single activity available. They might have to wait a while before they can do ax throwing, but most parents are okay with that.