Chuck E Cheese Birthday Party Bad Idea for a Toddler

Chuck E. Cheese promotes its restaurant as being safe and fun for kids of all ages. Within the restaurant there are arcade type games and rides and a special toddler section. The restaurant serves a variety of food but specialized in pizza. There is also a salad bar within the restaurant.

I recently was invited to and attended a birthday party with my toddler son who is about to turn two years old. The party was on late Saturday afternoon at a Chuck E. Cheese in Williamsville, NY. I was excited about taking my son to the restaurant as it would be the first time being there for both of us. I was told by the mother of the child who was having the birthday party that the restaurant was toddler friendly. As soon as I entered the door I immediately had concerns.

When we first entered the restaurant we waited in line to have our hands stamped. My hand was stamped with the same number as my child for safety purposes and both numbers would have to match for us to leave the restaurant together. As I stood in line I was overwhelmed by how hot and noisy the restaurant was and my son who is very independent wanted to be picked up and carried rather than walking while holding my hand.

The restaurant was very crowded and it was difficult to make my way to the back of the restaurant where the party was being held. When I got to the party table I was surprised to see that there were four other birthday parties going on at the same time. This would not have been a problem had the tables not been so close together.

My son was given a small cup of tokens and since it would be a while before dinner was served I decided to take him over the toddler section. The rides were indeed toddler friendly and age appropriate, but I was bothered by the fact that as soon as we entered the toddler area there was an overwhelming smell of vomit. I let him ride a fire truck ride and a Clifford the Big Red Dog ride and then headed back to the table.

When pizza was served the kids at the party were given a short amount of time to eat it. My son was overstimulated with the noise and heat and flashing lights and refused to eat. After pizza all of the children were sang happy birthday and cake was served. Again, it felt as if the kids were rushed to eat so that plates could be cleared away and the section cleaned for the next party.

I noticed a lot going on in the restaurant that bothered me. There were two and three year olds who were wandering the restaurant without an adult. I do not care how many matching stamps are put on the hand of a parent and a child, a toddler should not be allowed to wander alone and unsupervised in such a chaotic place. Given the noise and the number of people in the restaurant it would have been too easy for a child to be snatched and taken out by someone other than a parent.

The event that made me decide to leave was when a child was injured. A three year old was walking through the video game area to get to the toddler rides when she got in the way of an older child. This child proceeded to elbow her in the face (he said it was an accident but that was not how it looked) and gave her a bloody nose. I packed up my son who was already getting cranky at that point and we left.

There were a number of factors that led to my being dissatisfied with the birthday party experience at Chuck E. Cheese. The noise, heat, crowd, and unsupervised children were more than I felt was healthy or safe for my toddler. I have been told that my experience was unique to weekends and the restaurant is much less chaotic during the week. This may be so but is not something I am willing to test out until my children are older.

A birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese may be a good idea for older children, provided parents are willing to pay too much money for mediocre food and service. I would not recommend parents of toddlers plan on hosting a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party and would caution parents of toddlers from taking their children to such parties.