Kids Empire Chesterfield — Attraction in Chesterfield Township

I really hate to write reviews. However, I hope by doing so it will help. I had my daughter 4th birthday party yesterday. I will start with the all the positives: The facility is VERY clean and smells nice. I like how the gates are locked and kids can't just leave. Love that all shoes have to be removed. The KIDS absolutely loved it and had a blast! I also heard a lot if not all the parents of the kids that came say how fun and wonderful the place was. Negative: To whomever the manager/owner of the facility, YOU have to know you are EXTREMLY under staffed. For a Saturday alone you need to be adequately staffed. Again, as others have reviewed, the check in process needs to be stream lined. Then add a Saturday with Birthday parties?!?! Very disappointing. You have one person to check in regular customers, and one person to check in a birthday party? Having only two staff members and then only two kiosks that EVERYONE has to sign a waiver is not enough on a weekend! I had 70 yr old grandparents that couldn't even see it. 100% not enough staff!! Don't offer birthday parties at this facility if you do not have the staff to support it. You will only continue to get bad reviews and it is not necessarily the staff fault. I am telling you, as others have reviewed, you DO NOT have enough staff. When a customer pays for a birthday especially one as expensive as KIDS EMPIRE you have certain expectations. Having to pay for every adult that does not have a child seems a little ridiculous. Most of the parents in the party and or Grandparents just sat in the corner. I understand charging for every kid, but the cost for adults to just sit there? It needs to be lowered or not exist. We had to pay almost as much as the entire party cost just to have immediate family be with our daughter for her birthday. Also, there should be ONE single employee assigned to each party, for the entire party. As previously reviewed by others. We had to ask the staff for everything, drinks, gummy bears, cake cutting supplies, etc. Unfortunately, because they were so short staffed they weren't happy every time we or anyone in my party had to ask for something. Side note, if you are going to offer "gummy bears" as a special treat PLEASE DONT PUT THEM ON A SINGLE PAPER PLATE FOR EVERY PERSON IN THE PARTY TO TOUCH. Put a little in a cup for each guest? The name of the pizza vendor was not revealed and it would have been nice to know if we could have ordered other items from that same vendor such as breadsticks, etc. Part of the party package includes gift bags for all kids, they should be put out on the table when you arrive, not given to you when you are walking out the door. I paid for a minimum of 10 kids and I did not get 10. Huggy was also part of the party package deal. There needs to be a plan for him, for example making sure the birthday kid ACTUALLY gets to see and dance with him. The person in charge of your kids birthday needs to make sure the birthday child is ready and knows exactly when he is coming out. I was told he was coming out at least 3 different times until he finally came out when my party was practically over. When he was brought out ALL the kids in the entire facility bombarded him. My daughter barely got to see him. Then they put him in the little space room and you can't hear any of the music? Again, due to little to no staff most of my adult guests were not treated kindly and that is embarrassing. They also didn't have enough staff for concessions. I heard other customers trying to order food and they were told they had already run out. It was only 1:30. Whoever is in charge of this, needs to reevaluate the volume of customers on a Saturday. It was disappointing that the only time the staff member came over to check on our party was for final payment. Again, the facility itself is amazing! Its not entirely the staff fault for how things went as they are extremely understaffed. If they could get proper staffing and lower the adult cost for a child party I think the place...

PLEASE READ BEFORE CONSIDERING VISITING Kids Empire Chesterfield!!! It’s a long rant, but worth reading; I mean, unless you liked to be priced gouged and talked down to by teenage strangers.

Today, we went to Kids Empire Chesterfield for what was supposed to be a fun outing for my nephew’s 6th birthday. We weren’t having an actual birthday party for my nephew, but just letting the kids play. I brought his birthday gifts with us because I wanted him to be able to open today on his actual birthday.

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by what appeared to be the manager—someone whose disdain for her job and general existence was palpable. She promptly informed us that we couldn’t bring in my nephew’s gifts because my sister hadn’t purchased a birthday party package. The reasoning? “We don’t want to upset other parents.” Ah yes, because nothing is more traumatizing to children than the sight of wrapped presents. Let’s not kid ourselves—their concern wasn’t the fragile emotions of other families, but rather their bottom line.

Then came the next money-making revelation: we would need to pay for both my kids to enter. Apparently, each paying child is only allowed two accompanying adults. I clarified multiple times that my son is 14 and that we were simply dropping my 6 year old off and saying a quick hello. No dice. My son is bigger than all the kids and half the adults present, so it wasn’t like we were trying to pull the wool over their eyes or sneak him in. The staff, in their infinite wisdom and flexibility, insisted that Gino needed to pay whether he was playing or not. God forbid, they just be accommodating to the situation. Truly, the staff there could have taught a masterclass in customer service. 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼

Honestly, they would probably lose their minds 🤯🤯🤯 if they knew how far out of my way I’m constantly willing to go for someone when they reach out with a frustration or an issue. Imagine treating people like people instead of dollar signs—what a concept! But I suppose that kind of empathy and effort is too much to ask when your primary goal is to wring every last cent out of families just trying to enjoy a day out.

At this point, I had to summon all my patience to avoid a full-blown meltdown. I fully understand that rules exist for a reason, and I’ve even worked in a similar environment before. However, there is a vast difference between enforcing policies with a basic level of human decency and whatever this was. If the employees had shown even an ounce of courtesy instead of acting like glorified gatekeepers of a padded jungle gym, I might have begrudgingly paid the extra fee. But their dismissive and condescending attitude sealed the deal: absolutely not.

To the owners of this franchise: congratulations on creating yet another soulless, corporate money grab. I hope you enjoy counting your profits while simultaneously draining every last drop of joy from what should be a fun, family-friendly experience. You are what’s wrong with modern businesses—prioritizing nickel-and-diming customers over providing a welcoming environment.

And to fellow parents: why do we keep putting up with this? We complain when groceries cost as much as a car payment, yet we continue supporting businesses that operate on pure greed. The problem isn’t just inflation—it’s that we’re willing to pay for it. SO THEY JUST KEEP DOING IT!!

Final verdict: 0/10 stars. Do yourself a favor and take your money elsewhere. I had to give them 1 start to write this rewrite because it wouldn’t let me in it...

1- The wait in line was unorganized and chaotic. Everyone attending the party had to wait more than a half hour just to enter. That cuts out time for kids to even play during the designated rental time. Party started at 2 and we had a total of 5 people leave because they could not even get in for the kids to enjoy the party. I've never seen anything like this when you pay to have a party.

2- The staff was terrible when requesting anything. It took several times just to get the drinks out on the table for the package that we paid for. I had a lot of people asking where the drinks were. The kids take home bags were just stacked in the corner by us and not even announced to us that they were for the kids. No one EVER asked about how things are or if we needed anything.

3- The place was not even kept up. We had the garbage overflowing with garbage, so we had to start laying everything next to it. How do you not stay on top of that and clean up?! Also, the women's bathroom had no toilet paper, and the ladies informed the staff multiple times about it and nothing was done. What kind of a place is this?!

4- Staff up at the front were confused and not very friendly.

It was a waste of money and will never be coming there again to spend on a party. The place was WAY OVER BOOKED and UNDERSTAFFED. I want to talk to the manger and get a refund or a portion of it for the experience. You made it clear to parents that came, not to have a party here and even I heard the complaining from...