Activate Orlando (Pointe Orlando) — Attraction in Dr. Phillips

Activate is an awesome experience that everyone should give a chance, whether you think it will be fun or not. The chain as a whole does a great job with the technology, and more importantly, keeps it running well.

The staff at this location is beyond phenomenal. Everyone here is so welcoming and helpful.

My three star review comes from three different things, each of which are quite frustrating as someone who has been to a few different Activate locations (living in Dallas).

1. PRICING - This location charges substantially more in my opinion than other locations, especially given that it is in an area which requires parking validation. For reference, all Dallas locations (which has a very similar cost of living to Orlando) is $24.99 for non-peak and $29.99 for peak times, but for 75 minutes. Orlando charges a flat $30 for 60 minutes. Dallas is $0.33 a minute for non-peak and $0.40 for peak, while Orlando is 25% higher than that at $0.50/minute for the same quality of gameplay. I wouldn't have as much of an issue with that pricing structure IF they validated parking, which leads to the second issue...

2. PARKING - Many locations at Pointe Orlando will validate parking; otherwise you have to pay $5.99 for parking minimum every visit. The movie theater does, and so does the escape room, so it's a bit insulting that at $30 an hour, they won't even validate one car per group.... In a large city like Chicago or New York, I would understand, but when nowhere else in Orlando charges for parking at a shopping mall (ICON Park is down the street and free), it is absurd to charge for parking.

3. CAPACITY - I've been multiple times now, as I do enjoy Activate and they have had some good deals to return (at discounted rates). On most nights, the capacity is well managed, but I went on a Friday night when just about all spots were filled and the group I took did not have a good time. Every room had a wait of 1-2 groups deep, meaning that you spent over half of your 60 minutes waiting in line for a room. Again, I would prefer a peak/non-peak structure similar to other locations with lower capacity to have a better experience. Additionally, this location has the same amount of rooms as other locations I have been to, but has a capacity of 80 people per hour, whereas the Dallas locations are capped at 72 people per hour. The 10% increase is noticeable.

My review isn't intended to scare people off, as it is a great facility, but would recommend avoiding peak times if you want to get full enjoyment out of your time. I am hopeful Activate will listen to its customers (who want to be loyal customers) and consider quality of life improvements that will keep them coming back. Specifically regarding parking validation, as it is not feasible to pay $5.99 every time I want...

I’d leave ZERO stars if possible. Let’s start with entry. My son and I walked in and went to the front desk. After about 20 seconds, the group in front of us were done paying and we were next in line. No one spoke to us, acknowledged us or anything even though making eye contact. After time passed, the man named Robin said we he would assist. As soon as he begins helping us, a group walks in and he all the way down to them “hiiiii, welcome in!”. Not ONE of the FIVE employees who were present when we walked in spoke to us. STRIKE ONE! He asked how old was my son, I stated “6”. I paid the remaining amount for my reservation and we were given our bracelets.

Now, I’m filling out the waiver. It asks for birthdays, which again shows my son is indeed 6 years old. An employee approaches me after the fact and says “how old is he?” I said “6”. She replies “ok just checking because people were complaining that he wasn’t old enough” EXCUSE ME?! Who are people? She stated she couldn’t tell me who said it then asked again was I sure he was 6, then began to describe his physical attributes as the reason. My son is almost 4 ft. I asked what was the point of telling the 1st employee his age and filling out a waiver with his age to still be questioned as if I’m lying. She held a good 2-3 min convo with me strictly about his age with me constantly trying to convince her.

She did seem to be under the influence of some substance because she was slurring heavily on her words, jittery, erratic eye movements and would cut me off as I was speaking.

The game area: they have someone explain everything to you in the back where you can barely hear because it’s so noisy. She was rolling her eyes the entire time with our group of 6 (4 other random people with the same reservation), she seemed annoyed like she didn’t want to be at work. Very rude and would breathe heavily as if annoyed when someone asked a question.

The games are only a few seconds long, very redundant and boring. You only need a good 15 minutes there, and 10 would suffice on a slow day. An hour is way too long.

On top of that, the employees would walk past us in the gaming area and stare at my son and I.

I think part of it was racially motivated as I noticed their interaction with certain individuals was distinctly different from their interaction with others.

We won’t be returning. We tried our best to enjoy our time and be positive but this was such a...

Went with a large group of 12. Made sure to plan by calling ahead and paying made the process a bit more streamlined. The setup was fairly quick and efficient. The explanation of how to play was somewhat simple. But still confusing. But once you get started and start playing the many varieties of games they have to offer it is fun. From brain-teasing games to physically moving games there's so much to do. They have a water fountain close to the bathroom to hydrate in between games. Also, lockers to lock away your items. Highly recommend locking your items away as you will definitely lose them crawling or jumping around. Which did happen to someone ahead of us and they ruined our game time by trying to collect their phone while our game was going in the Mega Laser. Most of the games take a bit to understand how they work and offer a quick replay option if no one is waiting behind you to play that game which is great. I wish there was bit more time in terms of trying to get in and have the game start as. When you have a group of 3-6 getting inside and standing at your correct spot the games often start before everyone is inside. All and all my group had a wonderful time. I don't think we'd return to be completely honest as the majority of us had enough time playing all the games so quickly. We did the 90-minute option and it was more than enough time to enjoy everything within. Nice and friendly staff. Adults and family visiting will definitely enjoy this place as a fun time killer or...