Activate Games — Attraction in East Rutherford

I was reluctant to place a review, but after contacting customer service, and not receiving a reply, I felt it was better to share my experience online

This is our second time at Activate and, unfortunately, our experience did not live up to our expectations from the first time. We are from out of state so we rarely get experiences like this nearby, so we were super excited to come by again.

We had a booking for 4:10 PM and, once we arrived, it was clear that it was starting to fill up QUICK. The first thing we noticed immediately is that we would only get to play one round of games before immediately being booted out of the room for the next group to go in. This meant we were in the rooms for only 1-2 minutes at a time. The first time we went (opening day in July), it was far less busy and we were able to get in multiple rounds without interruption. This time, it wasn’t the case. We spent more time waiting outside the rooms than actually in the games.

The second biggest complaint is that, we were initially not aware, but your 45 mins in Activate is active both inside AND outside the rooms. Which meant, with all of the waiting we were doing, it was taking up a LOT of time we got to spend inside of the games. Out of the 45 minutes we were there, we only got about 20-25 minutes of play time. It was waaaay too congested by the time we went. It feels as if there needs to either be more rooms added on, or you need to cut down on how many groups can be booked per timeslot. Everyone in my party agreed that it felt like we got significantly less time this time around because of this.

And lastly, upon arrival, until about halfway through our time, both the Laser room and Megagrid room were “in maintenance”. Granted they were repaired relatively quick, with it being as crowded as it was, and having two rooms temporarily closed down, this meant even more waiting than usual which meant even less playtime. On top of that, the “dodging lasers” activity was not available. None of this was disclosed.

We genuinely really love the concept of Activate and our first experience at this location. I was hesitant to post any negative review for that reason. However, I think there could be more awareness as to how many people are being let through the door vs the number of rooms that are actually available. With the amount of waiting you do, you really are only paying for about 20 minutes of playtime. It was also a bit frustrating to enter a room, just to immediately be kicked out in a minute or two for the next group to go in. I think cutting down on the number of people would definitely make the experience...

This experience is one that you cannot get anywhere else. From the vast assortment of games to play to the fantastic staff that keeps everything running smoothly, Activate is truly a great place to be. There are over 300 different levels split amongst nine different rooms that will keep you coming back to try and beat the next challenge. I have brought several friends and family members to activate to bring more people to enjoy the heart pounding games here and at the end of every session they want to come back to increase their score. With the numerous amount of levels at this location you will always have something new to do whenever you visit.

Alongside the great facilities, the staff are always helpful and a good presence to be around. They help foster a good friendly competitive nature among the players and are encouraging to help you beat that room that may have been giving you trouble. I always enjoy talking with the staff there as they are personable and even recognize some of the regulars! It is always great to see people such as Ellie, Jay, and Oliva as they are amazing employees and people to talk to! A pleasant surprise upon my visit yesterday was that the staff was able to contact the famous Spider-man to come and greet guests as they checked in. Never before would I have thought to have cross paths with the superhero, but he welcomed me with such great responsibility that it was apparent he had great power.

If you are considering coming to activate, sign up right away as reservation spots fill up quickly, especially on weekends! After a couple of visits you can obtain prizes such as a water bottle, a t-shirt, or even a $250 gift card! I am always excited to come to activate to get a good workout in and say hi to the staff there! Definitely excited to bring more people and have them share in the fun that I and many others have been having over the past few months...

This review is specifically regarding customer service. The games were amazing and we had a great time. I called in advance because we were running a few minutes late. The employee explained that they had a strict 15 minute grace period, as long as we got there before 15 minutes, we were allowed in. We arrived 9 minutes late. The employee I spoke with on the phone said that we were 10 minutes late, and after 10 minutes we can no longer have the full time, instead we can have 30 of the 45 minutes. He said it was cheaper but it was clearly not when it came to amount you're paying for the time alotted. I pointed out that he mentioned nothing about the "10 minute rule" over the phone when I specifically called to check, and he said he didn't expect me to be 10 minutes late so he didn't specify. That fault should be on him, not the customer. There was no mention of a secondary lateness policy. When he said we had 15 minutes to get there, we assumed we had the full 15 minutes. The correct resolution should have been to let us know the proper rules for next time, but allow us as the customers to have the full 45 minutes. And, yes, we were the last slot of the day, but that is exactly why I called in advance to make sure we would be ok coming a few minutes late and he still assured me over the phone that their policy is 15 minutes. No mention of 10 minutes. This customer service is wrong. I made sure to call and find out the rules and it is not my fault that the employee failed to specify all the rules (literally 2, the 10 and 15 minute) I was...