Kids Empire Manville — Attraction in Manville

0 stars for most of the staff & overall operations. This is lengthy:

To my dismay TODAY, 10 minutes prior to my child’s 3rd birthday party starting with cupcakes and ballons in hand, the area I was guaranteed my party was going to be located at was being occupied by another party. In fact there were at least 4 other parties that were setup and the area that allegedly was meant for my 10 guests of children under the age of 6 (including a couple of infants under the age of 1) was right in the front of the large slide that catapulted families a couple feet from us and a climbing maze that kids continually fell from. When I inquired exactly where the 3 tables were I was told we would have the manager who claimed her name was Jacqueline rudely pointed at a table that 2 random people were sitting at which meant with minutes of my guests arriving they hadn’t even set up our tables. When I told her I was advised less than 24 hours before in person from a supervisor named Wendy that we would be setup in the area nearest the Toddler area or the back corner by the restrooms, she sneered “I’M THE MANAGER and WE can’t guarantee you anything.” I replied that this is already not starting off well when I was told one thing and my party area isn’t even ready yet and that she didn’t have to have an attitude. I was taken aback and astonished by what transpired next. This lady claiming to Manage this establishment, barked back and threw her hands up “I DON’T HAVE TO TAKE THIS! YOU KNOW WHAT PARTY CANCELED!”. I scoffed in astonishment because the place was PACKED and now other families and employees are looking in our direction from her outburst. I reply, “Your upset that I’m trying to get clarification on a party I paid for.” And she replies “Yea! And I can CANCEL IT” as she looks at one of her lowly employees who is now snickering at this lady’s (used loosely) banter at an attempt to embarrass me and my child. I tell her I put a deposit (just like the rest of these parties) and she assures me she can just as well return it. This manager has the gall to use her “authority” at a leisure retail playground dedicated to families and children- according to owner and founder Haim Elbaz. Doesn’t seem like it. I plan on finding out who the Franchisee is and inquire how they allowed this place that’s been open less than a year be so poorly managed., Great concept Haim, HORRIBLE staff! I will say our party host Eric apologized profusely throughout guaranteeing he would make my daughter’s day extra special. I tipped and thanked him but told him let “Jacquelyn” know this isn’t over. If you don’t know how to talk and dela with people, get out of the customer service...

On Saturday, August 16, 2025 myself and my daughter met with my daughter‘s friend and his mother at kids Empire in Manville New Jersey for a play date. Upon walking in, I saw the sign that indicated the price per child $19.90. When I went to swipe my card to pay, the price was almost $26. I question the lady behind the desk why the price was so expensive. She told me that that 19.90$ price is Linden‘s price and not Manvilles price. I then asked and why is it listed on your wall? She then replied I am in the process of changing the price. I reluctantly paid because my daughter’s friends were already inside. Before going inside, she advised me that I needed to throw out my Dunkin’ Donuts drink. I proceeded to take one last sip and threw it out. I then went and sat with the mom that I was meeting, and my daughter and her son went to play. About 20 to 30 minutes went by that same lady from behind the desk came up to me again and told me that I needed to put on socks or I would need to leave. I informed her that I was not playing on the structures and I was going to be sitting there the entire time she told me I could purchase socks or I need to leave. I then told her she could provide me with socks because she already overcharged me and I will gladly put them on, but I’m not buying socks. At that point, I asked her why she asked me to throw out my drink if everyone inside had a Stanley cup or Starbucks cups? She then told me that I wasn’t allowed to represent or sponsor Dunkin , but other brands were OK. I told her that made no sense at all. She then proceeded to ask me again if I’m going to buy socks or if I’m going to leave. At that point, I told her I wasn’t going anywhere and I was not buying socks so she informed me that she was gonna call the police. I told her call them. A few minutes later the police arrived. I told them my story. They ask the girl to provide me with a pair of socks. She refuse to give me socks then she told them that her manager said that I had to leave, even though there was no manager on duty, so I asked for a refund. She then said only managers can give a refund and she doesn’t have that ability to give a refund. The Police informed me that they come to this establishment multiple times a week because of ridiculousness like this. They advised me to leave a horrible review and don’t come back to this establishment. The ladies’s name was Daniela. I really hope she goes through better training and I really hope that this establishment has a manager on duty...

I feel the need to leave this review so the owners can take action in time to fix these issues before it’s too late.

On July 13th, I celebrated my son’s 5th birthday at this venue, which has everything it takes to make it a perfect day for the kids — and for them, it truly was! However, for us parents, the experience was far from pleasant.

First point: When we arrived and spoke to the girl at the front, she seemed half-asleep and extremely slow.

Second point: We had 2 extra parents and 2 extra kids at the party, and we told the girl at the entrance that we would be covering their costs ourselves, so she shouldn’t charge them. She said okay, no problem. However, towards the end of our time slot, we went to the counter to settle the payment for those additional guests, and she suddenly told us there were 3 parents and 5 kids to be paid for. I explained this was incorrect — we only had 2 parents and 2 kids. Not only did she make the mistake, but she also didn’t trust my word and insisted on going through the guest list one by one. In the end, she saw I was right.

Third point: After the kids played and we sang happy birthday, ate cake, etc., the staff member in charge of our table cleaned up, received his tip, and disappeared. As kids started leaving, I realized we hadn’t received the goodie bags or the candy that were supposed to be included in the package we paid for. I went to the front desk and told the girl, and she handed them over. Back at the table, I opened one to double-check and noticed that each bag was missing a toy or a ball.

I went back again, and she just told me they didn’t have any. I pointed out that I could clearly see plenty of balls on display behind her, and she said those were only for sale to customers who wanted to buy them. I told her this was not how things should be handled — I had paid for a package that wasn’t being fulfilled, and that I would be leaving a review and contacting the company. Not long after, someone called me back and they finally gave out balls to all the kids, as should have happened from the beginning.

What was supposed to be a smooth and joyful party turned into a stressful experience for us, the parents of the birthday boy — all because of the incompetence of certain staff members. It’s very unlikely...