Skate City Shawnee Mission — Attraction in Merriam

I loved this skate rink as a kid. We had our daughter and my birthday celebration in Jan of this year at this location in Shawnee and it was perfect. That gave it 5+ stars but this last party we had there for our oldest daughter the experience was not as good. Instead of doing a 2 hour session like earlier in the year we did a 4 hour session and there was confusion in how long we had the table and when the tables where to be used we paid over 200 dollars after paying the 20 dollar deposit my guests children kept having their skate buddies taken over and over again by other kids. And my youngest who just turned 2 the end of October mind you we where at skate city October 21st so he wasn't even 2 yet but he almost got bull dozed by a young adult who was skating very fast on the carpeted area towards the restrooms and if my friend had not grabbed him it would have been bad. I would suggest not allowing skaters to skate so darn fast and especially not allow them to do obnoxious tricks on the carpet especially by the games and where people eat and by the bathrooms because my 72 year old mother who has a hard time balancing sometimes almost got knocked over quite a few times. And keeping an eye on the entry door. My sister and my 4 year old niece and I came back inside from the rain to get into the party we where soaked and freezing and my niece had to use the restroom really bad and we had to wait almost 10 minutes for someone to come to the window we rang the bell over and over again. And I know for a fact that there where plenty of employees there that night. Other then that everything was great but because of this i don't know if we will choose skate city again for a birthday celebration. Or at least not a 4 hour session. The confusion of how and what happens first for the 4 hour skate party package session was not explained correctly. It was not explained like the 2 hour skate party package session was and I even said so we get to skate for 4 hours and do the cake when they are done. And I was told yes that is correct so I assumed which I shouldn't have because we all know what assuming means lol. But I assumed that that meant when we where ready to do the cake ice cream and gifts that we had the tables for the suggested time of an hour or an hour and a half but that was not the case. And that caused tension between my husband and skate city because paying that much money for 4 hours to skate and having the issues we had there it should not have been an issue. And we where the only birthday party there so it's not like they needed the tables for anyone. Well the 1 table we had closest to the rink and the lockers. It was just uncalled for I think. Now if they needed the tables because they had a whole bunch of other parties then I would totally understand. But other then that we all had fun and most of all my 9 year old daughter had a blast. So thanks for helping us give her what she wanted for...

My Original Review: I recently hosted my daughter’s birthday party at Skate City in Shawnee and unfortunately, the experience did not meet expectations, especially given the cost of nearly $300 for a 2-hour event.

I was told in advance that we would have three tables reserved for our party. However, upon arrival, only one was clean and ready. The other two tables were still covered in leftover food, drinks, and popcorn from previous parties. As more of our guests arrived, I had to clear one of the tables myself just to ensure they had a place to sit.

Throughout the event, our assigned party host offered little to no assistance. One of my guests witnessed her physically bump into another parent while placing popcorn on the table, without so much as an apology. Her overall demeanor was unprofessional and rude—she slammed the pizzas down on the table and walked away without saying a word.

This was not just something I noticed—multiple guests commented on her behavior. The lack of hospitality and poor attitude were incredibly disappointing and took away from what should have been a fun and memorable celebration.

Additionally, we did not have access to all the tables for the full duration of the party, as promised, and the overall service fell far short of acceptable standards. When it came time to pay the remainder of the balance, the host returned several times and seemed to expect a tip, despite the poor service. I still left one, but only out of courtesy.

I sincerely hope you address this issue, so future customers receive the level of service they're paying for. As it stands, I would not return or recommend this location to others.

After seeing the owner's response: I am extremely disappointed by the owner's public response to my review. Instead of addressing my concerns professionally, I was met with hostility, personal attacks, and defamatory comments. I was told I was “not welcome” and accused of behavior that never occurred. This kind of retaliation is deeply unprofessional and further solidifies why I cannot recommend this...

Large skating rink floor. A few blemish areas on the floor and water from wall sweating on the back wall and edge of floor. Watch out for that, it makes the floor slick. This establishment needs to invest in new skates ALL around. The speed skates are worn bad, no insole in one, worn out boots, mismatched, frayed and broken shoelaces. (Remember you are paying $5 extra for speed skates and $3 extra for regular skates) The littles skates are so worn the patches do not stay patched so the little skates do not stay on their little shoes well and for someone learning to skate that is pretty important. They do have the PVC skate assistive devices to use for free at this rink, which is a plus for beginners. Session cost $7 for 2 hours per person. Anyone over the age of 18 has to sign a waiver. So, I guess younger than 18 doesn’t matter? I don’t know their reasoning behind all that. For insurance purposes I’m sure. No referee or supervision at this rink, no skate etiquette is taught to the kids skating here. Kids stopped standing in the middle of the skate oval,not in the center of the floor, in the center of the skating oval and around all the edges which makes it hard for littles to stay around the outer edges so they don’t get ran over. Kids skating the wrong way through the crowd over and over and crossing intentionally in front of people with no regards to the person they are cutting off and that could plow them down in an instant! This rink really needs a few good refs to get things in order. The rink has a few games and a nice concession area. The Icee was also a big hit for the little. The rink seems to do a good business as it was packed and quite crowded for the 8-10pm session. Overall, it was a good time even with all...