Pacific Paradise — Attraction in Ocean Shores

My family and I spent almost $70 between the arcade and bumper boats. My daughter (21 months old) was too afraid to sit on the seat next to me during dumper boats so I put her in between my legs to sit down and she did much better. However, one of the operators told me after being on the water for about 2mins that we couldn't do that due to safety issues which I completely understood. My daughter wouldn't sit any other way so he pulled us in, docked our boat, gave us our receipt back and told us to go get a refund for our ride while my husband and son stayed in the water. Simple enough right? NO. The older lady Ashley at customer service didn't believe me so she went out to verify my story. She came back and basically had a story completely opposite of mine and suggested I was lying. I suggested that we both go out together to speak with the operator to clear up any confusion. He verified my story not hers and that visibly upset her. She said she wasn't refunding me. I asked to speak with the manager, he said he was too busy. I politely said I'd wait until he wasn't. She went back irritated and the MANAGER came out and immediately said, "What do you want I'm busy?"...wait, what? Okay. I explained the story and he said, "you're not getting a refund because you asked to get out because you didn't want to ride anymore (not true) and you were yelling at my workers (not true). So I politely explained that I was told I'd have to get out due to my daughter and that I was NOT yelling at his workers but infact spoke calmly and politely to everyone INCLUDING Ashley who was extremely rude and lacked basic customer service skills (that last tidbit I refrained from saying aloud). The other 2 lady's working verified that I was being respectful and had not been rude and the manager said, okay well you're still not getting your money back. I calmly asked what a good solution for the both of us would be simply because although $10 isn't alot of money, the poor customer service and lackluster...even ABSENCE to want to find a resolve was non-existent so my "fight" was based on sheer principal at this point. He walked away and said Im busy and you're not getting a refund to which I replied, God Bless you sir. And then I see him turn around and have a completely different posture towards a white family. Being the only African American family in his establishment and having had the experience that we did, I can say with sheer confidence that the manager's disposition as well as his employee Ashely's, was racially charged. I was so frustrated with how I was treated I broke down. At this point my husband and son were coming out of the water and he took over the situation, but, the manager went back to his office and refused to speak to my husband stating (through Ashley) that he was too busy for us. I truly pray that he (the manager:Dave Carswell) is blessed beyond measure, that his business flourishes, and that God convicts his heart in such a way that he would not treat anybody this poorly again, nor, tolerate employees that do!!! The other 2 younger girls working watched in complete disbelief with how we were being treated and how poorly the situation was handled. They kept apologizing and one of the girls said at one point, something along the lines of, "I can feel the hurt and frustration and I am truly sorry this was so poorly handled this is not right". This is so...

A good place to spend a lot of money. We like to feature Pacific Paradise on your YouTube vlog, Braaescapades. One of the good things about this place is that they are open year-round. We've visited a couple of times now and they usually only have one or two staff members working so if the place is busy, you can't get very good service. I stood around at the snack bar waiting for about ten minutes before just giving up altogether. The games are typical but well maintained. Only a few games were down while we were there, but the focus is on obtaining tickets or winning prizes. I miss the good ole' arcades where you could just dump quarters into video games and when you left, you had a sense of accomplishment because you finally beat that game you'd been playing for months. I'm not interested in the inflated trinkets that you can literally buy for pennies elsewhere but need to drop $100 to try and collect enough tickets to trade for here. I get it though, the little kids think it's cool. Every time we've visited, it has been in winter, so we haven't been able to enjoy the mini golf course or the bumper boats. I saw advertisements for go-karts but I didn't see the track here so that may be someplace else. They have an attraction where you purchase a bag of dirt. The prices range from $10 to $65!!! and then your kid takes the dirt and dumps it into a basket that they then put in running water and voila! ROCKS! I guess for rockhound types, this is exciting, but I don't feel like you actually get your money's worth with this tourist trap. Not like you're going to find a diamond or some real gold or anything. If you are staying in Ocean Shores and looking for some interactive entertainment, Pacific Paradise can fill that void for a few hours. Most of the games take a prepaid card that you can purchase on site. Some still take cash but don't get too caught up in the games where you can win a toy or a jackpot of tickets because they are rigged in favor of the house, and you will have lighter pockets faster than you can...

I brought my children there in 1990 to get in out of the rain. Lots of people were doing the same as it was packed. Back then it was coins and tokens, and our Children couldn't put money for tickets in fast enough. Our wallets were emptied extremely fast, but the little ones were very happy with the hundreds of tickets they got for cheap little gifts. Fast forward the time clock to Memorial day weekend, and I returned with my grown Daughters and their Children to get in out of the rain. Today you purchase a credit type card and fill it with as much points for games as you want. This ends up being as expensive as in the past , and be even more expensive as filling the card us addictive for the kids who have no problem swiping away for many of the games. The bumper boats are as always, 'fun' if you don't mind being soaked by the water jets. Keep in mind the reason we went there was because it was raining and we didn't want to get wet. Bottom line, I think it was extremely a waste of time and money regardless of the little ones being excited running around from machine to machine. Time and money could be better spent making sand castles ( even if it is raining), and as in the old days, making home made sandwiches and hot drinks with family on the beach, while enjoying the fresh ocean shores air! Oh, and don't forget to have a 3 way wind breaker so your fire is not blowing sparks everywhere, and the wind doesn't blow out your gas stove heating up the coffee/tea water. Ocean Shores in my mind is to be enjoyed on the beach mostly, with a little bit of window shopping. Maybe a horse ride now and then, with emphasis on beach games like kites, and throwing beach balls and or a football. No stress...