Skate Ribbon — Attraction in Omaha

Overall a great spot for a family or friend group outing, first date, or any chill hang out type vibe. It's a beautiful park that is very lively with activity. However, if you're someone who skates for a hobby and perhaps going to skate alone, for a speed skating workout or to jam on your roller skates, you might have a better time going at a less crowded hour or just going to an actual rink shaped like an oval so there's more room. Or even a parking lot or similar flat area would be better to practice jam skating moves. The ribbon concept is not my fave! This applies to roller skating and ice skating

Positives: -it looks really pretty there -good place for families/kids to skate or for less experienced skaters who want to go slower and enjoy the company of the people they came with -appreciate the inclusion of a "middle circle" area to use for jam skating

Negatives: -line system is suuuuper inefficient, as other reviewers have said there's no separate line for people with online reservations and those who are paying and completing the waiver in person. also if you bring your own skates and complete the waiver online you still have to wait in the same line for a wristband which is kinda wack. there should be three lines; paying/completing waiver in person (whether you need skates or not) paid/completed waiver online, need skates and wristband completed waiver online, did not rent skates, just need wristband -the actual skating area is pretty narrow with rails on both sides. it got quite frustrating for me at times when slower or less experienced skaters were blocking the entire throughway and i had to basically almost stop behind them. I'm not skating ridiculously fast or anything, but I want to be able to pick up a tiny bit of speed and get my groove on jamming, and it often didn't even feel safe enough to vibe-ily skate with any speed because you have to really pay attention to not crash into someone. I've seen 2 different people crash this way, a faster skater trying to weave through slow traffic but crashing into someone STOPPED to stand and talk in the middle of the lane. it's not a problem that someone stopped to talk necessarily, there should be places for you to rest without getting in the way of other skaters. It's just a problem with the design that makes the skateable area almost dangerously narrow so it's easier for people to accidentally block the way when they stop to rest -the ice reallllllly needed a zamboni when I ice skated there. this too created borderline dangerous conditions because of how lumpy and un-smooth the ice surface was getting -there are no lockers or really a good place to put your shoes/belongings -the music is too loud and kinda bad (probably my personal preference though lol)

Okay thank you for coming to my Ted talk and...

We went on the weekend before new years. Plan to get there at least 15 minutes before your reservation time so you can get through the line by the start of your time. Skate rentals are for hockey style skates. There is no place (no cubbies, no lockers) to put your shoes or coats. Everyone left them under the benches at the entrance, so be aware they won't be secure (ours were fine there, hopefully everyone is so lucky).

Ice skating there is very unique and fun. It's smaller than I pictured, probably about the size of a regular rink, but really fun to have a trail to follow. There is a little fireplace at the far end that you can skate to and rest at. At least 75% of the skaters were very beginner, so there were lots of falling and unsteady people to skate around. You won't be able to go fast, but that's ok. There were a few skate sleds for little kids to use if they need support, but not many. Attendants are skating around to help.

There is a public parking garage right across the street to the west (also for the apartment complex) as well as limited metered street parking. Pay on your phone when you park before you...

To start with positives, I had a great time at Ribbon Skate! From the moment I arrived, the staff was super friendly and helped us with QR codes for reservations and rental shoes. The skating experience itself was a lot of fun, especially since it wasn't too crowded on a Saturday midday. However, I did have one issue. When the Zamboni needed to come on the ice, a staff member skated the opposite way with a big broom, which scared a lot of people, including myself. It wasn't appropriate for them to yell and go at such a fast speed in the wrong direction. It risked injury to the people the staff member startled, some of which didn’t know how to get out of the way and fell hard onto the ice as staff came through. It would be helpful if they made an announcement over the speaker system to guide people off the ice and avoid any accidents. Overall, it was a fun experience, but that one incident could be...