Philly SkatePlex — Attraction in Philadelphia

Thursday March 3rd was a skate night event night for my daughter's elementary school. Almost 450 people registered. This was my first time ever at any skate facility, let alone Philly Skateplex. Once inside we rented skates for our two girls, 7 and 5 years of age. Watching them learn their balance for the first time was hilarious. It was a fun atmosphere and great music. The indoor playground was a hit with our girls as well.

UPDATED * It was getting late and we were getting ready to leave, but we told the girls we could go out one more time for a skate around before leaving. An announcement was made that everyone was to clear the floor for 18 and older to skate. There were probably about 10 people that skated. Then it was announced they were going to do backwards skaters only. They did one song in one direction, and then another song in the other direction. Then it was announced only advanced skaters for backwards skating. There were probably three or four. All the while my tired, anxious girls are waiting at the edge along with the rest of the elementary school students and their families. My wife and my friend went to the booth to reason with the DJ and was told "I'm just doing my job" and "if you keep asking, the kids will not be back out there again!" along with several other rude remarks. One of the workers on the floor for the advanced skate even tried to signal the DJ not to do the opposite direction but was ignored. One skater laid in the middle of the floor for a good portion of the last advanced song. We were being mocked! One advanced skater (the one that laid down) made multiple passes within 18 inches of where we were waiting and he even asked us to move back! It's not enough that he had the entire skate floor almost to himself during an event. We couldn't be six inches over the edge while we waited? OWNER RESPONDED AND CORRECTED THE ISSUE

After leaving my review, the owner reached out to me and we had a private conversation. she informed me that the DJ's are now being trained to correct the misunderstanding. At the event we attended, there shouldn't have been a backwards skate. The manner of tone used towards customers is also being addressed. She assured me that it will never happen again, thanked me for the feedback and apologized for the negative experience several times. I respect the response and I feel like this shows they care a lot about the experience of their customers. So my review changed from one star to four due to the...

Not the review I was hoping to leave. I'm an advanced skater. One who always skates well within their abilities, and with outstanding situational awareness. I have never injured anyone, doing this 30+ years.

I'm not out there doing acrobatics or setting speed records. I am a modern dance skater, doing dance steps and quick turns and occasional spins.

Most rinks want me there, not this one. The floor guards harassed me until I decided to leave. I spoke to the manager before leaving, to advise why I was leaving, and was surprised they did not encourage me to stay and sort out the issue with their overzealous floor guards.

BtW, before anyone had said a word, I was doing moves in the center and not once, but twice, an obvious "regular" skated towards me and would have nearly collided had i not been aware and stepped out if the way.

I think this was really a territorial matter.

I had been here three or four times the past year. On past visits, I noticed throughout the night more and more people congregate and standing in the middle. Doing absolutely nothing but staying stationary and talking, and even playing in their phones.

That is the main reason I didnt come back sooner.

Kudos to rink management for solving that problem, but they threw the baby out with the bathwater by making it a hard rule - no one skates in the center.

Before I left, while speaking to the manager, I asked if they saw me skating. They said yes. I then asked, did my skating raise your concerns and did you have a problem with it? They said no. Yet no offer to sort the matter.

Oh, I also pointed out -- you wouldn't want me doing what I do anywhere else but the center, right?

There e client multimillion dollar floor is water if advanced skaters aren't allowed to skate there.

I can't remember the last time a skate guard harassed me. It's rare. But never two of them and never...

Great place to skate. I haven't yet gone during any of that adult only times (though I plan to) but the times I've gone during the family times like after school skate, $2 Tuesdays, Thursday half price play area day, and other special event days geared towards lil ones - it has had a very family-friendly atmosphere. The dj does a pretty good job with the music and generally the place is well maintained. If you rent skates, it can be pretty hit or miss with the quality, there's been times I've rented skates where the bearings felt really dirty and in need of lubrication and other times I've rented skates and they rolled so great and smooth.

As far as other amenities besides the rink they have a food counter with the quality of food what you'd expect at a skate rink (I will say the one exception is the funnel cake - the funnel cake here is THE BEST I've ever had! I think they put vanilla extract in the batter), they have a small selection of arcade games, and a kids play area that consists of a big jungle gym climbing maze. I'm definitely a fan of the play area because when my lil one gets tired of skating she can go play in their but the rest of us can still skate. And it's easy to keep an eye on your kids if you want to stay out on the skate floor while they're in there. Between the two skate rinks closest to me this is definitely the better one. As far as cost they have good deals if u chk out their weekly specials. We usually only go when admission is $4 or less. The regular admission price of $8 (plus rental) isn't bad if you just paying for yourself but gets pricey if you're paying for the whole family. (Included photos that shows rink/play area and...