Sk8 World — Attraction in Portage

I am here often. My best friend, with whom I've grown up with since I was about 8, works here. I came to it when it was R-way and on opening day of Sk8 World.

That is all to say, I have a lot of time at this building. a lot of my views are skewed as I am no longer young enough to spend all day here and I am tired from work many days I attend. With all that being said here are my thoughts.

I like roller skating. fun activity. I have been doing it consistently for about 6 to 8 years and before this i did it off and on from elementary school to middle school before taking a break for from middle school to high school and jumping back in sophomore or junior year.

However, I cannot say that I like this place. I have rated 3 stars cause I think I am personally biased. It just doesnt have the feel, the atmosphere... that I am looking for. It feels like the establishment itself is a bit out of touch. this is not a one time thing either. I have consistently come since its opening day. I may take a month to 6/8 weeks off here and there, but trust me I am a frequent visitor.

The music, while I dont expect it to fit my personal taste 100%, is just never quite right. The people, while most are quite fine, are mostly teenagers and such a crowd can be hard to share a space with let alone do an activity with the ranges of skill of those who can grapevine on command to those who can barely stand in shoes... let alone on wheels. The food, meh at best, but I guess this could be expected. I'm not looking for 5 stars in this category.

My biggest compliments to this place would have to be its floor, the lights, and those top tier of skaters. None of these are amazing, knock-your-socks-off stuff, mind you. Maybe a few of the skaters themselves are. The floor is relatively well kept and on a frequent basis it is easy to tell they care and are keeping up with it. Better than when it was previously known as R-way. (that's not me harping on rway I loved the ppl and the atmosphere there) However, I do think it remains to be seen how Sk8 World fairs in the future in this regard. I am looking forward to being a part of it. The lights? Yeah that's just a personal appreciation of mine. day dreaming whilst I flow through the crowd of young and old... of skilled and unskilled I always find myself drawn to the flashy lights and the dark flair scenery. Love it. A+. however, again I think that's my own personal bias. Looking at them with a normal lense... they can really be quite distracting and I would venture to say if you have a problem with seizures, please be careful. this place will be a doosy. The top tier of skaters has always fascinated me. It's amazing how nice and friendly they all can be. I have the luck to be considered one of them, although I dont quite feel myself among them. watching them practice on the floor, dance between the crowds or in the center is always quite astounding. If for no other reason than them alone, as a customer you should visit no less than 8 times. that's twice a week for 1 month. Friday and Saturday. parse your times however you so wish, but just seeing the different levels and environments their mere presents is worth at least half the cost.

I gave this place 3 stars. I did this not based on my own decisions alone, but also of the other customers.... skaters... that I have encountered while there. I once encountered a mother who had visited. I havent seen her again. she said to when I questioned why she was leaving so soon after having only been for maybe an hour or so, "I dont know what it is. Something about this place just doesnt feel right. Mostly it is the music, but theres more that I just cant quite pick out." I believe this is the best way to describe this place. There is value in it. There is time energy money and many other things in this place. however, there is something in the back of my head and in the back of many others, there is something that just doesnt quite capture you. Maybe it's my own complacency in my skating ability. Maybe I just need a...

Not too bad. Has been a bit improved since the 90s, not too different. I feel it is slightly over priced. Something like $12-$17 per person depending on the days. I feel like $8 per person (w/skates) is fair. Went one day and the ceiling was leaking due to the rain we've been having. My one other complaint no offense to others and their family but i feel it is unsafe to have small children (toddlers) skating on the floor in baby skates, especially with the "skate at your own risk" disclaimer it's just not acceptable. I messaged the business regarding this and have received absolutely NO feedback regarding this. Safety should be at the utmost importance and i feel it is a huge liability to have toddlers there skating with teens and adults. I would hate to see the excruciating pain or worse to a small child or anyone, from a flying skate, someone getting their fingers ran over, etc. And toddlers are at the most likely to be severely hurt. Aside from all that it is a lot of fun the staff are knowledgeable and nice for the most part and it's a good time as long as everyone follows the rules. I would give 4 stars (maybe 5) for fairer pricing (skates included) and a no toddler admission on the skate floor, and fix the leaks. Also, i almost forgot to mention, it would be nice if they stayed open maybe an hour later, especially for the amount of special interruptions (i.e. jam skates only, speed skating etc). I enjoy them , it's a lot of fun to watch and have joined in on that but out of courtesy i think the novice skaters deserves that time back. Unfortunately they removed the small practice skate floor, but it's...

I am 31 and have been going here since I was 9 and it was still called R Way. With the new rules, I wouldn't have been able to come here as a child. My parents never would have stayed to supervise me. They have fixed the bump in the floor and given the place a makeover but they took out the practice floor. That's where I learned to backward skate and spin. Not sure why they took it out and really wish they hadnt. They replaced it with arcade games. And there is only ever 2 maybe 3 kids playing them at any given time. The kids come here to skate. (They have way better video games at home) They also give some of the children these practice things that are like an old person's walker with wheels. The kid falls and these things go flying out infront of them. Learning to skate is learning balance. No child who uses this is learning how to skate. Its useless and annoying. They also really crowd the rink. Also their may be parents their with their kids but they aren't paying attention to them. The kids are rude, they bump into you and don't apologize and they dont obey the rules. I know thats not skateworlds fault but the amount of kids who arent being raised right who hang out there kind of ruin it. The music is also god awful and not fun to skate too. They do play some of the classic skate songs still but not all of them. Like there are certain songs that may be older but they are played at alot of different skate rinks. I've been coming here for many years and will continue too because it's so close by but I wish they would only let so many people in because sometimes it's far too crowded and boiling...