Hot Wheels Skate Center — Attraction in Woodstock

I decided to go skating for the first time in at least 25 years for my birthday. We went on a Sunday afternoon around 3 pm. Everything appeared to be going smoothly. My daughter took a tumble and the snack bar provided me a bag of ice for free which was nice. I continued to skate. I fell a total of 3 times in a 90 minute span. I guess I wasn’t moving fast enough because I was eventually told by one of the skating referees to move closer to the blue circle for the beginner skaters. I didn’t quite understand the logic behind this because it appeared I was moving a lot faster than some of the people present. Lots of beginners were there. There were two boys who were flying around the rink and dancing quite stylishly. The referee told me that these two boys needed to get through and that’s why I needed to move. When I said there were two of the boys versus a good majority of people who were falling down he dismissed me. I went around a few more times only to be cut off by one of the dancing boys. I could have easily fallen. He came so close that his white jacket or sweatshirt rubbed against me as he skated by. The same boy who I had just been reprimanded to move for. At this point I was just annoyed with this entire situation and it kind of sucked the fun out of it for me. I went to see my family only to find my daughters ankle kept swelling. We eventually left to get X-rays and found that my daughter had a broken ankle. We were only at hot wheels about 90 min. It was easily one of my least favorite birthdays. I didn’t appreciate being reprimanded by someone who dismissed me. I also hate that my kid got hurt. I was offered a refund by a kind worker for my kid and husband since they didn’t skate more than 5 min. Everyone else I spoke with was decent but I probably wouldn’t go back if that kid...

I recently just started skating again after about 30 years off. I'm extremely rusty and older, of course, so I have to be more careful about falls. This is a nice rink but they weren't enforcing the rules, namely the skate mates being confined to the center area. So the main course was absolutely full of them. Kids learning to skate with these large, unwieldy mates that are difficult to dodge (for a basically re-learning from scratch skater). They are also very unpredictable, swerving in all directions, falling and sending the mates flying, etc. Sometimes, there is no time to react to avoid. Also, one very experienced young skater grabbed an abandoned one and was absolutely flying around the rink with it.

I did speak to the clerk about it, and also sent the manager an email on the spot (with videos), and was told it would be handled. The referees directed most of them into the center, but after a few minutes most of them were back out causing chaos again and there was no attempt to return them. So I just left early without bothering to ask for a refund.

The rink is nice and I'd like to go back, but I don't want a serious injury based on your negligence. So my question is, are you reliably enforcing these rules now or should I continue with the other offerings? Thank you for listening.

Edit: Went back today to give them another chance. Same situation. Kids duck walking in the fast lane, more skate mates outside the center than in, and I didn't see a single referee anywhere in the building until I left about two hours later, where I saw one standing behind the counter at the door. I don't mind kids, I skated as a kid. But there needs to be referees and parents ensuring that kids know and follow the rules. I'm done here except for maybe the occasional adult night. Plenty of other rinks to visit that...

We love hot wheels. We go every week just about.

My only critic is that they should 1. Allow people to bring in healthy snack options for their kids… while the snack bar food isn’t the worse I’ve had, there are still many kids and adults with dietary needs they can’t meet… they also shouldn’t have any issue with people bringing their own water. I for one don’t like bottled water or tab. I like water from my own house and filtered how we prefer it… but also paying for water for multiple kids and yourself every visit is just to much money …. Again think of cost for larger families - $2 x 4 people for drinks and food cost plus admission, it makes regular attendance a burden because it just gets to costly… I get the facility wants to make money - but light snacks and water shouldn’t be banned…

And 2. I think it would be really nice if they’d sell memberships, like a gym… paying $14 a visit gets extremely costly … I wish I could bring my kids more often…. But can’t afford it…. why not offer a membership of some sort for those who come on a regular basis. $55-65 for a kid under 18 or something? Additional siblings add $10 to original membership cost. That way larger families aren’t blasted to harshly. In all reality most families probably only have 2 kids so it’s doubtful it ever be abused.

Just a thought… with cost being so high for everyone esp those with large families and food cost… it’s hard to afford much of anything… we would come skate 2-3x a week if we could, but just truly can’t afford it.

Again—- Just a thought. I’m leaving 5 star any way because my kids love going and I understand the value of business and reputation… but truly believe you all should give it some thought.

Other wise love coming here and the people are always very kind to me and...