Party Jungle — Local services in Phoenix

This place has gone down hill. I am not sure what happened to the staff from a few years ago but it's night and day difference from the staff in charge now. I had my son's birthday party there today and I was thoroughly disappointed. I will start by saying we have had B-day parties at Bowlereo and Skyzone for the same cost and we had an amazing time and five star treatment on our son's special day. I planned my son's party at party jungle. They didn't make any effort to put the child's name on the door so guest can find us or just to make it neat for my son. There were not any pitchers of water that I requested ahead of time in the emails and at the counter with the party host Kiki. Our party host was to check on us every so minutes. I was informed if we needed drinks, food or anything else that I could open a tab at the cafe but I was told it was better to go through the party host. Our 90 mins in the room, we maybe saw our party host, the most 2 times, 3 the most. The room did not have the pitchers of water, no napkins or paper towels. My mother and I repeatedly had to go to the cafe and front desk to ask for things. Whenever I looked for our party host, I either did not see her or when I did, she was either outside, standing around in the kitchen, mosing down the park with no urgency at at for being short staffed, birthday parties going on and her coworker by himself at the front. At one point when I had to go to the cafe to get drinks for the guests because I couldn't find my party host, as I walked away, I saw Kiki walk to the cafe counter and I heard Big Bear tell her, "don't worry, I got you". What about the paying guests? You should have the paying customer back, not some employee that isn't stepping it up. I think a lot has to do with she is young and probably lack of leadership from managers at PJ. I saw Michael sitting at the cafe for long periods of time. Again, if they are short staffed everyone should be on the A game. Half the games did not work and Monkey Mayhem was out of service. I shared with Big Bear my disappointment in Kiki the party host and he was kind but it doesn't help hearing excuses. I was told that they were short staffed by 4 employees and that one was sick and the others had obligations with school stuff but that is a PARTY JUNGLE problem, not my problem. They should discount the party packages if the park cannot fulfill their obligations. Also, the party includes a souvenir shirt for the birthday child when I did not get and minutes before leaving I had to bring it up. At Bowlero and Skyzone for the same cost you get a designated party host and party area. They go above and beyond greeting you, showing you to the party area, they will have the child's name with the age they are turning. They party area will be prepped with cups, plates, napkins, cutlery, drink dispensers and pitchers of water, lemonade and soda, endless pizza at Bowlero, the party host does check on you every so many minutes, clearing any dishes, ensuring you have a great time, engaging with the people throwing the party to make it personal and not that you just paid to use a space. At Skyzone the party host with service the plates of pizza and cake along with both places will clean up the party space once your time is up. At Skyzone and Bowlero you, your child and guest will get five star treatment. You will leave feeling so go and having the best time. Since the new staff took over, but the place has become really run down with customer service and half the games or rides always being broken down. Party Jungle now gives you run down Carni vibes between the customer services and the facility. Big Bear is nice, the food is always good. He always takes the time to visit, he seems to care about PJ but I get the impression he takes on a lot and could use some support that will help him get PJ up and running to good again. The young lady working the swings and the prize counter were very nice and friendly. We will be back again to play but I will not have a birthday party there again unless...

If I could give this place more stars I would. It is an absolute perfect play place for those of us who have kids in that young age where you’re worried about them being trampled by the big kids on playgrounds and places like uptown jungle.

My daughter is 4 and very active and I love taking her places but it always feels like big kids have to ruin things by breaking them, abusing playground equipment, or are playing an intense game of tag where they fly past your kid and knock them down..

This place is so perfect for the young kids- my daughter was so taken with the miniature carnival rides, she loved it so much.. and there’s no wait to get on then! She probably stayed on the swing ride 10 times in a row..

And this is also in part due to how amazing the workers here are. I’m just used to, and expect, a bunch of teenagers looking on their phones and acting like you’re bothering them if you ask for anything.. that is not here at all. Every single kid working here was so kind to the kids and playful with them, so upbeat and smiling.. they really made the place even more special. The owner is amazing and he was telling me about all the things he’s done to make sure it’s a safe and clean place for the younger kids.

The workers clean the rides constantly and are just so sweet to the kids and play with them while they’re doing the rides, it makes it so special. My daughter did not want to leave.

It’s such a safe, inviting, fun happy place- it’s exactly what you hope to find as a parent of young kids.

Oh and a freaking monthly membership is the same cost as the entry fee..so when you go for the first time, JUST BUY A MEMBERSHIP. And then you can come back another day for free! At no extra cost! It’s a no brainer!

And the tokens last forever.. I bought $20 in tokens, something we would have gone through in 15 minutes at Main Event, I just started throwing tokens into everything I was standing by because in the 4 hours we were there I still had almost half of it left…

This place is affordable and so much bang for buck. I also bought 2 giant ice creams and a bag of goldfish for $7.. it’s so great and I think I will plan on doing our next birthday party there.

To the owner and workers that worked today, 3/23, you guys are amazing thank you for making this place such a magical experience, so glad...

So much room for improvement. First, they do not answer phone calls and their voicemail box is full. So the only option is to send an email but even still they won't answer half of them. I wish I could say nice things but the whole planning experience was awful. They are quick to call you initially to take your non-refundable deposit but then after that as someone else had already mentioned in a previous review "radio silence". If they are not going to respond to all of your emails or questions, then at least build on the FAQ section on the website so customers have all of the information. A friend of ours who was deciding on whether or not to use this venue was so frustrated with their lack of communication ended up driving 25 miles to the location to get their questions answered. Then ended up not throwing a party there. Having being stuck with the deposit, we went through with the party. The actual party turned out great. Our party host was friendly and so were the workers bringing out the food. They were a positive experience. I did however hear during the payment part of the party from Michael, the manager, say to our party host "they better leave a decent tip. They were here for a good amount of time." Not sure if he was referring to our party or someone else's but I felt that that was pretty unprofessional or maybe he even said it loud enough for me to hear so that I would leave a decent tip. This is also the guy who barely responded to my emails. Yes, a manager said this. After reading some similar reviews on Yelp, there seems to be a pattern. Like I said, the host, Jana, was great and the kitchen staff and ride operators were super friendly but the management needs a lot of work and improvement. That seemed to be the consensus shared from some of our party guests who have used them and never returned. Beware, fellow customers. Please take this feedback into consideration if you're considering this venue. You may also have this terrible experience and you shouldn't have to. I went with this venue because they priced below the others, but you get what you pay for. I would have happily paid more somewhere else. Lesson learned.

PS. Blippy should take his video down of this place. They don't deserve this type of exposure until they make some...