Thunderbird Roller Rink — Local services in Plano

It's going to be very hard to write this review without heavy use of swear words. Because, this place deserves every swear word in the book. Worst. Birthday. Experience. Ever. I literally left in tears and had no chance the entire time to actually enjoy my kid's birthday experience. That has NEVER happened to me with all the places I've ever hired for my kid's birthdays.

First off, the stench of this place hits you in the face as soon as you walk in. I have been once before, but I didn't remember it smelling so awful. I'm surprised they're allowed to make food in a place as filthy as this place. The carpets look like they have NEVER been vacuumed in the however-many-years it's been open.

I signed in with the very unpleasant old guy up front who seems like he barely knows what's going on, and he gives me tickets, and then tells me to go 'sign in' with the party lady who will give me a 'room time'. Huh? I thought my time was at noon? Oh, no, silly me.. unlike every other place I've ever booked, they give you a random THIRTY MINUTES (even for 25+ kids) at a RANDOM TIME. So, they told me my room time was at 1 PM from our 12-2 party time. How. Freaking. Absurd. So, I had to monitor the tickets and hope to find people as they came in, and try and guard all the gifts being brought, and bags and purses. I didn't get to skate with my kid, I barely even got to SEE her the entire time she skated.

So, the party host was one of the most useless human beings I have ever encountered. She laid out the tables.. she very slowly brought food and drinks in an awkward order, once we were all in our room. To their credit (??) I did have a little extra time to put the few decorations I had out in the room - on a table, with the donut cake I made.

By the way, the rooms have HIDEOUS, trashy, neon decor that's apparently up there all the time. Their website doesn't show this. Their website has ZERO party pictures at all, I think to purposely hide how horrible these rooms are.

The pizzas we got were cold. The drinks came in random order, the kids were half done eating before most of the drinks came in. Then, of course, because 30 minutes is such a short period of time, they're up your butt to try and get you out. THIRTY MINUTES FOR 25+ KIDS? WHO CAME UP WITH THIS?

They put my kid in the money booth without me even being in there, because I was rushing back and forth trying to clean out the room. I happened to catch her as she was almost done, coming back in.

I have never, ever, ever had such a ridiculously horrible experience. The staff is horrible, the location is horrible, the food is bad, the rules and set up is a nightmare, the DJ continuously sets up these few stupid games over and over again. I hate everything about this place and everyone in it.

Somebody PLEASE come build a nice, new roller rink and put this garbage place out...

Of course I'm gonna 5 star this place! If you love to skate, looking for a fun day (for a good price), or a super duper fun birthday party then this is the place to go to! Actually I'm a party host here at thunderbird and have been working here for about 2 years in December! I love the kids and enjoy working with the parents! I see some reviews say things about the building's smell, and the look, but you have to remember this is a very old building! It's one of the oldest rinks around! I believe they opened sometime in the 1970's! We're doing our best to get some renovations done! And for a secret spiller some new renovations will take place around the beginning of 2016! The new management had been trying their best to up this rink's name! I'm so excited for the new things to come, they will really make the rink look nice. If your looking for a party here, we have wonderful party hosts that will do everything in their power to make sure your kids have the time of their lives! We try our best to adapt to the situations given to us and we hope you be flexible as well! Sometimes parents get upset that they only have about 30 minutes in the party room, but it gives you enough time to eat pizza, sing happy birthday, then eat cake! (Not open presents) and most of the time after eating pizza the kids are begging to go out and skate! It's a hassle to even keep them to stay and eat cake! Anyways, Then they will skate until called to the money machine! Where they are given about 30 seconds to catch as much money as they can! No matter what other parents say... Kids always have a wonderful time, it's the parents that get overwhelmed with everything to be perfect but I just recommend that they relax and enjoy their kid's party! I've never had a kid complain about their party! Nothing against the parents! I Promise! But it is in the parents nature to make sure their kids are happy so I will give them that. But anyways! We try our best to give them the time of their lives! We hope you come and spend your days at thunderbird...

Needs new management or to be shut down.

Visited recently with my kids and was shocked at how far this place has declined. One of the staff members, Renne, smelled strongly of weed and seemed completely out of it the entire time. Another employee, Sonya, was handling announcements and customer service. She had an incredibly rude tone and seemed annoyed every time she spoke. Definitely not someone who should be on the mic or representing the business.

The pricing is all over the place and makes no sense. Five dollars for a “large” fountain drink that’s maybe 20 oz without ice. Another five dollars to rent a walker for a child learning to skate. No lids, no straws, no spoons at the snack bar. And the prices seem to go up every time we visit.

The ATM was out of order, and the only way to get cash was to give Sonya your card and pay twenty dollars directly to her. That setup makes no sense and feels completely unprofessional.

The condition of the building is awful. The walls surrounding the rink floor are cracked and falling apart. Some spots are sharp and honestly look dangerous. The carpet is stained and dirty, and the parking lot is full of potholes and broken pavement.

They have a DJ, but you’d never know it. The sound system is terrible with staticky, blown-out speakers, and they play the same overplayed Top 40 radio songs you’d hear in a grocery store. It feels lazy and disconnected from the crowd, which is likely a management issue.

The skating floor itself is slick and clearly hasn’t been properly maintained or waxed in years. Kids were constantly running across the rink and no staff, including Sonya, did anything to stop them. It felt unsafe the whole time.

Compared to rinks like Interskate, this place doesn’t come close. Poor management, poor maintenance, poor energy. Something needs to change. Either bring in new leadership or...