The Ice Rink — Local services in The Woodlands

A Wonderful Family Outing on a Sunday afternoon.

We had an amazing time visiting this ice skating rink for the first year. The staff truly went above and beyond--efficiently helping with skates, thoroughly cleaning them after returns, and even jumping in to snap family photos. It was refreshing to see them so engaged and off their phones.

The rink is very family-friendly, especially for first-time skaters. They actively promote safe skating and kindly enforce a "no figure skating" rule, which makes it less intimidating for beginners. While the rink is smaller than some others, it still offers plenty of fun for families.

Tips: Dress warm! It's quite chilly inside, so be sure to bring a coat--it really feels like winter in there. If you're new to skating, consider renting the $11 skate aids (those triangle helpers). They're worth it for extra stability. Arrive early, as tickets can sell out quickly. Because of the rink's smaller size, fewer skaters make for a better experience.

A special shout-out to the ice rink "refs"! They were incredibly attentive to anyone who fell, quickly skating over to help them up with kindness and a smile. The MC added to the fun atmosphere as well!

Overall, this was a well-organized and enjoyable experience. Definitely a fantastic outing for families and little ones....

I’m not sure when they changed this to 2 hour time windows, but I’m sure they did it for COVID reasons. Anyhow I liked it better before. At 1 hr 45 min they rushed us out and didn’t want anyone taking pictures or anything. I get it, they need to clean between sessions. So here’s what I would suggest they do: (1) better signage so we know where the entrance is. We wasted some time standing at what looked like a main entrance with a huge ice skating sign on top but the entrance was actually around back. (2) move the Christmas tree photo area outside to allow people to take pictures outside of the rink. With a 1:45 hour limit everyone is trying get all the skating in they can (3) speed up the check in process. We prepurchased tickets and it still took way too long to get signed in. Have someone walk through the like with a tablet (ala chick fila) and check in people who are ready to go. With 1:45 to skate you don’t want to wait behind a big group trying to buy and decided on individual tickets. My kids are begging to go back but I wish it was better. I think my 3...

WAY TOO CROWDED.

Profit over safety/enjoyment for sure. On weekdays, a worker actually tells the crowds STANDING on the ice to keep moving. However, this weekend, nope.

A lot of people were standing on the ice talking, taking pictures, talking on cell phones, and even just people watching. There are a lot of spaces off the ice for those things. 🤷‍♀️ A lot of crashes and falls happened because of the people standing around. I am a decent ice skater, but it was way too stressful. We left after 30ish minutes.

I stopped and asked about a possible refund (if not, lesson learned) and asked the manager about the people being allowed to stand around on the ice, making it unsafe. I was told, "They have a right to stand around on the ice, just like you have a right to skate on it."

Sure, but isn't the rink for skating...? 🧐 I just chuckled and said ok and left. IF we ever go back, it won't be on a weekend. When we went on the weekdays, it was a 3 star from me and a 4 star from the kids. The ice needs some love.

The Galleria does a better job of taking care of the ice and...