Chuck E. Cheese — Restaurant in Toronto

I had my twin boys 10th birthday party a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, at the Victoria Park and Sheppard location. Firstly and most importantly all the children had lots of fun! I purchased the ultimate package that included unlimited game play for a full 2 hours, starting when the game card/bracelet is swiped on the first game played. This package and the one below this, both have the 2 hour unlimited play, which is very key, anything less would have lead to frustrated and dissapointed children(seeing as how the games are the only entertainment here). The ultimate package also included a parent pizza and loot bags which was nice and convenient.

The Sunday afternoon that we were there, it was busy, but not too busy. There was 5 party tables and 5 party servers. I found it rather confusing as to who our server was...it seemed to keep changing for various reasons, yet sopposedly each party has a dedicated/specific server. I went in person and spoke over the phone during quite times in the work week with all my questions. Those interactions was very pleasant and helpful. I was told that Chuck E Cheese is fully self serve when coming in privately, but coming in for a party was full service. I asked for exactly what that meant and was told that each server would bring out the pizzas and serve each child two slices of pizza, as well as pour thier first cup of juice/pop/water. I even clarified what that it would be this way censuses placing the pizza and drinks on the table for us to serve. I was told again that they will do the actual serving. Unfortunately, this did not happen, which was disappointing, as that is not what I was told. I would have understood if I was told prior when I asked, that the pizza and drinks only come out to the table for us to serve. I also would have understood if the servers were taking thier work seriously and just got swamped. That did not apear to be the case. I spent so much time running around trying to get our/any servers attention for service, issue resolution and questions.

I had two last minute children cancel the morning of the party . Chuck E. Cheese considers any reduction in children less than 24 hours of a scheduled party a "no show". They allow up to 2 "no shows" per party and should be declared at the start of the party. So that is what I did, to be fair and honest. Big mistake, as they removed 4 setting and playcards, instead of 2! This was hard to notice at first and was only discovered when I was short 2 playcards. When I did get a servers attention, I was told that I must have given a child or more must have 2 cards. This seemed possible, so I went around checking with th all of the kids/thier parents....of course everyone only had one playcard. Then my sister asked me why they removed four place settings. So I seeked out our server to say that the kids only have one card and why four place settings were removed, when only two needed to be. It took a lot to get them to correct this and get two playcards for the last two children who came on time, yet had been waiting due to this mix up. If I had yo do this all over again, I never would have let them know that I had two "no shows" until the end.

The last thing that made me uncomfortable was when it was time to pay the bill. The server had me access my email to retrieve a review request that was sent and that I had planned to complete once at home after the party. She insisted I complete it right then and there while she stood inside of my personal space and looked at what I was rating/writing. Of course I gave a ^high rating" and no comment, due to her watching eyes. They also got into my personal space and kept thier eyes on the mobile debit /credit machine while I was paying. Due to the high amount, I could not use the "tap" feature and had to enter my password. One would think that the servers would have glanced away and give personal space with that, however that was not the case. I had to gently take the machine from them and cover it up.

Over all more staff training...

So I'll explain why I had to give it a one star.. my whole party 15 kids and 25 adults minus I think 5 or 6 adults and children didn't get sick .. I don't know if it was the food but I'm assuming so because only the people who didn't eat much didn't get sick. So for 815 dollars (not including tip) we had 2 hours. The cards for play are timed.. so the minute u tap them the time starts. The kids played (not all games were in working order ) our server was good she was nice and helpful but she made me fill out the feedback in front of her to make sure she got a 10. Then offered 200 tickets for doing so... It's the mist expensive 2 hour party I've ever been to. I feel that if they are going to stop for pizza and cake and birthday show do it BEFORE the kids tap their play cards otherwise half their play cards are wasted and that's the whole point of being there basically so they can play. Each kid is 41.99 for ultimate play. Then they charge 29 to 34 for pizza for adults and try to get u to purchase trays of food...which is fine but for one tray is 45 dollars and feeds 4 to 6 people if u have a BIG party then your looking at 5 to 6 trays. They don't offer drinks for the adults with the pizzas it's like 3.99 a drink... which is ridiculous because if they offered a deal then more people would purchase ... just like the cotton candy she was going to give me 3 free then discount the rest.. for 41.99 per child u would think they would give each child one free ... So I'm very disappointed the way everything was so rushed and that the kids lost at least 45 min for pizza cake and birthday show She was rushing so fast cause time was nearing that she was cutting the cake and just throwing on the plates upside down. All in all i don't think I would ever do another large party there I would go somewhere else more worth the money. My daughter turned 4 she was very overwhelmed with all the people there but she had a good day and that's all that matters. If they fixed these issues and made it more value for the money then I would recommend it ... save ur money and take them to a play park or indoor place where u can bring ur own food and the kids can play for the...

We celebrated my daughter's 4th birthday this past Saturday and we had a great time. This was the day when there was a severe thunderstorm warning and sure enough, there was a power outage in the Chuck E Cheese. I think that despite of what happened and despite of the opinion of the other guests involved in this particular situation, I think it was managed accordingly. Nobody asks for these types of situation and the staff made a difference. When the power came back on, the staff constantly reassured us that the kitchen was working hard in making the food. Great job Chuck E Cheese in making up for what happened even though it was out of your control:

1. We got an extra 30 min of play time for the games since the power was out during the time our card was active. 2)Pizzas and fries all came out hot and very tasty (I'm not sure if all locations are like this, but this one had some awesome tasting pizzas).
2. Staff was organized during our daughter's party ensuring the kids got their designated pizzas and loot bags. 4)Staff was organized in gathering all guests (since there were other kids celebrating their birthdays) to ensure that the kids were present during the happy birthday song with Chuck E Cheese mascot.
3. Washrooms were clean and well equipped.
4. Manager was pleasant and you can tell his staff were happy working there (makes a huge difference when you're dealing with children).
5. ALL games were actually working and clean!!!
6. Overall, the staff were energetic despite of the thunderstorm and power outage mishap. You can tell they were all working together and really hard. THANK YOU! I can only imagine how stressful it can get.

I would recommend this location again because of the condition of the place...