Chuck E. Cheese — Restaurant in Columbus

They say "Chuck E Cheese live" every hour on the :30. This is a lie. They'll play the countdown and say he is coming out. The kids will get excited. The countdown reaches zero. There is no Chuck E Cheese. It is an education in misery and disappointment, and how to help your child cope with being utterly crushed. Sometimes adults lie, they learn. Sometimes hope and joy turn to ashes in your mouth.

There is no indication of whether or not the mouse will ever appear. 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, pass like inescapable hours of life which can never be returned. Every time, hope lifts, every time, it is dashed.

You cannot ask an employee for help. As a failing business, Chuck E Cheese is unable to keep their counters staffed. See second picture. This is not a rare occurrence. Children bounce around impatiently while parents wait uncertainly. Have the minimum wage jobs been replaced by the once proud and infamous Chuck E Cheese animatronics yet? It is impossible to know for sure. Customer service is not a priority at the Nightmare Mouse Child Casino.

If you want to inspire a nihilistic sense of fatality and hopelessness in your child that will ultimately lead to a career in Philosophy, I would give this place 5/5 stars. As I'm aiming for my child to be happy and for advertising to be honest, I am reduced to giving 1/5 stars.

At the very flipping least, don't start the dang countdown unless the floor sweeper is already in the flipping costume.

Edit: I should make an addition. If you pay for a party there, then you will get personal attention. Just like hiring a prostitute, if you pay $300+ then you will get them to pay attention to you and pretend they care for 2 hours. Just like hiring a prostitute, once the 2 hours is up, they will disappear and you'll never see them again.

We were playing games today and right as we finished we saw that Chuck E Cheese was out. He started going back in just as she noticed him. She runs over to him and gets there right as he goes back into the changing room. He doesn't even notice her and brushes right past her.

Her face falls a thousand feet. She runs to me, sobbing, and ugly cries for fifteen minutes while I'm trying to console her.

Then I see that he's supposedly coming back out in less than an hour. So I comfort her with that, and we spend some tickets, kill some time, and 7 minutes from 3:30 they start up the automated countdown spiel.

She is excited. She's counting down. She's dancing. Other kids are dancing. He doesn't show.

I try to cheer her up again. Time passes, again. I find a mindless teenager, there isn't anyone else to find, and they say maybe 4:30.

Countdown again. Excited again. Let down again.

It was heartbreaking. Even worse was watching how it hurt her a little less each time, because she was a little more jaded, a little less hopeful, each time. Chuck E Cheese built up scar tissue of...

We visit this Chuck E Cheese often. Every hour, there is a big countdown, and at the end of it, Chuck E Is supposed to come out and sing songs with the kids and do a ticket splash. Nine times out of ten when we visit, he does not come out.

As I write this review, we have already asked twice tonight if he is coming out, and we have been waiting for over ten minutes past the time of the timer when he was supposed to come out. We are not impressed! Big let down for our daughter whose main highlight for coming is to see Chuck E.

If you can, go to a different location. Definitely save yourselves and your kids the disappointment of this one.

Update:

When Chuck E Finally did come out, he was the worst we have ever seen. He knocked a container of napkins off the table, and then went and pushed one of his coworkers for fun right in front of our three-year-old daughter. Then, he walked right past our daughter, and started pretending to play on the arcade games and shooting a gun. We went to the manager completely frustrated at the behavior he was exhibiting for our daughter, and the manager responded so nicely! She had another employee put on the Chuck finally did come out, he was the worst we have ever seen. He knocked a container of napkins off the table, and then went and pushed one of his coworkers for fun right in front of our three-year-old daughter. Then, he walked right past our daughter, and started pretending to play on the arcade games and shooting a gun. We went to the manager completely frustrated at the behavior he was exhibiting for our daughter, and the manager responded so nicely! She had another employee put on the Chuck E costume, And he came out and specifically spent time with our daughter. He did a dance with her, he hugged her several times, he took a picture with her, and talk to her about all the fun she was having. They totally turned around, and made it a fun experience that she will...

Kids had a lot of fun. Had not been there since my granddaughter's 4th birthday and she will be 11 in 2 days. Many many fabulous changes. Only suggestion I have would be for the birthday host check to make sure each party is 100% complete prior to leaving shift solely because my sister remembered she that her party of over 12 children did not receive their cotton candy so before giving her only 12 cotton candy (which meant 2 children didn't get a bag) the girl rudely refuse to assist her. She did not have her receipt with her, a couple more workers were still there that knew she had this large party, she showed where the money was taking out of her bank account for the party and the rude girl responded by saying that doesn't not tell her anything. My sister proceeded to the manager who was able to see her receipt and/or booking on the computer (which she had also asked the rude girl to do when she said she couldn't). Not sure if he understood what the problem was until the end...when he asked, "oh you didn't get your cotton candy at all?" So at that point hopefully he was thinking...complete the customer's party we are not going to lose future $155 + over $24 worth of cotton candy. Well I guess that's why he is the manager and not her. Also, instead of letting the kids stand in front of the cotton candy machine like the other groups were doing the rude girl put all 12 bags in a large garbage bag and sent them over. Another lady that attended the party later stated that she just changed her mind about having her son's party there because of what all she witnessed. Unfortunately one bad apple can spoil everything. However, my granddaughter thinks she might have been a little evil because she was tired!!! Other than that I believe the most important thing was superb...all the...