Yes, the classic Chuck E Cheese that was the hottest birthday location when you were a kid is still around! In fact, they’ve made some great changes that I dare say makes them even better now, IF you can get past the adult-oriented shopping center the one in Raleigh is located in. Although, if you’re looking to take your kid to buy a hookah, get a tattoo, and buy a grill (the gold teeth kind, not the BBQ kind 🦷) then this might be the perfect one-stop-shop outing for your family! 😬

Security Check-in Procedures

I’ll never understand how those specific shops were able to open next to a kids fun palace, but once you get inside it’s the old Chuck E Cheese you know and love! You’re actually greeted by a security desk where all members of your group must get their hand stamped with the same number. Upon exiting, this number will be checked so you can be sure that your kid will only be going home with the people they arrived with. It’s a great second layer of security since it’s easy to lose track of your kid running around playing all the arcade games. I’ve heard some people complain that there isn’t always someone manning that security desk, but I haven’t had that experience the many times we’ve been there. We’ve always been checked upon exiting.

The Menu

Sometimes we just come to play games and don’t even eat at the restaurant, so you don’t have to actually eat there. But if you do, the menu consists of pizza, wings, sandwiches, dessert, and a salad bar. I’ve only ever gotten the pizza and it was pretty good but a little on the expensive side. They have quite a few dessert options like cotton candy and Dippin’ Dots, and you can also order a birthday cake if you’re having a party. They serve beer and wine for the adults, so it’s a pretty extensive menu.

Unlimited All-you-can-play Games

When purchasing arcade play time, you now have an unlimited option so your kids can play all they want for a set amount of time! I LOVE this because it’s so much cheaper and you don’t have to worry about how many games you are playing. You also win more tickets because you can play all the high-ticketing games without spending so much money per play.

The games are your typical arcade style games, but they also have those little rides you used to see outside of grocery stores, which is perfect for the little ones. My kids especially love the life-size giraffe and the small carousel! My 1.5 year old pretty much rode the carousel ride the whole time we were there. We just kept swiping him back in once it stopped and we were able to play games while he rode (don’t worry, Nana was watching him)!

For the older crowd, they also have the coin games you sometimes see in gas stations. You swipe your card and it dispenses a coin for you to use in the game. Once again, it’s fun because you can just keep playing it over and over until you get a good ticket payout!

The Chuck E Cheese Show

You may remember the old animatronic Chuck E Cheese show that plays on the stage periodically. This still happens, but it definitely isn’t a main attraction like it used to be! With the technology we have today I think it just isn’t as impressive to today’s kids. The stage is setup over by the Birthday party tables so maybe if you were attending a party it would be more of a focus, but my kids just played the games and didn’t even notice when the show started. I feel like most of the time it wasn’t even playing, but according to the website it plays every half hour. I did notice that the videos and songs seemed to be straight out of the 80’s, so I’m not sure if old Chuck has been updated since we were kids.

The Ticket Counting Machine

As you are playing all of your unlimited games, you are collecting the old-school paper carnival tickets and have to keep track of them. The last time we were there we were given a paper bag for storing our tickets. It helped it a lot, but it’s still something else for mom to keep up with!

Once you’re done playing the arcade games, you can go over to the ticket counter and feed all of those tickets in the machine to be counted. This is a little time consuming and annoying for my impatient mom brain, but the kids love it. It’s like another game to be played. The ticket machine makes a chomping sound like it’s eating your tickets, so my 3 year old was scared it was going to bite her finger. 😂

When you’ve counted all of your tickets the machine spits out a receipt for you to take to the prize counter. This is where I really get impatient since it takes FOREVER for my kids to pick out their prize. I guess that’s the joy of being a kid though! One new change for prizes is that if you don’t have enough tickets for a specific item, there is a price listed so you can pay the difference if it’s something your kid really wants. Isn’t that just so thoughtful of them… 🙄

Birthday Parties

I haven’t attended a birthday party here but every time we’ve been there’s been a party setup, so I know it’s still a popular place! It looks like the birthday kid gets a chance to go inside the wind tunnel and catch tickets. I’ve also seen some collectible Chuck E Cheese cups sitting at tables for party favors. From what I’ve seen It looks like they provide goody bags and balloons as part of the party, and of course you can purchase pizza and ice cream as well. Looking at the website it seems like it’s super simple to book your party online, but I’d say it’s on the expensive side of party venues in the triangle.

Overall, it’s a great family outing different from the traditional dinner out, but this location leaves a little more to be desired. Perhaps if it was in a different shopping center or underwent some building updates it would get a higher rating in my book. I also think some of the staff could be a bit more enthusiastic and engaged, but sitting around waiting on kids to decide on prizes for 8 hours a day would probably kill my spirit too.

Definitely make a trip out to see for yourself if you haven’t already! This place makes our list of restaurants with indoor play spaces, but if you’re looking for something a little different check out our list here!