With my husband home, I left the rest of the mob with him while just my son and I headed off to Chuck E.’s. I was excited to spend some one-on-one time with him and enjoy two hours of fun together. We arrived, greeted the birthday boy (who frankly couldn’t have cared less who was there, he was just basking in the over stimulation like every other kid). The mom of the birthday boy gave us a small, plastic cup filled with little shiny gold tokens, and after wolfing down an overpriced piece of greasy cheese pizza, we were off to the games!
For those of you who’ve never been to Chuck E. Cheese’s, this is how it works--you buy tokens (50 of them for $10--don't worry, they accept credit cards), stick your token into a slot and play a little game of pure chance for about 2 seconds. Then the machine spits out a few tickets, and when you are done, you go redeem the tickets for cheap ‘toys’ at the counter that is manned by goth looking teenagers with black fingernails and eye makeup and creative body piercings.
My son was in heaven, running from game to game, handing me the tickets that he collected to hold for safe keeping. I followed him around, mostly happy watching him enjoy his “big day.” As he was riding a little car that went up and down, I stood there watching ALL these children (and adults actually…) milling about this crowded, dim, smelly building. I watched them dash from game to game, plastic cups in hand filled with clanking tokens. I saw eyes a-lit with high hopes that the next time they shoved their token into the slot that big, neon flashing light would somehow, someway, actually stop on the word JACKPOT and a long, endless stream of tickets would come flowing from the machine. In that moment, I realized where I was. I was in a mini casino. A casino for kids. The home of future gamblers. A place where humans dump all their hard earned cash and wind up with greasy food, sugary drinks, and a few moments of thrill, only to have hopes dashed as their plastic toy that cost 160 tickets breaks before they even get into the parking lot. I realized that Chuck E. Cheese’s is nothing more than a casino for children.
“Where a kid can be a kid!” didn’t totally disappoint, however. My son and I had fun times using our tokens for things like air hockey, skeeball, and riding the little toddler rides. As we walked out into the beautiful sunshine, plastic bracelets and rubber frogs in hand, my son said, “This is the BEST day of my LIFE!” Not a bad outcome after two hours of … gambling.
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4 comments:
Oh my gosh, this is so funny. I can so relate.....its a love-hate relationship with that place. I have to say, the pizza is actually not too bad :)
So neat you were able to turn his 'best day' into a day which you could also enjoy with him! Most moms, me included, would try to avoid such chaos but it sounds like you made it work really well for your son...very fun and cute story.
super funny! I love that they accept all major credit cards too! we haven't yet had the privilege of going there, but I'm sure someday we'll be learning how to "gamble" also!
I have read that they are testing a refillable electronic card that you swipe at the various games/stations, that would replace the tokens.
That would maybe change the "gambling feel" of the place a little, but the kids might not find it as enjoyable.
By the way, the stock is up 22% this year alone, so they must be doing something right.
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