Kids and the Arcade -or- It's all my Dad's Fault!

It was all my dad's fault.

I was talking to him on the phone shortly before my son was about to show up with the grandtwins. I was trying to decide where to take them to keep them entertained - not to mention try to feed them. It was then that my father, remembering when my kids were young, suggested Chuck E. Cheese's. I don't know if he was being serious, or even knew if the chain still existed, let alone that there was one just a few minutes from my house, but the more I thought about it, the better the idea sounded. Here was a place that they could run around, play some games, be entertained, and eat pizza ... sounded like a plan to me!

For those of you who don't know Chuck E. Cheese's, it is a chain of arcades that mostly cater to young children (although the one near us seems to be aimed at teens more than the one that we used to take our children to). They also feature animatronic entertainers who perform on a regular schedule, and serve (what passes for) pizza (barely).

 


So that night my wife, son and I took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese's for the first time. They quickly learned that they needed tokens to play the games and ride the rides. And they loved the fact that after they played a game, it gave them tickets! They didn't know what these tickets were for, but they collected them.

They discovered that they could ride rides, such as this Kiddie Coaster, over, and over, and over ... just as long as they had the magical tokens!

And all the new games that they learned to play!











Yep, they discovered Chuck E. Cheese's! So the next time we came to pick them up and asked them where they wanted to go, naturally they wanted to go there. In fact, now as soon as they know they are going to go out with us, they tell us as soon as we arrive where they want to go.

As I said ... it's all my dad's fault!!!