iPlay America

Reviews 3

A

A Private User

A very good start but you need to make some adjustments quickly to sustain yourself. Just went here on the 26th and the purpose of this message is not a detailed review on IPLAYAMERICA, but more a list of suggestions of what can be done to make it better and probably help it to succeed. We enjoyed it, and will go back, but a few things fell short. My children are 3 and 5.5. -The recent GROUPON promotions make it worth the money,and these should be continued assuming the cost structure will allow it. The promotions now are very aggressive, $70 for $160 worth of IPA money and free admission for four and I dont see how that is sustainable. However, the current cost without the promotion is a little too pricey. Pricing will probably need to land somewhere in between this promotional price and the standard pricing. For all the people saying it is too expensive, do you have any idea on how much it costs to run this place? The labor cost alone with >150 employees has to be insane. Then there is insurance, electricity and other utilities, police presence, maintenance costs like the janitorial staff, ride leasing, arcade leasing, ROI on initial investment to rebuild that shopping center, etc, etc. While I dont believe that should justify extraordinarily high prices, the pricing needs to be high enough to cover costs and generate a profit. This type of family entertainment costs money, its not an outdoor park. I am ok with the $5 admission fee, I think its reasonable for now to help to keep out unwanted elements and act as another revenue stream. -Whoever decided to build this place, made a very large bet. In a sense, if you are going to bet big you should have bet a little bigger and you would see it in the returns. I think if you invested in maybe 7 more rides you would see a greater return. The problem is that the current number of rides is not enough for children to cycle through and cycle again, and then they are then quickly forced to the arcade. The arcade is more than sufficient but can get tired quickly for some of the younger children. And this is where some parents will not want to return with their children and spend their hard earned money. The key to making this business sustainable is getting people to return and think it is worthwhile. It cant be a one time visit. While I understand it cannot have nearly the number of rides Pt. Pleasant has, there should be a carousel, one of those small roller coasters, additional rides with small bumper cars, the up and down ride where the children are strapped in, a spinning ride, etc. I understand the lower ceiling prohibits a large ferris wheel or other items, but more rides can be added. Do the research, go to PT pleasant and see which rides are used the most. I noticed that only ~60-70% of the shopping center was used with other areas reserved for catering events, parties, etc. Part of this space should have been used for additional rides, expanded bowling lanes (there arent enough lanes),and maybe a lounge for adults with sports, but not a bar. I would say just a bit more in terms of the rides and attractions would go a long way. I am hoping this place survives but if enough people visit and dont come back because of the limited ride count and pricing, it wont. You already have to get your ROI on everything else so a little more would go a long way. If you are not getting the turnout you expected, please consider my suggestion before it is too late. You must realize that you are foolish if you think you have gotten everything correct on the first go around. It is a great start but with a business model this complex, you need to be open to making adjustments quickly and allocating the funds quickly to do it. -The menu to the City Grill is good, the food is good, but you could probably expand the menu a bit and that would also help. I wish you the best of luck in taking the plunge to build this place and I hope you are open to making some adjustments based on your earnings vs your projections, and have the finances to do it.

SH

Sheri Moleen

I purchased tickets to bring my daughter and 5 of her friends to see Bella Thorne/Shake It Up Party at iPlay aka Encore. I am beyond aggravated at the entire event and will never go to another event at this facility. We arrived at 1:30 (doors open at 2 according to the tickets). We did not get inside until 3! I have a back injury so I couldnt wait to get in to sit and let the kids do their thing. I get in...no seats! I purchased a pretzel and a water for $10 and sat on the floor! The girls continued to ask "when is Bella Thorne coming on?" Finally, she is on the stage. She doesnt seem like she wants to be there. Asks trivia questions about the show she stars in on Disney and in 10 minutes is back off. Not that it mattered because none of the girls could see her with the parents in front of us putting their kids on their shoulders. Again, we waited and waited for Bella Thorne. Well, we didnt stay long enough because the girls were tired and hungry by this time. We were in the event for 1/2 hour and left. Another friend of mine who stayed told me that Bella Thorne came back on again for a few more minutes...didnt perform or do anything worth talking about. I was glad we left! How do you plaster Bella Thornes face all over the tickets and website when she was barely a part of the show? Expect children to wait outside in a line for over an hour because you guys cant get it together to start the show on time? I wasted so much money and time going to this event which dissappointed 5 seven year old girls. Never Again! You should be ashamed of yourselves and Disney should stick to TV Shows and Theme Parks because that was terrible! Everyone else I talked to that went to the event felt the same way. You have a lot of disappointed kids and parents! Even the roped off VIP section (glad I didnt buy those tickets) had no seats. It was on the side of the stage where I noticed parents sitting on the floor holding tired, whining kids (I guess they waited a long time to get in too). I bought my daughter a new outfit to wear to this thing, had her hair and make-up done, etc. all for nothing! When 5 little girls want to go home because they are bored doesnt say to much for your event. I could not believe how bad the whole thing was put together and tell Bella Thorne to stick to the TV where they can edit out the puss on her face. She obviously didnt want to be there! I could go on and on about my disappointment but Im sure anyone reading this got the idea. Save your money! Go to a show where you get what you paid for! To think I was considering this place for my twins communion with 100 family and friends...no way!

A

A Private User

Im back again with my 2nd review.... It seems to me that more than half of these reviewers that are writing negative comments are, either jealous or they work for another competitive places. Such as one reviewer quoting prices from Fun Plex . And I absolutely love the one saying that McDonalds playroom is free. People really want to argue about $5 to get in. You got to be kidding me. I know you are going there with your family and you are paying for you kids to get it but this also serves another purpose or at least I think it does. It keeps out the unwanted element and I think thats worth it in its self. Im not going to promote or bash other places that are similar to Iplay America, I’ve been to all of them and they are nice places too. Iplay in my opinion seems to be a more upscale place to visit. My family and friends had such a great time in the 3 times we visited so far. Ive never had a problem with any staff person working here. I never had a problem with any of the food…,”overpriced” compared to what. All the rides, all the games, all the food prices compares to that of Jenkinsons boardwalk and we love that place. Look I don’t go on rides my wife don’t go on rides but that doesn’t stop us from taking our kids to Great Adventure, at $60 each - $120 just for us to walk around and that doesn’t include what we pay for our kids and what they spend inside the park, food, drinks, t-shirts, tattoos, game and more….no argument here.. Oh yeah I forgot we paid for parking too. We do that 2 times a year so you do the math. Again go there for yourself, form your own opinion because no ones matters but your own. Believe nothing you hear and all that you see. One more comforting thing is the management actually responds back to you whether you leave a negative or positive comment. That’s pretty cool in my books. So voice your opinion in a nice way and maybe that will change some of the things that you don’t like or will make you visit again or come there more often. TO IPLAY- my suggestion is children under the minimum ride height requirement are FREE (ok for $5 for parents). Seniors are FREE. Weekday giveaways, have someone walk around and hand out a $5 or a $10 free play card to a few lucky people not a lot just a few. Let some visitors try out a ride for free if you see them standing around, like the lazer beam room that you have to crawl thru. Things like that…. I’m sold on your place so far, so anything you do will be a bonus. Thank You for responding to all good and bad, and I wish you all good luck..

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