Main Event Entertainment

Reviews 3

KR

Krista Clakley

My family and I usually enjoy going to Main Event for a night of fun and games. So when my son wanted to do a laser tag party there, I was all for it. Mainly, because I dont have to worry about set up, clean up or keeping up with kids. When I first spoke with an event coordinator, he had told me I would only pay for the kids that actually showed up, so I reserved the party for 20 children. I had received the phone call to verify the date, time and number of kiddos attending three days prior to the party, and at the time, I had only received 6 RSVPs. With the experience of years past and receiving the majority of my RSVPs only days before (I even received one the day of the party), I asked a second time to make sure that I would only pay for the children who actually showed up...apparently not. I would be out of pocket for 20 kids, even if only 10 had shown up. I then inquired about bumping the reservation down to 15, and if I could pay additional for any kids over that. They told me I could, but they would not guarantee those kids would be able to join in on the laser tag game. Needless to say, I paid close to 600 bucks for 13 kids. And then there was the lack of clarity of the time of my party, versus the time the laser tag game started. I was told our birthday party time slot was from 2:30-4:30 PM, so in my mind, that is what I needed to write on the invitations. When I get there, I am told the laser tag game starts promptly at 2:30, and kids who were later than 10 minutes would not be able to join in, so one kiddo was left out entirely. I believe they should have made me aware to let parents know they needed to be there at least 5 minutes early to guarantee their child would be able to partake in the game. I ended paying for him to have a play card while the other kids played laser tag, which cost me an extra 30 bucks because that is the minimum amount you can load a play card with. They absolutely refused to wait an additional 5 or 10 minutes to allow the kids extra time who had not shown up yet. Then, I had paid 6 bucks extra for each kid to play a second laser tag game, which was supposed to go from 3:45-4:15. But, I assume they lost their promptness they were so very determined to keep on the first round of laser tag, because the kids didnt even start the game until 4:05, so 3 kids were unable to play due to other activities later on in the day. I will say the party hosts were very nice, regardless of their lack of organization. I highly discourage anyone to host a kids birthday party at Main Event, unless it is just to come and play the games. Or be sure to have the event coordinator you speak with be very, very clear with you on the way they handle the timing of the events you have scheduled. Needless to say, we will never have another birthday party at Main Event. And according to all the parents who were there for our party, will not either.

ER

Erin Spousta

Was not a good experience. The staff was completely disorganized! I had scheduled my sons birthday party (9 year old) for 2:30pm on a Saturday for 10 boys to play laser tag. The staff was decent in the weeks before at going over the details of the party beforehand but the one MAJOR mistake was that they told me and my guest to arrive at 2:30 on the day of the party. Two days before the party I was told to be at the site at 2:15. There was no way to get the word out quickly enough to my guests and be sure they see it. I arrived with my son at 2:15pm and was met by our party coordinator. She asked where the rest of my guest were and I explained the situation that my guest would be arriving at 2:30. She explained that the boys were to be PLAYING laser tag at 2:30 and that there is some prep beforehand that they needed to listen to (safety instructions, etc). This was the first time I was told of this. Long story short, the guests arrived at 2:30. Several of them were taken to the laser tag room and were quickly tossed in. Three guest arrived a few minutes late. The first two I directed them to the laser tag area and a few minutes later the third arrived and I also directed him to go to the laser tag room. A few minutes I later found out they were not allowed to enter to play. I found a manager and explained that I had paid for 10 boys to play and they WILL be going in. It was 2:40 by that point. Two of the boys went in to play. The third had apparently gone to the restroom and missed going in with the two others (I was unaware of this) 20 minutes later the party guests and I arrived to find the one boy in the party room ALONE that he had not played laser tag whatsoever! That boy sat ALONE in that room for over 20 minutes!!! THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE AND UNSAFE!!!! Not once was I informed any of my guests were in the room!!! In fact, I didnt even know what party room we were assigned to until the moment we were taken to it!!!! This is a HUGE oversight by the staff of Main Event. All in all Main Event was disorganized, unprepared, lacked adequate supervision of its minor guests and handled the situation relatively poorly. While I appreciate their efforts to correct their mistakes it was still quite a failure. I will however give 5 stars to our party coordinator for the day. She did all that she could to help make the day fun and do whatever she could to remedy the situation. She was fantastic and I so appreciate her efforts!!! Sadly though, I will never book another birthday party at Main Event nor visit it for any other entertainment purposes after this horrible failure on their part.

JA

Jack McCauley

Theres as much to hate here as there is to like. Every time I start to have a good time, Im suddenly reminded why I swear Ill never come here again and why I have to apologize every time I mention that Im going to be here. The Monday night $10 unlimited use of the facilities is a hell of a deal. The rock climbing area is one of the best in Austin. The laser tag is actually pretty nice and the bowling lanes are more than acceptable. But dont try to get anything to eat here. Not only is the food terrible, the service is even worse. Ive often wondered if my drinks or my food will arrive first and even guessed wrong a few times. The eating areas are often disgustingly dirty as well -- Ive watched a table with an overturned drink sit there for hours. Forget about the video games too. Id say 85% of them are broken or non-functional in some way. Even the ones that are playable often show extreme wear and poor or nonexistant repair. Theres maybe one or two games really worth playing, and theyre all quarter eaters. Do not even bother with the motion simulation ride. You wont realize until youre strapped in and its too late that the CRT inside has lived a hard life and only gives you an idea of what you should be seeing. The putt-putt area is similarly in poor repair. Many of the holes are uninspired but since the obstacles arent secured, you can mix and match and create your own course. I guess thats a plus, but youll still long for a properly designed course and one that hasnt been ruined by unsupervised juvenile delinquents. Oh yeah, dont pay too much attention to the crowd, or go on the aforementioned Monday night, because theres no telling what youll get. Might be meth head rednecks, might be teenage hoodlums with no curfew, or it might be people like you ... wondering why youre here on a Monday night. Drink more. Play some laser tag. Throw a ball at some pins. Go climb some walls. ... oh wait, you cant do that if youve been drinking. You know what, just dont tell anyone, its not like the staff is really all that aware or concerned with anything else in the place.

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