• Location: 1) Pinole: 1470 Fitzgerald Dr Pinole, CA 94564, 2) Concord: 1611 Willow Pass Road Concord, CA 94520, 3) Hayward: 24039 Hesperian Blvd.  Hayward, CA 94545

• Phone: 1) 510-243-1111, 2)925-689-2808, 3)510-265-0590

• Website: www.chuckecheese.com

• Pricing: $$

• Hours: Sun-Thur 11am-9pm, Fri 11am-10pm, Sat 10am-10pm

 

Description: Ok, so you are probably thinking why am I posting about Chuck E Cheese, after all the great learning and outdoor places I post- it doesn't seem like my style. Well it's not! In fact I don't like going to Chuck E Cheese! But it's not about me- it's about the kids and every once in awhile it doesn't hurt to indulge in this kind of fun for them! Kids love running around with other kids, playing games, and winning prizes! Yes the prizes are cheap, and you spend way more trying to win them than to just buy them but hey kids love winning! If you let yourself go for a minute and let your inner child play- you'll have fun too! It's fun seeing my daughter get excited when she wins a lot of tickets. There are some games you can play with your children like Alien and Jurrasic Park shooting games. Or you can play against them, I like to take any challenger (child or husband) on in a game of basketball hoops! My daughter and husband like to play skee-ball together.  There are some small rides for younger kids that they enjoy and photo booths too. After she uses up all her tokens, there are tubes and tunnels for them to climb and meet new friends in (although how sanitary they are, I'd rather not ponder). There are food options there- all pretty unhealthy, but available- best bet is the salad bar. You can also host birthday parties there that are easy on the parents and fun for children.

 

Highlights: It is inside, so a good place to let your children have fun and get out of the house on a rainy day! Basketball is my highlight- I just love those machines with the small hoops!

 

Tips: We always go the day after Thanksgiving. While everyone is doing their Black Friday shopping. The one in Pinole gets pretty quiet then and it is clean for once with less people in there. It is sort of the only day of the year I can stand going in!