Chuck E. Cheese

Chuck E. Cheese

Reviews Summary

The reviews show a mixed experience, with many praising the fun atmosphere and staff friendliness, especially for kids' parties, while others criticize poor service, disorganization, and cleanliness issues. Food quality is inconsistent, with some finding it decent and others disappointed. Many highlight understaffing as a recurring problem, leading to delays and mistakes. The play area and games are generally enjoyed by children, though some note broken equipment or high prices. Negative experiences often involve billing errors, unfulfilled orders, or strict policies causing frustration. Overall, it’s a hit-or-miss destination for family outings.

About This Listing

Has Arcade Cabinets
Has Food
Good for kids
Has Prizes
Wheelchair Accessible

Who Can Play?

Most arcades welcome all ages (some may have age restrictions for certain games)
Minors may need parent/guardian supervision (policies vary by location)
No gaming experience required - games range from beginner to expert level
Comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes recommended for safety
Valid ID may be required for certain attractions or age verification
Groups and parties welcome (advance booking may be required)

*Note: Age restrictions and policies may vary by arcade. Check with your local facility for specifics.*

First-Time Visitors

First-time visitors may need to sign a waiver or register for a game card. Staff are typically available to help explain games and provide tutorials. Some arcades offer newcomer specials or free play sessions to help you get started.

Common Restrictions:

Age-Based Some games may have height or age requirements for safety reasons
Capacity Popular games may have wait times during peak hours

*Note: Policies vary by arcade. Confirm with your local facility.*

What to Bring

Cash or card for tokens/credits (some arcades are cashless)
Valid ID for age verification or membership signup
Phone to capture high scores and memories (check photo policies)

*Note: Payment methods and requirements may differ by arcade.*

Preparing for Your Visit

Check arcade hours and peak times online before visiting
Eat beforehand or check if the arcade has food options
Bring friends for multiplayer games and competitions
Wear comfortable clothes you can move freely in
Avoid bringing valuable items that could be lost or damaged
Check for special events, tournaments, or discount days
Set a budget for games and stick to it
Stay hydrated, especially during long gaming sessions

*Note: Tips may vary by arcade type and location.*

How to Get Started

Most arcades accept walk-ins, but call ahead during busy periods or for large groups. Check for membership deals!

Other Helpful Info

Most visits last 1-3 hours depending on games and group size
Popular games may have longer wait times during weekends and evenings
Many arcades offer unlimited play packages or time-based pricing
Some locations host tournaments and special events regularly
Prize redemption available at many arcades - save your tickets!

*Note: Policies, pricing, and features differ by arcade. Contact your local facility for details.*

How Arcade Prize Games Work

Dive into the excitement of arcade prize games! Expect claw machines, skee-ball, whack-a-mole, or basketball challenges where you test your skills or luck to win tickets or prizes directly. Claw games require precise joystick control to grab toys, while redemption games reward accuracy with tickets to trade for plushies, gadgets, or trinkets at prize counters. Modern setups boast colorful displays and smooth mechanics, blending nostalgia with fresh fun. The thrill of winning and the vibrant arcade vibe make prize games a captivating draw in 2025.

Features

Has Arcade Cabinets
Has Food
Good for kids
Has Prizes
Wheelchair Accessible

Contact Information

Address

1701 E Empire St

Bloomington, Illinois 61704

Hours

Monday 11AM-8PM
Tuesday 11AM-8PM
Wednesday 11AM-8PM
Thursday 11AM-8PM
Friday 11AM-9PM
Saturday 10AM-9PM
Sunday 11AM-8PM

Customer Reviews

This place is great for kids, daughter loves it so much we purchased the fun pass. Most of the games are properly working they have a new trampoline area. It's clean, staff are ok food was not. My wife bit into the first slice of pizza only to find a piece of plastic in it. I approached the manager and made her aware, she seemed very shocked and didn't really know what to do (young female, seemed nervous) but she ended up refunding our pizza and making a new one. Even if this happened we will still be sup

Clean, everything was working, really nice and helpful staff for our first time. I like that you can buy unlimited play for a certain amount of time. Pizza was actually not bad and came out hot. It wasn't busy on a weekday midmorning/early afternoon. I like that they check every kid with an adult when you come in, that made me feel more comfortable. We'll definitely be back! I think most kids only need 1.5 hours or so. 2 hours was just a little long for my 5 year old.

I had not been in a Chuck E Cheese for probably 20 years, but my niece wanted to go. The staff was super friendly and helpful; the place was super clean - even the restrooms. I saw a staff member sweeping up constantly. The games were in great shape and I was very surprised at the upgrade in their pizza. When it was time to leave with our 4 kids ranging from 3 to 11 years old, every one had a great time and the staff member behind the counter for turning in our tickets for prizes was so patient and help

Went to chuckie cheese for little kid birthday. Place was very clean. Food was alright, we had pizza and breadsticks. The games were fun. And 30 for an hour of play seemed reasonable. I hit 5 jackpots so over 1100 tickets donated by me to the kids-they were happy! Now, the prize shelf is another story, you can pay cash for prizes if you don't have enough tickets, but they are outrageous, a $5 item is $40. Great family friendly night out overall!

My friend got us the play pass a bit ago. We've been to three locations and this one is probably my favorite. We usually end up here on weekends when we meet my friend. Staff is always nice and helpful. My son is 1.5 and loves the trampoline. We appreciate staff standing inside with him. It's a good time! As for food. It's ok. It's never been the best. We usually get pizza. We recently tried salad bar (probably my favorite) and wings.

My last visit was in Kansas City 15 years ago. What a Surprise to go to one in Bloomington, IL. It was exciting, my Grandson n Great niece n nephew had a blast. Oh can't 4get the chocolate chip cookie/pie. YUMMY ??

My nephew turned 2 today we drove 1 hour for a booked birthday party here. Turned out to be the worst service ever. 0/10 I do not recommend. The manager was so upset we where Late as if we didn't call to make them aware. They rushed us to play then bring us cold pizza out and when we didn't accept it they called the police stating we refuse to pay

They seem to have stepped up their food from the last time we were there. Atmosphere was very typical for the place, and staff was a little less attentive than usual. All in all, the kids had a great time, and that's what matters.

At Chuck E. Cheese, you can choose to play by time or points. We opted for 45 minutes of playtime, which cost about $50 for two adults. We traveled about an hour to get there, and it wasn't quite how I remembered it from childhood?it seemed much bigger back then, but that might just be the perspective of being smaller! Despite this, it was an enjoyable experience. I played almost every game during our time there. You simply scan your card to play any game, making it easy to hop from one to another. I didn't

Tried to schedule my son's birthday and the website was down.. try to schedule it today and Got told we couldn't cause it's same day.. we're paying customers and his birthday only comes once a year and their policy prohibits from scheduling a birthday not on the birthday... So boo you Chuck e cheese .. it's his special day and he deserves the party package.

We've went twice since moving here and both times the order was wrong. The people are friendly they seem very under staffed. Also stamping people for security is pointless if there are no employees to monitor the doors. There was literally two people there that were employees. One poor girl was running all over the place. And i doubt she is being paid for the 15 positions she's filling. Dinner time on a Friday night during school vacation is not the time to have a skeleton crew on shift. Most of the machin

People are rude an disrespectful not workers but clientele. I have been trying to call an cancel my 2 month membership but of course no one to talk to on the phone all voice animations.no personal contact

Chuck e cheese, the mascot. I had a really, really bad foul older. Very disappointing.My grandkids could not interact with the mascot because of the hygiene older.That was coming from him very unpleasant , very unpleasant

Not The Chuck E. Cheese I Remember, I've seen Truck Stops with more games. Purchased 45 mins of game time along with food. We came at opening, Said pizza will take 35mins. 45mins later we are out of game time and still no pizza. Definitely not worth the $$$

Definitely cute place to host birthday parties for little ones. Some of the games and the trampoline part were shut down, but that didn't upset my 4 year old. She found so much to do.

I take my kids to this location every year because it's less busy during spring break times. They literally have the building to themselves.

Such a fun place for the family. This was a great play date concept and a wonderful place to plan a birthday party for little ones!

Very helpful at the checkout upon arrival. Very few staff, took a long time for food to be done. Had to retrieve food from counter and no person was there, so had to shout hello back into kitchen to get someone to ask for parmesan cheese. Games are much shorter play time than I ever remember, like each game is ONE try or less than 30 seconds long of play except for Ski ball and air hockey it seemed. It was clean here and not crowded which was nice. However trampoline area was closed, which was very disappoi

Sorry kids, Santa didn't come this year. That's how kids felt here when Chuck was MIA for his live parade. Normally you don't want to see a mouse walk out of the kitchen, but he was late twice and absent once, with no explanation. About 1/3 of the games had problems at any given time, from just not working to running out of tickets or shorting the number. This was a complaint from other reviews as well, they need to fix this. The soda fountain and ticket minchOn the good side: it was clean, the pizza was OU

Paid for a dedicated host for a birthday party if had to keep going to the desk to ask for her. Had to keep asking for the stuff for the party it was all very annoying never again.

Grandma ( my girlfriends) grandbaby 6th birthday , helped us we forgot plates & forks w/ cake !

My grandson turned 2 years old the pizza's were personal instead of pan size look like garbage and his name was spelled wrong the bathrooms nasty they called the police on my son because he refused to pay for the garbage service that they refused to correct

Lots of memories from when I brought my kids to Chuck E. Cheese, now bringing the grandkids. Plenty to do for kids, with many arcade games and the place specializes in birthday parties for kids of all ages. Conveniently located just off Veterans Parkway, with plenty of parking.

I live in Champaign,IL which is almost a hour away from this location. The drive was well worth it my kids had sooooo much fun . We will definitely return.

Clean, friendly staff. Perfect outing for 5 year old birthday party

Aside from needing to update games, we always have a good time when we go. We are gold members and it's like they remember us every week!

This location was great. Our food was hot tasted good, and our host went over the top to make sure we were getting everything we needed. We had a birthday reservation if you're planning on having your child?s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese this is a great location for it!

Took my son, niece, and nephew for my sons 3rd birthday. They had a blast... good for around this age group..

Very interactive for the kids! The children and adults all enjoyed themselves. Nice atmosphere. Great place!

The staff were friendly and very prompt. The kids had so much fun!

Our 4-year-old had his first trip to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday and had an absolute blast! I worked at the Springfield location (nearly 20 years ago), but it has unfortunately gone downhill. We loved the Bloomington location!

My grandkids love it. The staff always go out of there way to fix a problem. The food is also very good.

We took our daughter the other day to play games for her bday. Staff was very helpful and friendly.

Not a bad place. The food is always Meh during any Chuck-e-Cheese experience. I have seen Chuck-e-Cheese facilities with bigger play places, but regardless the kids had fun. I did like that this one had the big screen kids could jump on amd play games.

My daughter always loves going here. They have fun events throughout the year and she always enjoys the prizes.

It was clean but it is so loud (like headache/migraine loud and it scared the toddler). The pizza was really good, it took a while to make but the sign said 'fresh' so expect it to take about thirty minutes. They now have cards instead of tokens, I'd recommend the unlimited plays for the hour if you're looking for the most bang for your buck :) staff were friendly and helpful, kids had fun!

Much cleaner than I remember Chuck e cheese being when I was younger. Well lit. Plenty of staff. Went on a weekend, and it wasn't too crowded. The only down side was that the door monitor did not check the children's stamps. As long as you are keeping an eye on your kids it is fine. It is loud and has strobing lights for those with issues with that.

I took my son last Friday evening. It wasn't bad because there weren't many people there so he got to play the games he wanted. Most of the games had issues giving tickets out but the game tech. guy was really awesome about giving the tickets that were won. The count down started regarding Chucky's appearance. He never came out. My son was bummed since he wanted to actually get to see him. We don't eat there we only play the games. The staff was friendly and helpful. There was a little girl probably about 3

It was a decent time for the kids other than the people working the door. They improperly enforced masks, they had none available, hardly anyone after the entrance was wearing them so this was foolish, and made the kids question it as if we were punishing them. The pizza was actually decent but super expensive.

Good entertainment for kids with good food and service

Can't belive were here and there are only a group of "kids" running this place. NO ONE working here 21 years or over. Very unsafe I hope there's not a problem like a medical emergency or fight, that happens way too often these day. There should 100 % be an "Adult" here with dozen of kids, teens, and adult customers!!!! We found this out when we tried to order a beer and we were told they cant serve since there all under age. We don't plan on ever coming back !!!

Was a surprise for my 5 year old... he loved it!!

My son's birthday party was so great here! I was impressed with how accommodating they were! They made everything so easy for me m. Even doubly assuring that I didnt clean the table. THEY insisted on cleaning after us. And our host, Issac was neverous (said it was his first time hosting party ) but confident. We all has a blast!

Staff extremely patient. Every time we go there's at least one "game" or "machine" that doesn't work, including the ticket counting machine. Food quality has vastly improved since I was a kid. I like the systems they have in place so children cannot leave without a parent. Restrooms were clean.

Clean and prompt service. Very good experience

Kids had a great time here. Some games didn't work but still plenty to do. Food was good. Place pretty clean. Staff friendly. Will return in future

Pretty big rip off from a financial standpoint. Many of the games are literally one click or hit. The children's museum or the trampoline park would be better suited as a family trip. Looks like a popular spot for bdays I guess. It was clean at least.

Chuck e cheese will always be a classic place to have fun and run around with your friends playing all sorts of games. Though it is quite unfortunate they took out the animatronics and some fan favorite games, it still stands as one of (in my personal opinion) the best entertainment places. Oh yeah and the pizza is good too you should definitely check it out.

We haven't been in about 2 years; so it was much needed! My little ones and I had a blast! CEC is the best especially with all of the new games they. It'll always be our place to go for family entertainments.

Most of the people were nice who worked there. Allot of the games were faulty. The salad bar was decent, just check the tomato?s before bitting into them. I will go back to see if things improved. Overall the kids had a good time.

We usually have a blast but our visit today (12/27/18) I feel a bit ripped off. We bought some unlimited cards 1 for 1 hr and 1 for 2 hrs...well we lost about 15-20 min bc my sons favorite game kept running out of tokens in the hopper so we had to wait 4 different times in an hr to have an employee come fill it back up...it was out 5x but we were able to pause the card once...but only once On the 2 hr card we paused it to eat lunch and it said the card was paused but when we came back to play it said we onl

Back in June we had a party there with 6 kids. We did the ULTIMATE package. We didnt get half the stuff we were supposed to. We even to told employee that was assigned to us stuff was missing. Bree told us no its all there. We also added a cake to our order. After an hour of waiting and it getting close to closing we finally went up to pay and found out she didnt get the cake because our party was ending soon. So I called Monday to talk to a manager and that manager said he was sending stuff to us in mail c

We had ah blast for baby girl TayJahnea second birthday

Fun, organized chaos which dealing with children can be a good thing. My visit was enjoyable pizza as always was hot and delicious it was pretty crowded but available staff was attentive and energetic some of the games and rides weren't working but otherwise a great fun filled family event.

We had a wonderful experience. Layla was our party host. She did a spectacular job! She kept the energy up with the kids and helped us host a wonderful three year old birthday. I recommend having a party here, especially at a time that isn't traditionally busy.

Trashy place and mask requirements, can't even take your kids somewhere fun these days! Have some kid that's all of 17 with attitude acting like he's the governor! You lost my business for good. When this place is closing down for good, maybe people will get the hint, we pay you, for entertainment, and time, not to be told what to do.

We were at a family birthday party. They were under staffed so they didn't get everything together until half way through the time alloted for the party. We Were shorted a pizza, so they brought one out that was not what we wanted to compensate. Then when the scheduled time was over the staff was trying to clean everything up even though they had just brought out the last pizza. ( put it in a to go box right away) Also, charged us for extra kids that were not there. Very unorganized and unprofessional. I

Only went to play games, and the new unlimited for a certain time cards are great! You can get 30, 60, or 90 minutes.

As a child I absolutely loved this place with the video games and rewards to the pizza that they have (although I've never tasted it I hear it's good) they seem to cater to families with children so that parents can relax while their children go have fun or parents can come in and have fun with their kids as well. Overall I'd rate Chuck E. Cheese's a 5/5 due to the excellent service and the great memories and fun I experienced there as a child.

Charles Entertainment Cheese's fine dining establishment will help get energy out of your kids. The food is better than the last time you visited. It's not Tobin's or Giordano's but it will hit the spot. Depending on how quickly your kids play, buying points may make more economic sense than unlimited play.

We had a birthday party for my nephew here, tons of games inside of all sorts and you can even pay for unlimited gaming. The kids absolutely loved it! Their motto is ?where a kid can be a kid? but we adults did as well.

We loved their new pizza recipe on our last visit! The new card system for playing games is a welcomed change. No more tokens! The skee ball machines will always be my favorite (yeah, I'm old fashion like that).

Love the new revamped Chuck e cheese! New games, new food, better trained staff, and management! Can't wait to keep seeing their continuous improvements

The manager Kristi was awesome!!! We reserved a party online and there must have been a mishap in communication somewhere. Went from ready to walk out to had the best time ever at chuck e cheese! Kristi was very professional and handled the situation with thd kids in mind, thank you very much for the great experience. Also the two hostess we had were great!

Always a fun place to take the kids. Pizza is good. It was busy the evening we went but still able to have fun and win some tickets.

I was shocked when I realized the tunnels were gone, but it turned out to be more fun thank ever. The tokens being put on cards took the game playing experience to another level; however the pizza was nasty. I only are it because of the amount of money I had to pay for it, which was expensive. If I could have brought in my own food then I would have had a complete blast.

Turns out if you bring your own stuff you can have a bday party there without paying their party prices... Even last minute. And for that it's great. Also the game play is much cheaper now that when i was a kid!

They have made my kids quarantine birthday way better!!! Not only did the kids love the goody bags and pizza they also were nice enough to add toys and party favors at an extremely affordable price! I would rate higher if I could!

Service and front desk employees are not properly trained They should be more polite with customers Front desk people don't know about their technical systems how they work The way of communication is too rude with customers Today's staff is more polite and informative unlike the last visit this time is too good

Boy has Chuck E. Cheese changed since I was a kid. There's only one animatronic, and it's hip-hop dressed Chuck and it never actually does anything. There's a giant TV screen that plays a sort of show that the animatronic occasionally interacts with, but those moments are few and far between. Several of the games here are broken and left on anyways so you waste time on your game card trying to play them. The pizza was even worse than I remembered with lots of extra cornmeal on the crust for some reason. T

That mouse is a little sus, but besides that its fine ig, all my homies be hating covid though because they aint got that play place thing no more, and no more ticket muncher going CACECAGES Yk the sound dont lie, anyway 4/5

Kids have fun everytime just small and run through the same games over and over in 30 mins otherwise kids won't mine because it's Chuck E. Cheese

A great experience both times we have gone.

I did the Birthday package and was thoroughly Impressed! The team there was 100% organized. I didn't have to do anything but show up with my crew. Definitely recommend.

Even though federally we do not have to wear masks if we are vaccinated you have to wear them here. Which okay we put ours on but my 3 year old would not keep one on. They asked for us to take a selfie on our phone. Both our phones were dead ( we were coming at 6:30 right after work to celebrate my sons birthday) Then the lady decided to go to another employee and talk bad about us so we walked out i will not spend my money here as long as they have employees like that.

My daughter always has a blast! She can eat and play all in one stop this location has been the cleanest by far! The prices are a little steep though

Making great memories with our granddaughter She has so much fun and while we were there Chuck e cheese himself came out for birthday party and she was ecstatic great time great memories We did not eat we just play games had a good time

They were pretty respectful. It took them almost 10 minutes to tell us how many tickets were on my card though

Food is pricy!!! Most of the games don't work and the buffet is TERRIBLE!! However it's fun to go from time to time and play some games with the kids. They have a blast and don't notice the things that I do. So it's worth going on occasion for them but only on occasion!!

Took my son here for the first time and had a blast. The only issue was they were understaffed. We waited at the prize booth for a large amount of time. Other than that great place for fun.

The kids really love coming here to play games. Pizza last time was actually pretty good too. They could work on cleaning better, the area with drinks was a mess from time we arrived until we left

So my friend and I went here for lunch a few days ago, went on a weekday and it is way less busy. I have to say I really miss the old Chuck E Cheese's and Showbiz Pizza. The standards have dropped dramatically...unfriendly/awkward staff, stage show doesn't work half the time, the pizza is just gross. I would recommend going to the Chuck E Cheese in Darian, IL if you want the full friendly experience you're supposed to have. Heard a lot of great things about them!

Prices very high . Salad bar was 12.00 for a few toppings. 6.00 would have been better . Two years ago it was 4.99! 100.00 later between food and games

Today we went to Chuck E. Cheese in Bloomington Illinois & we enjoyed our time Todd was very helpful & his service very extraordinary. He checked on our table to make sure that we were doing good & when a machine ran out of tickets he would fix it. He is very helpful.

They took out the play area equipment. They used to have a nice (and free) set of play equipment for the kids to climb on. That was removed and replaced with a bunch pre-school pay rides (i.e. for the kids that were in the play area). That's probably our last trip there.

Got the salad bar. No lettuce. It took them 25 minutes to put lettuce out. I asked them twice. They said they were cutting it up. Well, it came out of a bag already cut up.

We brought our kids here for lunch to have a fun day. The pizza was good. They had alot of fun playing the games afterwards.

I ask for a large pizza with a topping, 4 drinks, salad bar.. then 2 orders of wings and a sandwich a 120 min card... The customer service didn't put my pizza order on the receipt so my order was mess up they dont explain as in the prices right. They are rude and the tables was dirty. I order wings to go and the wings when I took them to my son who was in the hospital was overcooked and not buffalo wings... shame how yall treat people spending money

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s it like visiting an arcade today?

It’s a mix of nostalgia and high-energy fun! Many arcades blend retro classics like Pac-Man and pinball with modern VR games, racing simulators, and rhythm challenges — often with music, lights, and a social vibe.

Is it better to go alone or with friends?

Both can be great! Solo visits let you focus on your favorite games, while going with friends adds competition, teamwork, and laughs. Many people plan arcade meetups as a casual hangout or even date spot.

What should I bring to an arcade?

Usually just yourself and a way to pay (some arcades still use coins, others use cards or apps). If you're competitive, bring your A-game. If you're social, bring friends or meet new ones over multiplayer games.

What’s the best time to visit an arcade?

Weekdays or early afternoons are usually less crowded — perfect for focused play. Evenings and weekends bring the buzz, especially at barcades or venues with DJs, tournaments, or themed nights.

Can I meet new people at arcades?

Absolutely! Arcades attract a mix of casual players and serious gamers. Whether you're jumping into a four-player co-op or chatting between rounds, it's a fun, low-pressure way to connect over shared interests.

Are arcades still just for kids?

Not at all. While many arcades are family-friendly, there are also adult-oriented ones with full bars, 18+ nights, or vintage nostalgia themes. Arcades today cater to everyone — from first-timers to lifelong gamers.

Are there events or tournaments I can join?

Yes! Many arcades host regular competitions, retro nights, cosplay parties, and more. Whether you're into high scores or just want to watch and vibe, events add an extra layer to the experience.

What if I’m not great at arcade games?

No worries — arcades are about having fun, not being perfect. Try a variety of games, ask others for tips, and remember: the vibe is more “let’s play” than “let’s win.”

Why are arcade prize games so exciting to play?

Arcade prize games are a thrilling highlight in 2025! Claw machines, skee-ball, and ticket-redemption games like basketball offer a rush of skill and chance, with rewards like plushies, toys, or electronics up for grabs. Modern machines feature vibrant lights, digital scoreboards, and responsive controls, amplifying the fun. The lively arcade atmosphere, with cheering crowds and buzzing energy, makes every win feel epic.