Rhonda Dunaway
10-23-2007, 10:41 AM
We recently had my son's 6th birthday party at Amazing Pizza Machine, and it was, quite simply, amazing. Lots of birthday party places advertise that they will do all of the work for you, but what happens in reality is often a far cry from advertising claims. At a lot of birthday party places I've been to, someone comes into the party room, plops down some pizzas and pitchers of pop, and then disappears for the remainder of the party.
What happened at Amazing Pizza Machine was something very different, something that far exceeded my expectations. When they told me that they would handle everything, they actually meant it! When we first arrived at APM, two staff members immediately began talking to the kids and involving them in games. They managed to get the kids to do several rides, games, and activities together, which was great, because I had had all of these visions of the kids all running off to do their own thing and not really spending much time together.
When we went into the party room to eat, the staff members helped serve the kids by pouring drinks, passing out pizza, and making sure everyone had everything they needed. Then someone came in and started making the kids balloon animals, pirate swords, caterpillars, etc. This might have been described on the website, but I didn't know it was going to happen, so it was a pleasant surprise. When it came time to serve the cake, the two staff members lit the candles and cut and served the cake. And, when it came time to open gifts, they not only helped my son read cards, unwrap his gifts, and thank the appropriate people, but they also made me a list of who gave my son what so that I could write thank-you notes later.
When my son arrived at his party, he was given a special birthday badge, and I noticed that not only our party coordinators, but all of the staff, really went out of their way to make sure he felt special. When my son and his friends rode the go carts, my son received a really nice trophy, and his friends all received ribbons. There were so many other nice gestures by the staff members at APM that I can't even recount all of them.
At the end of my son's party he got to spin the prize wheel. When my son wasn't looking, a staff member nudged the wheel so that he got to receive the maximum number of prize points - 1000 - enough to purchase a large plush Spider-Man 3 action figure. I thought that he would die from pure joy at this point.
My son kept telling me that his APM party was his best birthday party ever, and I told him that he could have his future birthday parties there for as long as he wanted, and it would be fine by me. Thanks, Ashley and Marey, for making sure my son and his friends had a great time! The moms of my son's friends also told me how much fun they had at the party and noted how hard the staff had worked to make sure that the kids were entertained and happy.
I also want to mention what great service you get when you call APM to arrange a party. I spoke with a staff member named Dodie who was really nice and so patient about explaining details.
This was the first time ever that I was able to relax and truly enjoy my son's party without running around and worrying about every last detail. My son's four previous birthday parties have been held at Vala's Pumpkin Patch. While I love Vala's as a place to visit each Halloween season, I cannot recommend them as a place that handles birthday parties well. Every single year, we ran into the same problems. My guests usually had to wait forever to get into the pumpkin patch, and each year we had problems with staff members telling guests that they either couldn't find the guest list for my son's party or that they (the guest in question) was not on the list. This was really perplexing because I always gave Vala's a typed guest list well in advance of the party, and I never left anyone's name off the list.
In addition, each and every year, my catering order was late and incorrect. Someone would fly over in a golf cart, literally throw the food on the picnic table, and then zoom off before I could check anything. I always had to send my husband out to search for the whereabouts of missing items.
Also, each year, Vala's would forget to issue some of my son's guests pumpkin coupons, so I always had to send my husband off to deal with that issue as well.
And finally, every year when I would go to pay my bill at the end of the party, there would always be problems and mistakes that required lots of discussions and arguments to resolve. I have dealt with a couple of very nice staff members at Vala's as well as a number of extremely rude ones. I have never once in four years had a staff member say, "Thank you!" when I paid my bill, which I thought was really strange.
At this point, you may well be wondering what would possess me to keep having my son's birthday party at Vala's year after year given all these problems. All I can tell you is that my little boy loved the pumpkin patch and begged to have every party there. We also always had relatives come from out of town, and they loved the pumpkin patch, too, so it had become almost like a family tradition that everyone in our family looked forward to. However, after last year, I told my husband I'd reached my limit, and we would never have another party at Vala's, no matter what.
When we started talking to my son about his birthday party this year, he started asking for Vala's again, and he absolutely insisted that was the only place he wanted to have his party. I told him no way, and we then settled on APM. The change worked well. In the days and weeks following my son's APM party, he kept asking me, "Mom, why are birthday parties at Amazing Pizza Machine more fun than birthday parties at Vala's?" I replied, "It's because the people who work at APM actually care if you have a good time, and they want you to come back."
What happened at Amazing Pizza Machine was something very different, something that far exceeded my expectations. When they told me that they would handle everything, they actually meant it! When we first arrived at APM, two staff members immediately began talking to the kids and involving them in games. They managed to get the kids to do several rides, games, and activities together, which was great, because I had had all of these visions of the kids all running off to do their own thing and not really spending much time together.
When we went into the party room to eat, the staff members helped serve the kids by pouring drinks, passing out pizza, and making sure everyone had everything they needed. Then someone came in and started making the kids balloon animals, pirate swords, caterpillars, etc. This might have been described on the website, but I didn't know it was going to happen, so it was a pleasant surprise. When it came time to serve the cake, the two staff members lit the candles and cut and served the cake. And, when it came time to open gifts, they not only helped my son read cards, unwrap his gifts, and thank the appropriate people, but they also made me a list of who gave my son what so that I could write thank-you notes later.
When my son arrived at his party, he was given a special birthday badge, and I noticed that not only our party coordinators, but all of the staff, really went out of their way to make sure he felt special. When my son and his friends rode the go carts, my son received a really nice trophy, and his friends all received ribbons. There were so many other nice gestures by the staff members at APM that I can't even recount all of them.
At the end of my son's party he got to spin the prize wheel. When my son wasn't looking, a staff member nudged the wheel so that he got to receive the maximum number of prize points - 1000 - enough to purchase a large plush Spider-Man 3 action figure. I thought that he would die from pure joy at this point.
My son kept telling me that his APM party was his best birthday party ever, and I told him that he could have his future birthday parties there for as long as he wanted, and it would be fine by me. Thanks, Ashley and Marey, for making sure my son and his friends had a great time! The moms of my son's friends also told me how much fun they had at the party and noted how hard the staff had worked to make sure that the kids were entertained and happy.
I also want to mention what great service you get when you call APM to arrange a party. I spoke with a staff member named Dodie who was really nice and so patient about explaining details.
This was the first time ever that I was able to relax and truly enjoy my son's party without running around and worrying about every last detail. My son's four previous birthday parties have been held at Vala's Pumpkin Patch. While I love Vala's as a place to visit each Halloween season, I cannot recommend them as a place that handles birthday parties well. Every single year, we ran into the same problems. My guests usually had to wait forever to get into the pumpkin patch, and each year we had problems with staff members telling guests that they either couldn't find the guest list for my son's party or that they (the guest in question) was not on the list. This was really perplexing because I always gave Vala's a typed guest list well in advance of the party, and I never left anyone's name off the list.
In addition, each and every year, my catering order was late and incorrect. Someone would fly over in a golf cart, literally throw the food on the picnic table, and then zoom off before I could check anything. I always had to send my husband out to search for the whereabouts of missing items.
Also, each year, Vala's would forget to issue some of my son's guests pumpkin coupons, so I always had to send my husband off to deal with that issue as well.
And finally, every year when I would go to pay my bill at the end of the party, there would always be problems and mistakes that required lots of discussions and arguments to resolve. I have dealt with a couple of very nice staff members at Vala's as well as a number of extremely rude ones. I have never once in four years had a staff member say, "Thank you!" when I paid my bill, which I thought was really strange.
At this point, you may well be wondering what would possess me to keep having my son's birthday party at Vala's year after year given all these problems. All I can tell you is that my little boy loved the pumpkin patch and begged to have every party there. We also always had relatives come from out of town, and they loved the pumpkin patch, too, so it had become almost like a family tradition that everyone in our family looked forward to. However, after last year, I told my husband I'd reached my limit, and we would never have another party at Vala's, no matter what.
When we started talking to my son about his birthday party this year, he started asking for Vala's again, and he absolutely insisted that was the only place he wanted to have his party. I told him no way, and we then settled on APM. The change worked well. In the days and weeks following my son's APM party, he kept asking me, "Mom, why are birthday parties at Amazing Pizza Machine more fun than birthday parties at Vala's?" I replied, "It's because the people who work at APM actually care if you have a good time, and they want you to come back."