What an amazing event. My girlfriend and I spent a wonderful Friday evening at Arcade Expo 3.0. You'll feel a little overwhelmed when first walking inside. The rooms are split with a dedicated room for pinball and a room for other video games. Just about any machine you have ever loved is most likely here and ready to play. Food is also available and a bar for those wanting some booze, We had so much fun that we are going to go back this evening. My only slight complaint was the prices of the food truck which was parked in front of the event. But that is not the fault of the Arcade Expo. Take your friends, your family or just yourself and have some fun. You won't be disappointed. read more

Arcade Expo - So many fun machines. Old and new. - Arcades Near Me - Banning, California

Still trying to figure out if this is going to be a permanent facility but this place is AMAZING!!!! Rows upon rows of pinball and arcade games. It's fantastic! Will update as I get more info. If you are reading this and are nearby, 1/17 is $40 for free play until 2am and $25 on 1/18, 10am-5pm read more

Arcade Expo - Arcades Near Me - Banning, California

This is one of the best expos I have been to and it was so fun to be able to play the old school pinball and video games of the '80s and '90s all in one place without worrying about the need to bring a ton of quarters. :) Even though a lot of the older pinball machines were not working at the time of opening of the expo and other minor issues, the EFFORT given by the staff, and the COMMUNICATION & POSITIVE ATTITUDE given by the staff over the weekend really made this expo shine. Those are things that go along way to making those who attended overlook the minor issues and lack of all machines working. This is something that a lot of other conventions lack, and that is clear communication and instructions to those in attendance. It was very refreshing to be able to see the staff communicate clearly and let everybody know of any changes to the schedule, and very clear about giving enough warning before closing each day so you weren't surprised that closing time is already here (time flies when your having fun, like I did here). Kudos also for being able to break the world record for most people playing pinball at the same time and for doing it in a very organized manner and giving everyone a shot at being able to break the record. The photos already posted shown here, thanks to the other users, clearly show how massive this place is and the potential it has once they get all of the older pinball machines working. The objective of the people who operated this Arcade Expo is to eventually be able to be open all the time like the Pinball Hall of Fame up in Las Vegas. Of course, as noted by several people in attendance they do have a lot of work in that regard, but this was a huge step into that process. I think they wanted to have the next Arcade Expo 6 months in July, but WHO wants to be in Banning (where it is even HOTTER than Las Vegas) in the middle of the summer roasting? Good decision by them to wait until late October when things are a lot cooler as this place is in a warehouse environment and it appeared that they did not have AC or the AC would of failed to keep this place cool during the hot summer. Of course, the weather was PERFECT for January here for playing pinball. :) Now, the next step for them is to take the next 9 months and use those funds to help fix the older pinball machines with the mechanical scoring (i.e. pre-80's) and some of the older video games that broke down during the expo, so that the next Arcade Expo in October will be even better. read more

This place is the largest pinball arcade in all of Southern California. They said it was more than 300+ machines (arcade and pinball). For me, I usually focus on the 90s pinball made by Stern, Williams and Midway. Some of my favorites are Addams Family, Tales of the Arabian Nights and Simpsons (you'll find them all there). $25 to play all day. Fun for the entire family. Crappy part is the drive. It's all the way out by Palm Springs. read more

Get your geek on! My wife is a pinball junkie and there hasn't been a time in 24+ years of marriage that she hasn't gotten excited over a game. Well, this was heaven and then some. I had no idea what she meant when she got tickets for this. 100 times better than anticipated. We had a blast! I got to play stuff from my childhood like Evil Knievel, Dukes of Hazard, Charlie's Angels... Just incredible. We never even made it to the video arcade side, though I heard it was good. They had a food truck and beer and wine offerings from a local vineyard brewery. Friendly staff, including the family of owners. Check out the next one in October! read more

Awesome idea, really bad location. Very disappointed to arrive only to find out that at least a third of the games were out of service, broken, or just turned off. Many of the games that were working had components that weren't working properly, such as the joystick or bumper buttons etc. I also wish they had more modern games in addition to the excellent selection of classic games. read more

I'm writing this on behalf of a friend who LOVES this place ! I have never been, but heard its like an arcade dorks dream! (Hours of playing fun) if you're into that type of thing. LoL read more

I've been to Arcade Expo both this year and last year (2015). It's a great way to spend some time nerding out either by yourself or with the family. From last year to this year they changed a few things and it really feels like they're trying different things out to create a fun experience for visitors. Aside from the arcade games and pinball machines, they also have panels/discussions, other rooms dedicated to different gaming aspects, and fundraising tournaments. We've had good times when we've gone. Looking forward to the next one. :) read more

This event has been moved to March 17-19th for 2017 **Pinball only** For the love of pinball, go, go, go! A 3 day, once a year event held in January, down the freeway from Palm Springs. Biggest collection of tables in Southern Cali. Humongous rows and rows of tables. Fantabulous collection for pinheads! Everything from really old to new. Hundreds of tables. Will all of them work all the time? No, but most get fixed and with so many tables to play you'll get over it quick. Hours are from early day to late night. Saturday night going well past midnight. For pinheads the hours will fly. Last year they had some hilariously interesting music acts going and the guy with the mullet from the Donkey Kong movie walking around. Location is middle of nowhere, sells alcohol, food and right off the freeway. Very chill, friendly, nice place to spend the day. They have a huge parking lot and additional parking outside the place. Last year they had camping sites on the grounds for the whole weekend. All machines are set on free play for the day. Just pay for your ticket to the event and enjoy! Discount tickets were available in 2016 through Groupon and Living Social. Plan on making a day out of it, worth every minute. Nice drive this time of year for the area, you can even stop and see the famous Cabazon Dinosaurs on the way. read more

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Upon entering the arcadeexpo I immediately thought to myself ....this is going to be awesome. Then it simply fell short of my expectations. The pricing is absolutely ridiculous raging from 55 to 35 per person. It is unlimited free play but a bit annoying when your trying to find someone add credits to your machine. Furthermore much of my favorites weren't there such as Double Dragon and the arcades I really wanted to play did not work. Furthermore the gift shop was underwhelming....now why Do I give it a 3 ...for one they had vendors with some hard to get console games. The food was great , very satisfaction and pinballs pinballs pinballs, especially if your a fan. I did manage to pick up a street fighter championship edition Mylar which is truly hard to get . A 3 for effort but would I go back??? If the pricing was low and nothing better to do than probably. read more

First year for this new show and the facility is pretty sweet! Lotsa games and obscure and rare machines. Not enough working but it was their first show & debut. Will be cool to see how it is in October! read more

I make the trip out to Banning for this as it is truly a unique event. Not the same as visiting your local arcade...better. Rows and rows of rare pinball machines and arcade games not found in many places on free play. Come for the tournaments and the whole experience. read more

It's open and it's all that and a box of cartridges. Get your game on and enjoy. A gamers paradise!

FUN for the whole family and a "Blast To the Past". My son, daughter and I enjoyed playing the classic arcade games, pinball machines and shooting gallery games. Even the live bands and entertainment were fun to watch. We've attended the passed 2 consecutive years the event has been held. read more

I went on a solo trip to the March 2019 event and had really no idea what depth it would go to. I'm not really a pinball geek, just heard about this on line. Did really no research just a calling to fulfill my "been there done that , got the t-shirt to prove it" attitude. When I arrived (early) the line had already formed but not real extensive. I listened to and chatted with some of the attendees. Sometimes it was like listening to a whole new language with all the terms and jargon. BUT I was enthralled. I got up to pay for my one day pass ($55.00 dollars I think it was YIKES!). Almost didn't pay it but I was here and really...why not? Upon entering I expected maybe a couple hundred machines and a little bit of ephemera. Boy was I blown away. The location is immense and there are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of machines. All the sounds and blinking lights and the open play...I was hooked. The entrance fee turned out to be a pittance compared to how many machines I played and how many times. As the day got later more and more people showed up but it never felt crowded or overwhelming. I was there about four hours and finally left feeling like it had been all worth it. Remember this is coming from a guy that isn't much of a pinball fan (well may be now). Even got to get my old Ms. Pac Man game on in the video arcade area that was equally packed with all manner of almost forgotten machines. Well done! read more

We went to the first one in January and then again yesterday. Wasn't as good this time, half the machines were down and the air conditioning on the main floor wasn't really doing it. But the upside is that there weren't as many people, so everybody got to play whatever they wanted for as long as they wanted. Some of the best games had problems, and even though the left flipper for twilight zone didn't work so well I still scored 350m points after playing for 2 hours, not enough for a high score but oh well. There's another expo in January, we'll be there for sure and hopefully more of the machines are up and running. The bathrooms were also really clean and the gift shop carried an ample supply of refreshments. Lots of girls there, but like everybody else (myself included) they really weren't there to socialize. read more

This place is only open on certain days of the year. I drove from rancho cucamonga to find out they werent open. They should make an effort to notify their potential visitors of their real hours of operation. read more