ONCE UPON A TIME.......IN LOMBARD…read more This beloved indoor entertainment center is still hanging in there after 40+ years. I'll admit, I didn't have "attend a work outing at Enchanted Castle" on my 2025 bingo card, yet here we are. I found myself reminiscing about birthdays from the past, how many tokens I spent here as a preteen, and what on earth I was doing at a kids entertainment center with a group of engineers. As they've been since 1983, Enchanted Castle on Roosevelt Rd in Lombard is a one-stop shop for fun.  They have party rooms, a large arcade with ticket counter and 7-8 different attractions.  It's like a bigger version of Chuck E Cheese with a medieval theme, a Dave & Busters aimed at kiddos. You can pay for things a la carte, or get a $40 "max pack" that gets you a $15 game card and access to any 3 attractions.  Our large group hit up the arcade, mini golf, laser tag, and go karts.  One staffer helped us out during our time here, and kudos to her for being patient when we couldn't make up our minds on what to do next. I'll start with the best: the go karts ($9/pp).  Although the track itself is small and not terribly exciting, these go karts were peppy and handled well.  You get a decent number of laps, too, and it must be popular enough to warrant having its own dedicated entrance off to the right - Castle Karts. Next came laser tag ($9/pp).  The packs seemed heavy, but the guns were very accurate IMO.  It was a 'capture the flag' objective and despite a small arena, there was just enough space to move around.  They also have Route 66 mini bowling ($5/pp), bumper cars ($5/pp), a scaled down 'Scrambler' type ride ($5/pp), and a playground area with slides ($5/kid). The glow in the dark Black Knight's "Adventure" Golf ($7/pp) was the weak link of the bunch.  9 holes of poorly lit, uninspired putt putt with odd scenery choices - they couldn't decide between skeletons or squires - and lazy hole design led to several in our group bailing partway through.  One girl even twisted her ankle walking around an obstacle!  This is an area that could definitely benefit from a facelift or new attraction. Back in the 90's and early 2000's, Enchanted Castle had a 3D motion theater that played several iWerks films like Dino Island, Alpha One Cowboy, and Red Rock Run.  This wild motion simulator was always the highlight of my visit, but I can't find ANY record of it in web archives..... was this a fever dream?? Their arcade has a mix of new and old, lots of ticket redemption games with flashy shoot-em-ups sprinkled in.  They had Beat Saber VR (for a whopping 24 credits) as well as some vintage games like the one where you use an air cannon to shoot out the clown's teeth.  Many years ago, they had a dedicated area for pinball machines....now they have none.  *sigh* I expected very little from the food and was pleasantly surprised.  The italian beef ($12) was pretty good, no complaints about the fries.  The large appetizer platter ($40) had a little bit of everything: 7 mozza stix, 7 wings, 7 tenders, 12 mini tacos, and 8 pretzel sticks with dipping sauces.  They also had beer on tap @ $6.50 per pint, not too bad. * TL;DR * Enchanted Castle is supposed to be for young'ins, but if you have fun here as a grown-up I won't tell anyone. Being in business for 43 years is no small feat, especially when you consider the sweeping effect COVID had on the realm of indoor entertainment.  I'm amazed (and relieved) that Enchanted Castle's drawbridge has stayed open despite so much volatility in the world.  I don't imagine that the handful of folks we saw on a Thursday afternoon is representative of how much foot traffic EC actually gets. Here's to hoping they have many more years ahead of them, making joyful memories for scores of kids in the western Chicago suburbs.  I'd hate to see an indelible part of my childhood be gone for good. "The handsome prince raced his mighty steed around the go kart track, while the beautiful princess enjoyed several games of Skee-Ball.  And they played happily ever after!"

The prizes are too kiddie.I have all these points and can't find anything to buy that's not for a…read morelittle kid