Whitney made this experience extremely disappointing and honestly ruined my daughter's birthday…read moreparty.
First, I had to pay for the party twice. I initially paid over the phone, and although the charge posted to my bank account, somehow it never registered with the park district. Because of that, I had to dispute the charge. To make matters worse, the park district is now trying to fight the dispute even though it was clearly a double charge situation.
Before the party, I spoke with Whitney and was informed that extending the party to 5:30 PM would not be an issue because the final party slot was from 3:30-5:30 PM. The hosting itself was extremely disorganized. The kids did not begin playing games until nearly 4 PM, despite the party already being underway, and they were supposed to eat at 4:30 PM.
Later, I asked again about extending the party to 5:30 PM, and the hosts stated, "We don't mind." While I left briefly to pick up pizza, I also spoke with Crystal at the front desk, who informed me she had spoken with Olivia, the host lead, and after a meeting near the front desk, everyone confirmed everything was fine regarding the extension.
When I returned with the pizza, Crystal and both hosts again reassured me there were no issues and that the party could continue until 5:30 PM.
Then at 4:53 PM, Whitney suddenly called and said, "Just to confirm, your party ends at 5 PM." At that point, I was beyond confused because every host, front desk employee, and supervisor I had spoken with had already confirmed otherwise.
To make matters worse, once we were back in the party room, the hosts suddenly told me the kids could not eat in the room and instead had to eat in the hallway. My daughter was not even allowed to sing "Happy Birthday" properly in the room. I literally had to sing Happy Birthday to my daughter in the hallway.
The entire experience felt chaotic, poorly communicated, and incredibly inconsiderate. It honestly felt like Whitney found every reason possible to make my daughter's special day difficult instead of enjoyable.
Ironically, one of the hosts later apologized to me directly and even stated, "We really don't mind since there isn't another party." This completely contradicted what Whitney had been saying. First it was that another party was coming, then it changed to "custodial needs to come in."
From the reservation process to the actual event, this was one of the worst party experiences I have ever had, and I deeply regret choosing this location for my daughter's birthday.
