★★★★★ Many years have gone by, but my grandkids, given the opportunity, will take a ride to Waukegan on any day, no matter the weather , to visit their old friend “Rocky” at The People’s Choice. Just a short trip East of Great America is a family entertainment center called The People’s Choice Family Fun Center. To many, this arcade of sorts is what they call “Chuck E Cheese, on steroids”! It is huge with over 150 arcade games, indoor mini golf (glow in the dark, no less) some great food; pizza that is as good as it gets, sandwiches, including a new pretzel dog that is “to die for” as the kids say. and for the kids, a great escape from the outside world for a few hours, or the day. They have even added a new area for the little ones who are not game players- two hours of riding fun rides.
Having a party? This is the place! On our visit there were a few parties gong on, and we saw that every birthday celebrant had the time of their life! That is what a party should be. Private rooms where the family can celebrate and yet, a place to run and win lots of tickets which they redeem for wonderful prizes. Our day began last Saturday with my grandson playing flag football and then, the trip to Waukegan. We enjoyed several hours of fun and games and a great pizza at The People’s Choice located at 2411 Grand Avenue (route 132) in Waukegan.
Adam, Sarah and Rebecca were “raring to go”. Rocky’s Pizzeria (the food court at The People’s Choice also has funnel cakes- Sarah’s favorite. The plan was to play games for a while, have some dinner and then head back home, but the kids were enjoying the games, the winning of tickets and we stayed for dinner and then some more games and then a bag of prizes to take home. The tickets were flowing (boy, if only they were dollars), and the kids decided that it might be fun to pick out one major prize, one that the family could enjoy, instead of lots of smaller items for each. They selected a popcorn maker (well over 4,000 tickets). They did earn enough to bring that gift home and still had enough for some smaller items for each of them. More important than the bag of prizes is the bag of memories of a perfect afternoon. Adam remarked that the food was better than he remembered several years ago, and while he would have played golf( always the athlete), winning several jackpot on the arcade games kept him in the casino. Oops! Did I say casino? Well for these kids, this is like the bigger kids taking a small trip to one of the boats or even Vegas, but with a far better return.
Everyone likes to be a winner, and at The People’s Choice, everyone is. The kids can win some big prizes. The parents ( or grandparents), have some special time with the kids, and of course the memories that come from a day like this are invaluable. Make sure you get a few photos. The larger prizes are special and of course, they have a VIP club where you can join and get special promotions all year. You can also save the tickets you win for larger prizes. Adam, who plays the guitar looked at one of several on hand, and despite the larger items they opted to take, still had almost 2,000 towards a larger prize, for later use. As you can see, the large prizes are not out of the question.
Sarah, Rebecca and Adam all remarked that this was one of the best days they have ever had. Those of you who have read about our other adventures know that we have shared many of these special days, so when they told John, the G.M. (and founder) they had “the best day ever”, his face was glowing. Turns out, he is in the process of opening up mini Rocky’s in Lindenhurst and North Chicago, where the menu items will be there and some games, but maybe, just maybe, in the near future, a People’s Choice Family Fun Center will come to your area. Until then, it is worth the trip to Grand Avenue More info? Call 847-336-5700 or visit www.FunWithRocky.com. Loads of free parking and lots of special value packs. Leave some room- they have some great desert treats as well. A Hershey ice cream parlor awaits your taste buds.
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