For what seemed like the longest time, my son and his friends had their birthday parties at the exact same place: Jump N Around. Back then, they were next to where Del Monte Gardens (the old roller skating rink) stood in Monterey; they’ve since moved next to Costco in Sand City. Seemingly every party was there. With a dozen or so classmates at any given time, we wore that place out.
But eventually, all the kids got too big/old to go to Jump N Around. Then the parties diversified…somewhat. They’d either be at the bowling alley (Monterey Lanes), Water City Skating, which took up Del Monte Garden’s would-be clientele after they closed their doors, or a park or beach if the weather cooperated. Once in a while, we’d go out to Salinas for a party at Chuck E. Cheese’s.
About 14 months ago, I wanted to do something different for my son’s birthday. I had heard of game trucks (namely Games2U, which I had seen advertised on the Big Island) and looked to see who was close to us. No one, really. The only company that showed up in my Google searching was GameTruck in San Jose (It turned out that Let’s Party Salinas had a game truck, but didn’t show up in my Googling for some reason). Seeing the need for a different choice for kid’s birthday parties, I investigated the different game truck makers/franchisors, found one I liked, and brought EZPZ’s mobile game theater home to Marina just before Christmas.
One year later, and I’m glad I went ahead and did this. I’ve met just the best, friendliest families. I don’t think I’ve had one bad party or customer experience! The biggest challenge has been getting the word out about EZPZ, as it’s still a new concept in this area, let alone Northern California. My son is now a full-fledged teenager who helps his old man out with the family business when he can. Jump N Around, Chuck E. Cheese and similar venues are great, but when your little ones aren’t so little anymore, I hope you’ll think about giving them a Mobile Video Game Party! Regardless, all the best to you and our wonderful Central Coast neighbors in 2017!