eSkape Entertainment Revisited
We visited and reviewed eSkape over a year ago and so we thought it was time to check it out again and see what was new. eSkape is right off of Lake Cook Road includes bowling, laser tag, arcade, a bar, and a restaurant. Since our last visit, they got rid of the batting cages.
For bowling, eSkape allows you to pay by the hour or the game. We knew we were not going to last long so we did by the game ($3.95 per person). Setting up the names on the computerized scoring was easy, and it was fairly simple to find where we could set up the gutter bumpers for the kid. They still keep the kids balls behind the counter, so you just need to ask to get one in the 6 pound range. Our kid did not throw a ball in the wrong lane this time and actually got over 100. He is still absolutely mesmerized by the ball return though. When we got there, they had kind of the rock and bowl thing going. It was dark, misty, with flashing lights. They turned on the lights a little later on in the afternoon.
The video arcade has not expanded in the last year. They have the essentials like skee ball, basketball hoops, car racing, spider stomp, Mario kart, and the core military, secret agent games. But this is really off to the side and not the core part of the facility.
They have moved the laser tag to where the batting cages used to be and have closed up the entrance to where the laser tag was. The technology is still the same. Your kid needs to be coordinated enough to hold the laser in a certain way and the vest and equipment weighs about 2 pounds or so. There were 10 people in the laser tag area when we got there and we played free for all. Everyone got shot and had some good shooting. My kid kept trying to use the advanced functions (shields and grenades) which I think distracted him. The downside to the move is that there is only one floor to the laser tag arena so the ramps and upper deck are gone.
We had a great afternoon at eSkape. They do one of the best jobs we have seen to catering to many different age groups, including adults. They have drink specials at night and on the weekend for the adults, a fairly decent restaurant where we ate lunch, and bowling and laser tag that supports all ages. They differentiate by not focusing on video games and mre on the physical entertainment aspects. They don’t have bouncies or cater to the really little children. So we would say for 4 and up, this is a great place that has enough variety to fill an afternoon or a birthday party.