I've recently had the opportunity to go to both Surf's Up Family Fun Center in the Carolina Forest area of Myrtle Beach and East of Chicago pizza, on Business 17 near 48th Avenue in the heart of town. Both establishments are reminiscent of Chuck E. Cheese, which was a staple of my childhood! The difference in the food is a pizza and pasta buffet and in neither restaurant did I notice any teenagers in a large, grey mouse costume.
East of Chicago has been around a few years and we've been a few times. Kids can make their own pizza, which is always a hit! In my experience the pizza has always been of pretty darn good quality featuring a taco pizza and a buffalo chicken variety along with the usuals like cheese and pepperoni. I'm also always enjoy their salad bar too, which includes loads of choices such as beans, fruit and other goodies. I definitely eat as many calories in salad as I do in pizza! I also love their cinnamon and brownie pizza desserts.
The games at East of Chicago are pretty predictable. Skeeball is, of course, always a family favorite. I love "Deal or No Deal". Dad loves the "Wheel of Fortune" games where you try to press the button to make the light stop on the bonus space and get 300 tickets or whatever. While these games are, of course, a huge money eater, they do have a large selection that seems to appeal to a wide age range. The downside, of course, is that you spent 45 minutes playing them to the tune of $15 only to have your children load your 200 tickets on their card, proudly present it to the attendant at the prize counter and realize they can only "afford" a ring pop and Hannah Montana sticker.
In my opinion, East of Chicago is expensive. The good news is that it's pretty easy to find a coupon for "Buy one, get one buffet free" coupons. Without one, I'm not sure how often we'd go. The other interesting note is the wording on the menu. If you want your child to make their own pizza, it's an additional $4 (I think) added to their buffet price. If your kids are like mine, they're hardly going to eat their kid-sized pizza, no less anything off the buffet other than three bites of dessert. When I questioned the cashier, she charged me only the $4 for each child to make their own pizza rather than adding it to the buffet price. They got a wristband that indicated they had not paid for the buffet. That helped out! Also, East of Chicago offers a local discount. Don't forget to ask for it if you are, indeed, a local!
Surf's Up Family Fun Center is relatively new and we've been only once for a birthday party. Theoretically, the two places are remarkably similar. Pizza, games, tickets, prizes... For some reason, though, the food just didn't seem as good. What's funny is that if you blindfolded me and fed me a slice of pizza from each place, I'm not sure I could tell you the difference. The food area, though, just isn't as cozy and appealing. It looks kind of sterile. Not in a sanitary way, though I have no reason to question the cleanliness, of course, but in an aesthetic way. The pizza seemed like the dough had once been frozen and there were only four varieties. The salad bar had no tomatoes. Overall it just wasn't as appealing to me as East of Chicago.
One really cool thing about Surf's Up is that they have a huge rock wall that I, personally, would love to try and a laser tag arena. Maybe one day when hubby and I are on a date, we'll stop there for a short time to do these activities! They looked fun! Note to self - take your 16 year old nephew there when he's visiting next. He'll love it!
Another difference is that Surf's Up has a pretty large play area for kids. It is filled with tubes, a slide, a bridge and other fun things. My complaint about this area, however, is that it's really dark. The ceiling is painted black and they just don't have enough lights to compensate for that. Normally that wouldn't bother me, but when kids need to be surefooted for their safety and I need to be able to clearly see them up in this apparatus, sufficient lighting is necessary.
There is a ton of similarity between games at East of Chicago and Surf's Up. We did find several of them not working properly at Surf's Up. That could have been an unfortunate coincidence that they all crapped out at one time or it could be a sign of improper maintenance.
Our family has definitely had fun at both place and felt fully germed up after leaving both. Surf's Up has sanitizing gel stations throughout, which was much appreciated.
If we had to choose one we like best, East of Chicago beats out Surf's Up. The downfall? It's not as close to our home as Surf's Up. Though for anyone visiting the Grand Strand, East of Chicago will likely be more convenient for you. I'm certain, though, that I will return to Surf's Up.
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