Main Event Hoffman Estates

Reviews

• HN

  Hassan Nisar

  Jan 3, 2026
  1.0
  Zero stars if that were an option! We waited an unreasonable amount of time for anyone to come check on us, despite asking three separate times. No one ever came. I was there with my 5-year-old who was starving, and we eventually had to leave without ordering. We’ve come here many times to play games and usually enjoy that part, but we will never eat here again. The staff—mostly young kids—were too busy chatting among themselves and completely ignored customers who clearly needed help. Extremely disappointing experience and poor service from the restaurant side.
• BS

  Ben Scarbalis

  Jan 1, 2026
  1.0
  One of the worst experiences ever. I paid $80 for the 2026 NYE event package for my family of four. Upon arrival, I was greeted with extremely long lines. I waited 30 minutes to be put on a 5 hour wait list for bowling. I waited in another 30 minute line to be put on a 3 hour wait list for laser tag. The line for pizza had over 100 people waiting and never moved. The event was clearly oversold and management was not issuing any refunds. I have contacted the "contact us" page on Main Events website to be greeted by the message attached. Again, no responsibility from anyone. Extremely annoyed!
• KJ

  Kristin Janas

  Dec 31, 2025
  1.0
  The New Year’s Eve event was a disaster from beginning to end. The event started at 2pm and we arrived at about 2:15pm. The line was out the door and we had to wait in the cold for 45 Minutes to get checked in. We went straight to reserve a time for Bowling and it was already a 4 hour wait! We went to play games for a bit and of course the $10 cards didn’t take long to exhaust. My husband waited in the food line for an hour and a half while I was trying to distract my kids with the games. My husband maybe made it halfway through the line when my kids were getting tired and wanted to eat. We finally just made the decision to leave because my 5 and 7 year old couldn’t wait any longer for food. We ended up going to Red Robin. It’s just so disappointing that we spent the money for a nice afternoon out to celebrate the New Year and didn’t get to enjoy much. No bowling, no food and no balloon pool. My kids were upset the rest of the evening because of it. They don’t even do a fun countdown for the kids.
• HH

  HeyItsAMe

  Dec 31, 2025
  2.0
  Just got home from the New Year’s Eve Family Event, and honestly….. where do I even begin? I found the event online and it sounded great: four hours of “unlimited” fun including custom beats, balloon grab with prizes, family competitions, a sundae-eating contest, food, all-you-can-play activities, and a $10 fun card. The price seemed reasonable for everything listed, so we decided to give it a try. The event started at 2:00 PM. Our party of four arrived around 2:30, only to find lines literally out the door—in freezing cold weather. It took almost 45 minutes just to get inside and checked in. We had QR codes for our tickets that we purchased online (and a convience fee was added), yet there were only two people checking in a massive crowd, which made absolutely no sense. Once inside, it was overwhelming. As first-time visitors, there was no guidance on where to go or how things worked. We eventually learned—by overhearing other guests—that laser tag and the climbing tower required reservations at the gift shop, which meant waiting in another long line. After about 25 minutes, I was able to reserve both, one activity an hour later, the other 40 minutes after that. We went to play some games, but the $10 fun cards were gone in no time. I then tried to get on the bowling waitlist, only to be told the wait was THREE HOURS. Completely laughable. Bowling was immediately off the table. At this point, the kids were hungry, so I went to get the food that was supposedly included: pizza and a drink for kids, and a meal combo with a drink for adults. What followed was unbelievable. It took TWO HOURS to get through the food line. I am not exaggerating. While waiting, the women in front of me were kind enough to hold my spot several times while I dealt with my kids. Eventually, out of desperation, I ordered food from the venue through DoorDash just so my kids could eat something so they wouldn’t completely melt down—and honestly, to see how long an outside order would take. I paid nearly $30 for an order of pretzel sticks and mozzarella triangles (four pieces of each). Insane pricing, but at least the order was ready within 25 minutes. After picking up that order near the bar and dropping the food off with my kids, I went right back into line. Two hours later, I finally walked away with some pizza, a chicken sandwich and fries, a burger and fries, and the four “free” soft drinks. As for the “all-you-can-play” activities? We managed to do laser tag once.That was it. I had a reservation for the climbing attraction, but I had to choose between keeping my place in the food line or doing that activity—so we skipped it. There were also announcements stating that all activities were booked for hours. The idea of “unlimited activities” is laughable unless you planned to stay until closing at 1:00 AM. Several advertised features never materialized. I never saw or heard anything about the “custom beats” or family competitions. As for the sundae-eating contest—wow. I tried to enter my kids (because it sounded fun), only to be told it cost $20 per person to enter for a chance to win $50. Paying to enter was never advertised, and with young kids, there was no chance they’d win anyway. Needless to say, there was lots of tears. Alcoholic beverages were not included, so of course many adults headed straight to the bar. Unfortunately, there were only two bartenders attempting to serve a very large crowd. This isn’t a packed downtown Chicago bar, yet it still took an unreasonably long time just to get a beer. One positive note: a manager did try to help by handing out unlimited fun cards to help distract the kids, which was appreciated. However, the venue was extremely crowded, and even games had long waits. Bottom line: this event was either massively oversold, severely understaffed, poorly planned, or all of the above. What should have been a fun family outing turned into a stressful experience. I would not recommend attending large special events here. A regular day might be better, but this experience makes me hesitant to return.
• JP

  Jerette Passero

  Dec 23, 2025
  1.0
  Worst bowling alley I’ve ever been to in my life. If you plan on bringing a reactive ball here don’t. If you think about bowling here please go somewhere else. I don’t even think this place even oils their lanes at all. Bring your own oil and just walk across the lane and dump it if you want any chance on these lanes. Poorest conditions I’ve ever bowled on in my life. Genuinely awful, I threw my ball on these lanes 30 times and not a single streak of oil was left on my ball. The most pitiful sorriest lane I’ve truly ever experienced. The workers don’t even know what they’re talking about I asked the guy if they oil the lanes at all and he looked at me like I had no idea what I was talking about and just said “I don’t know” and walked away. So expensive as well for the worst experience I’ve ever had. Paid $75 for 2 hours for myself and left within 30 minutes. Please don’t go here if you want to bowl seriously. This place is meant for kids and people who just want to huck a ball down the middle as fast as they can. If you’re a serious bowler or someone who just wants to bowl on a lane that has any type of care given to it, do yourself a favor and completely ban even the thought of walking in this places door. True garbage.

Frequently Asked Questions About Main Event Hoffman Estates