Skate Zone 71

I'm going to give this four stars and I'll explain why. But I also never want to go back, and I'll explain that too.Kid K's school had an event here, not private, but a school skate on a Saturday morning. Along with many other groups. You've seen the place along 71, relatively easy to get to, big parking lot packed with cars. I've never been because I didn't grow up here and it's overwhelmingly a kid's place, but I know it's been here forever. Easy check-in (I bought tickets online through the school event site,) and great service at the ticket counter and at the skate one. Easy to get skates, free wrist pads, and $5 for "walker" thingies for beginners to lean on while learning (very helpful, wish they'd had them when I was a kid and coulda used one when I had knee surgery.) I loved to rollerskate when younger, and even did it a few times as an adult, but that was 30 years and 2 knee replacements ago. So, we brought along a high-school age family member to help K. I helped some on the carpet, and you can walk on the rink in shoes so I did some of that too.K loved it, even put up with the falls (which are just a normal part of learning, of course.) Hanging out with friends, listening to music, and learning a little on her first time skating. The place is clean, there are plenty of places to sit, there's snacks (for outrageous prices,) there's laser tag and arcade games and other entertainment. The noise is overwhelming. Not from the kids, really- from the PA. Music was loud enough you have to yell to talk. And then the announcements... Loud and distorted and almost painful. Really awful. Bring earplugs. Not kidding. My ears are still sore from the assault.But, look: kids will have fun. Eat before and after. There is a drinking fountain so they will survive. Definitely use the pads and walkers, and wear cushy pants. Bring earplugs. Enjoy a little nostalgia. And look forward to the time they announce that your skating session is over.

This was my first time here. The place is setup to host parties.The interior feels like Wray you expect from an old school roller rink curds 1980s that could turn into a glow in the dark or disco party at any moment.They host the party, serve the pizza, corral the kids into laser tag and make and serve the cotton candy tower for the kids.The arcade area is very limited and dated or I'd give it a 5 star.

I love skating and Skate 71 is such a great time! It's kept up well, the games are fun, love the lights and disco ball, shockingly good food and snacks and all the staff are super friendly. Oh and laser tag is FUN!! Went today for a special July 4 skate day and loved every minute. Special shout out to Melanie who is the sweetest!!

My kiddos were invited here for a birthday party and had a blast, all of the kids there did. It's nice that the let you rent the little helpers, guides, (I'm not sure what you call those things) for those new to skating because holy moly there was definitely a lot of falling. Just make sure you keep them close to you because if you think you're going to walk away or go to bathroom and it'll still be there when you get back, think again.

This is your typical skating rink. They have a decent sized parking lot that is dimly illuminated at night. This place is way over priced and your are charged for skate rentals even if you bring your own. They have skate aides that you can rent for $5 extra. The building is huge. They have a snack bar, laser tag, and video games. The snack bar is overpriced and the food is not that good. The pizza was like cardboard. The arcade has video games, pop-a-shot, and Skee ball. You can earn tickets that you can redeem for prizes (Chuck-E-Cheese style). There is also an area for private parties. It is not behind any walls and is just roped off. You will also find some lockers that you can rent to hold your shoes and other stuff. My shoes were cheap, so I opted to forgo the locker. Anyway, I think the lockers only takes quarters and cost 50 cents.There are tables and booths on the outside perimeter of the rink to sit, relax and/or eat. But they are prime real estate and I recommend claiming your spot early. The staff there is not mean or rude, but they are also not too friendly. They do their job. I came during a special event and they did not even honor some of the things they promoted for the event such as contest and glow sticks. It was not a huge deal, but you should do what you put out there. There was a guy there that fell on the rink and busted his head wide open. He was bleeding everywhere and no one on staff offered medical attention or called an ambulance. He was just holding a sweatshirt on his head and eventually left.They were playing some nice hip-hop during the session. It was a jamming place. The rink is nice and they have an area in the center that is walled off and for slower or less experienced skaters. There is a bridge that goes over the main rink that you can take to get to the area or you can just take the main rink to get there. One of my main gripes is that my session was scheduled from 6:30 to 9, however they cut off skating at 830, so that they could be out by 9 I guess. That is not good business to cut a session short or include your close up time in. A funny story happened while I was here. I was rolling around the rink and I was moving. As I came up to this young kid he looked at me, nodded and said, "what up old school?" All I could do was laugh. Kids theses days.Anyway, I would probably pass if facing the opportunity to come back here and check out another rink.

We had an amazing birthday party for our granddaughter. Kia was an amazing host, along with the other staff.

I want to first start this review by saying how frustrated I was leading up to party day. I booked my child's birthday here and without going into details, I would have given this place a 1 star review before our party manager for the day swooped in and saved the day. Jack is a godsend and a true asset to this facility. He took me from a level of stressed and disappointed parent to someone who left more than happy with our experience. Let me be clear. I'm giving JACK 5 stars, the entire process leading up to party time was atrocious. Online system, office staff, and letting bday parents in before opening time....these need work. Jack needs nothing. He's perfect and went above and beyond to turn our experience around. Give him a raise!

I loved this trip because I am from Louisiana!! For the past 10+ years my husband and I have made a goal to skate in each state at least one time. This was my 1st time to skate in Ohio. I was impressed the floor was wood, which I prefer. I was on a road trip and just settled into my hotel for the night. When I soon realized there is a skate rink open nearby. I attend this rink on adult night. The night was packed full of great skaters. I had a blast, and the manager was very nice. This was a safe place for fun and exercise. The center of the rink was a chill zone, with stairs to allow the shoe traffic to cross safely. This place was a must return and skate again rink, great Job!!

Went to Skate Zone 71 to roller skate and had a good time. Admission was surprisingly expensive, $13 + $5 skate rental, with tax came to $18.46. Do be prepared with some quarters, because the lockers are 2 quarters each to rent. This is not noted anywhere and I did not see any ATM anywhere. Based on the fact that half the lockers did not have locks/were broken, and concession ran out of water with hours still in the evening, this price was too much. Due to the danger in the world nowadays, I did appreciate that there were 3-4 Security guards. They checked my purse when I got there, and also had handheld metal detectors and checked me before I went in. Nowadays, I worry everywhere I go that I'm going to be victim of an active shooter, so this really helped me feel more at ease. I appreciated this.As far as the facility, the carpeting is new and nice. The skating rink is well maintained and clean. Speakers and sound was very good with great bass. Wonderful lighting around & on the rink; fun disco lights. Plenty of seating all around. Staff was cleaning skates in-between customers. Bathrooms were relatively clean too. There is 1 drinking fountain, it just has low water pressure.I did not like that I couldn't take my own water bottle in, especially since they ran out of bottled water with hours still remaining for the evening. Also, bottled water was $2.75/bottle. Ridiculous! Overall, I had a great fun time here, but they really do nickel and dime you. I would like to check out the other skating rinks around Columbus.

Recently my family experienced a terrible time at Skate Zone. Our original plan was to host a birthday party for a 10 year older; when we phoned to make reservations, we were advised due to the size of our party (less than 10) it would be better to do a 'walk-in' party. This was okay with us as this event is something our 10 year older looks forward to every year; and we appreciated the advice as it was going to save us money.Image our surprise when we, alone with our guests showed up to Skate Zone and was told we could not bring in our cake - you know the cake we purchased for the party - you know the cake we would have purchased from them had we been informed they did not allow them to be brought in with 'walk in parties'.Needless to say - this put a damper on our celebration and my only advise to those considering this place is to ask about all the 'fine print' items that may not be discussed from their personnel.