Dino Rex Park

I had huge hopes for this place.  I really wanted to fall in love with it.  We were invited to Dino Rex for a friend's 5 year-old's birthday party.  We had booked a party at their Arlington Heights location, but since we had never been there before, we thought that this was the perfect opportunity to do a dry run.
I had expected it to be jus like Chuckie E Cheese, only cooler because their website boasted of an indoor roller coaster, train, bumper cars, a spinning ride, etc.  My friend that hosted the party had been their several times and her children loved it.
I was totally disappointed.  First off, it's expensive there.  It costs $10.99 to ride their rides all day, and their games cost anywhere from 1 token to $3.00.  The day that we went, only 2 out of 4 of their major rides were operating.  The roller coaster, and the train.  My son was way too young to ride the roller coaster on his own, and he was bullied on the train by older kids.  It was horrific.  He is 2 but is so tall that he passes for 3 or 4 years old.  The soft play area was extremely dark and uninviting.  The majority of thier games were also in disrepair.  We ahd to constantly find the service attendant to reimburse us for tickets won or tokens lost.  I also found the place dirty and definitely not in the best shape for a toddler.  Their is no carpetting, just cement floors, and the eating area reminds me of school lunch trips at the Field Museum.  The older children didn't seem to notice and seemed to love it.  I then found out from my friend that the Arlington Heights location was even worse than this one, so I immediately canceled our reservation.  They had wanted $15.99 per child plus 12% gratuity added on top. Each child only receives 10 tokens.  I advise every parent to go on dry runs before they pay a huge fee for any brithday parties!