Laser Quest Birthday

Written in collaboration with Laser Quest.

Lately my son has been into Nerf wars and laser gun battles so I thought LASER QUEST would be the perfect place to host his birthday party. We all had a BLAST! It wasn’t just for kids, because I invited parents to play too, and they later told me they were not expecting to play, but glad they did! We all played at our own pace. Some teamed up and some ran around solo. In one of the games my husband and I ran around laughing. Luckily Laser Quest in Mission Viejo at the Kaleidoscope was available on the date we needed. The two hour party included a dedicated party host, two games of laser tag, and a reserved party room which we used to serve pizza and cake. Overall, we had a great experience, and I like sharing what I learn to help parents run a smoother party.

2-Hour Party Itinerary:

20 minute (check-in/register players)
20 minute game (5 minute instructions)
10 minute transition
20 minute for pizza or snacks
20 minute game (5 minute instructions)
10 minute transition
20 minutes for cake

For our two hour party, I asked our guests to arrive by 4:00 pm, but our first game didn’t technically start until 4:20 pm. Don’t tell your guests that, because you’ll want to start your game promptly. We had a child come late and was bummed he missed the first game. As guests arrived, they were handed a player’s card (colors for groups will vary). Each group has a color so they can identify which group they are with. About 15 to 20 minutes after, they called our party to register their player’s alias name. You can give yourself any name you want. Shortly after, we all went into a glow-in-the-dark room to go over rules and equipment information, then we all transitioned into another room to put on our gear before they released us into the maze.

The maze was large enough for everyone to spread out. It was dark in there, but we can easily find our way around because of the florescent lighting. Our vests light up too. Some of us ran around blasting our opponents in passing as others staked out and hid behind corners. Red laser beams can be seen going in every direction. Our vests vibrate gently when we are hit. Parts of the maze were elevated so we felt like we were in a large castle and sometimes in a tower. The game lasted about 15 minutes. At first I questioned if it was long enough, but after the excitement of hiding out and trying to find opponents, it felt like we were in there for a reasonable amount of time.

At the end of each game, everyone anxiously awaited for their results on the score board. They also handed out individual score sheets. I liked that they kept our guests entertained during transitions. One time they blasted the birthday boy with toilet paper, and everyone thought it was hilarious. While they were doing that, I ran over to our party room to check on the food. I had ordered pizza from next door and brought in a cake. Everyone waited patiently until we were ready before they entered the room. While they waited outside, they socialized or played on the air hockey tables. They had arcade games too.

Party Planning

I liked that we had a party host that was attentive and accessible most of the time. They’re kind of our personal party assistant. You can see the different party options below. My host help me put water on the tables and also served the children pizza while I took care of the adults. (TIP: You might want to ask your sibling or friend to help you with the adult tables if you are including parents.) Planning was easy. Once we booked the date, I had several calls and emails to finalize the details. I was waiting on our final guest count closer to the date to order food so I appreciated them allowing me that extra time. Set yourself a reminder and make a checklist if you have to.

Keep It Simple!

The more I do this the more I want to keep my kid’s parties as simple as possible. I didn’t spend too much time decorating or bringing in extra food, because I knew we were not in there that long. One time I brought in chips, a veggie platter, and cheese platter which were barely touched. Save yourself money, because it’s not that kind of party where we are standing around eating snacks. They had other stuff too that we didn’t use such as party invitations, goodie bags available for purchase, paper plates, paper cups, napkins, cake cutter, lighter, etc. Don’t forget your candle(s). Each of the laser tag game was $10 per person. Some of the adults were being shy so they didn’t play the first game, but I got them to play the second one. They said they felt peer-pressured, but glad they got to play with their kids. We were only charged for the games we played.

After this week, we just got another party invite for my son’s friend, and he is excited he gets to go again. When it was time to leave, we were all given a free game voucher for a future visit and most of us redeemed them right away so we could play a third game. Thanks, Laser Quest, for helping us with our party! We all enjoyed our Zappy Party!

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