Review of Thruway Lanes Bowling

Hang tight, everyone! It's a long one!

Last Friday morning I took Big B and K2 over to Thruway Lanes in Cheektowaga for some bumper bowling. Big B was beside himself with excitement when we walked into the bowling alley. We met up with another mom and her 2 sons so our boys could try this out together for the first time!

Because it was a weekday morning the place was practically deserted. The cost was $3 per person per game with a shoe rental of $3.50 per person. I went ahead and paid for a shoe rental for myself as I figured Big B may need a little help.

The 3 boys shared one of the lightweight balls and we made our way to our assigned lane. The first thing I realized was that this was going to take a LONG, LONG time. In bumper bowling they pull these bars up out of the gutter so the ball never goes in the gutter. It just gets "bumped" along the way, slowly, slowly until it reaches the pins. That is, IF it reaches the pins. A couple of times the ball just stopped in the middle of the lane, once it stopped up by the pins and once it stopped in the lane and started rolling back towards us! Of course, this problem requires help from the bowling alley employees who were not to be found very easily or quickly (I guess because it was not a busy morning).

The next realization came very quickly after the first. It was very hard for these little guys to wait there turn. So there was the constant "Is it my turn?" and "Now, is it my turn?" the entire time we were there.

Finally, I realized I was crazy to bring my 13 month old (still crawling) to a bowling alley. Of course, all she wanted to do was get down and crawl all over the place. EWWW!

Ok, enough of the view from a mom. How about the kids? Of course, they absolutely loved it! Even though there was lots of asking about whose turn it was, there was no fighting over the ball and they cheered each other on every time! The little guys were so cute trying to roll, push and throw the ball down the lane. They had a great time and everyone was sad to go. (By the way, after 1 hour and 45 minutes we gave up on finishing the game!)

Now for the FREE stuff! I just went to AMF Thruway Lanes website and joined the eCLUB (bottom right hand side of the page). And I got a coupon for a FREE round of bowling for up to 10 people (shoe rental not included). Keep in mind, it does expire 30 days from when you get it and you must show photo I.D. when you redeem it at the bowling alley. When you join the eCLUB you get special offers each month.

Also, Thruway Lanes has a program called Bumper Buddies for ages 3-7 that takes place Saturdays at 11am. It started on January 16th but it's not too late to join up! The league includes: 2 games, end of the year banquet, trophy, diploma with picture and patches. Cost is $6.50 per week for 12 weeks. Go here for directions and hours of operation for Thruway Lanes in Cheektowaga, NY.

For my kids, bumper bowling was a huge hit and yes, we will be going back sometime soon!