TINYBEANS: Strike Up Serious Fun at These Family-Friendly Bowling Alleys
Bowling alleys have come a long way since our childhood. These days, most alleys are extremely family-friendly and accommodating to the tiniest of bowlers. And most boast cool extras like arcade games, groovy jams, gourmet grub and even ginormous screens playing your favorite sports teams. From souped-up hipster havens to totally traditional lanes, scroll down to see our favorite bowling alleys that will have you and your kids shouting for strikes, spares and gutter balls!
9 Bowling Alleys Where You Can Strike Up Serious Family Fun
By Kristina Moy
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photo: Kristina Moy
Round 1 Bowling & Amusement
This 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art entertainment and amusement facility located at Westfield Southcenter has 14 bowling lanes equipped with electronic bumpers (that raise and lower automatically for selected players), dinosaur ramps and kid-sized bowling balls. Gutter balls are so last year. If you’re one of the lucky ones to have the Moon Light Strikes game land on your turn, get ready to show off your stuff. With the lights down, everyone bowls at once for the chance to win prizes. With ginormous lane screens playing your family’s favorite sports teams, prizes and music, your family won’t strike out here.
In addition to bowling: This entertainment mecca offers private karaoke rooms (with more than 100,000 songs), four tournament size billiards tables and one of the biggest arcades in the state. Your kids will love playing some of the most popular arcade games on the market along with driving games like Mario Kart DX, rhythm games, sports games, exclusive arcade games and brand-new games including the popular Disney Tsum Tsum game. If your kids are into redemption games (where tickets can be exchanged for prizes), there are plenty of those to choose from, including skill games like basketball tossing and ball throwing as well as carnival classics. And for families who want to round off their bowling experience with a thrill, the Typhoon Motion Theater comes with six different simulated rides. Hold on!
Round 1 Bowling & Amusement
2351 Southcenter Mall
Seattle, WA 98188
206-243-2787
Online: round1usa.com/location/south-center-mall
ACME Bowl - Bowlero
Families living in Seattle’s south-end love bowling at ACME Bowl in Tukwila which was acquired by the Bowlero Corporation in October. Even if you’re not on that side of town, the drive is worth it to this family-friendly alley. ACME is like bowling at your favorite alley from when you were a kid, but with a major upgrade. It’s clean, the food from the grill is delicious and the shoes are fresh. ACME is also a great birthday party location.
In addition to bowling: ACME Bowl’s arcade features the latest and greatest games as well as old school favorites like Air Hockey, Pop-A-Shot and Skee-Ball. There are a variety of games that will test you kids’ abilities and will even reward them with awesome prizes. That giant stuffed animal is just waiting to hitch a ride home with you. Psst...the arcade is open during all hours of operation, so you can load your arcade card with credits, grab the controls and have a blast!
ACME Bowling
100 Andover Park W.
Tukwila, WA 98188
206-340-2263
Online: bowlero.com/location/acme-bowl
Bowlwinkle Lanes at Tukwila Family Fun Center
The newest bowling alley on the block just happens to be a bowling ball’s throw away from Round 1 Bowling & Amusement and ACME Bowl in Tukwila. Located inside the Family Fun Center—the popular kiddie hangout off I-405— Bowlwinkle Lanes is a 16-lane, high-tech bowling alley that has all the latest bells and whistles, including lighting that moves with the music, ginormous screens at the end of each lane, automatic bumpers for pint-sized bowlers and bowling balls that look like billiard balls.
In addition to bowling: The Family Fun Center has a large indoor playground called Kidopolis (where kids can climb up a labyrinth of ladders and passageways and slide down an extravagant play structure) as well as small indoor rides, rows of arcade games, carnival-style games and interactive games as well as bumper cars and an entire floor dedicated to laser tag. Outside is equally as entertaining with two miniature golf courses, batting cages, kiddie rides, bumper boats, bumper cars and go-karts to keep everyone in your brood happy and amused.
Family Fun Center & Bullwinkle’s Restaurant
300 Fun Center Way
Tukwila, WA 98188
425-228-7300
Online: www.fun-center.com/tukwila/bowl/