Skate Zone

Don’t bother coming on a weekend. Too small to hold the enormous crowd. No sitting area — what they do have is clogged with people in line to rent skates. Children absolutely everywhere, which is typical for a rink on a weekend, except here they have big inflatable toys and apparently those are allowed on the rink?
You really don’t have space to move, so if you’re trying to get some semblance of a skate workout in, go somewhere else.

I was trying to give it 3.5 stars.
Went on a Saturday to skate with my son (9) and a friend and her son (4). The location address is a little strange, unless you live in Crofton is my guess. Getting on and off the street it’s on can be a little crazy because people are flying down Route 3. Plenty of parking.
Going in the building and seeing that you have to be buzzed into the space is interesting, to say the least. The computers were down and the lobby a little chaotic. But service moved pretty quickly and the staff was polite.
The music was good. Overall skating was fun, but the floor was a little crazy. There were a lot of smaller kids going the wrong way. A lot of parents without skates on the floor with smaller kids, I’ve never seen that allowed before. And a lot of the smaller kids that should have been inside the circle were all over and causing people to fall.

Love it, lived it, grew up here! I take my little neices and nephews here and at my age I still have a great time here. Food is good, expecially the pizza, entertainment it good and they have a great system!
Very kid friendly, great for birthday parties. Easy, affordable and everyone leaves happy! :)

3 out of 5 (probably 2.5) seems like a good rating for this place. Based on the reviews, I expected much worse.
Finding this place is difficult as there are no distinguishing marks on the building. There is a decent sized sign near the street, but the outside looks like an empty factory building. It didn’t help that when we arrived, around 1 on Sunday, only 2 or 3 other cars were in the parking lot.
We were greeted warmly and our groupons were accepted without incident. It had been over a decade since most of us had last been skating. It was good to find out some things you never forget.
Our deal included food from the snack bar, which had me worried. Surprisingly, the pizza was rather good. I wouldn’t order a pizza from here to take home, but I’ve tasted far worse bar food type snacks.
This is a bad place to learn to skate. Some of the walls are made of cement/​brick. What genius thought of that one?! Hitting one of the walls at the right speed or angle could cause serious injury. To make things worse, there are uneven spots throughout the rink. You can usually tell where the by lighter colored patches, but if you’re watching your feet while skating, especially with a busy rink, odds are you will fall. The last bad thing, several of the entrances for the rink are really high. This makes it dangerous to step on or off, especially if you are just learning. I watched at least 5 different skaters fall in some fashion because of the awkward entrances. Your safest best is the entrance/​exit near the skate rental.
As we were leaving, we needed to stop by the ticket counter so our toddler could collect his prizes from playing the arcade games. It took about 10 minutes for someone to help us. OK, they were busy, but there was an employee sitting in a room playing on a computer. Really?! There was a line of about 5 or 6 families and he’s playing solitaire (or whatever he was doing). It is clear some of the workers care, while others can’t be bothered to help you.
Would we go back? Maybe under the right conditions, but odds are we’d try somewhere else first.

Nothing fancy.
Not updated.
But my kids had fun here.
The staff were very nice and helpful.

This place was okay. I’ve been twice-​years apart– and each time had an equally tough time trying to find it. And I’m pretty decent with directions. I finally gave up and called and they were nice when giving me good, straightforward directions.
According to them, the sign is big, but it’s actually too low to be seen from the road in time to make the turn unless you know it’s there. They should suggest you head for Capital Raceway and then it’d be easy to spot after you make the turn. I tried the mobile site, which does nothing to help you figure out where to go. Maybe the actual site is better.
The guy at the register looked like he’s seen too many dishonest people or just doesn’t care but tries real hard to pretend to. Thankfully, after being asked, the manager was nice enough to let us late arrivals (due to driving in circles!) in at the 6person+ discount given to the rest of our group, who’d arrived just a little earlier. They almost didn’t though.
The girl giving out skates was a teensy bit rude about letting me know we had to give her our shoes first before announcing sizes. I definitely didn’t like the way she spoke to us like we should’ve already known. News flash, each of the establishments we’ve been to does things differently. How about you be considerate and nicely let the customer know the deal? No need to be snide.
Two things I’m also not a fan of:
1) The once-​in policy– even if you go to your car you have to pay to get in again– give me a break! If you’re worried about folks sneaking in on someone else’s receipt have a sign out and allow ppl to check back in. There HAS to be a better way. Glad I didn’t forget anything in the car.
2) You have to rent the walkers at an extra $ 5. Whatever. Even at the ice skating rink it’s free to borrow or check out with or without ID. Every other rink I’ve been to is that way. I refuse based on principle.
All in all each time we went we had fun once we put all that behind us. Not sure if we’d return based on this last visit, even for the kids skate free– do they still have that? I think we’ll scout out a new place with a little better customer service. Maybe once I’ve let this most recent trip go, we’ll try again.

I’ve been to Skate Zone countless times for roller derby practice, so this is a review for that and not for the general skating hours. The floor is extremely sticky wooden skate rink, so I would wear my hardest wheels here, especially if it’s humid outside.
According to their website (
), Tuesdays here are closed for private parties (yay derby practice). They have $ 1 skate nights on Thursdays, $ 2 on Wednesdays (with corresponding $ 1 and $ 2 skate rentals). Admission and skate rental goes up for Friday/​Sat/​Sunday. They have your usual skate rink food, PVC pipe skate mates, and plenty of seating and tables. Unlike many skate places, the water in the water fountain here is both cold AND doesn’t taste weird. One of my big beefs with Skate Zone is that the bathroom stall doors are way too low (basically, anyone over 5′ can see over them into the stall).

I went against one of the previous reviews and had a birthday party for my daughter here! I had a very different experience from the previous reviewer. My daughter and her friends had a great time. I even had a great time as well.
The party booking is all done online unless you are planning within the week of your expected party. I booked weeks in advance so all of my planning occured online. I chose the glow party for 10 children for a Sunday afternoon. The price was pretty good for an all inclusive party that included 3 pizzas, pink and red drank, (not drink, that was some diabetes in a cup), popcorn, skate rentals and game tickets. The children had a blast.
The young lady who was our party attendant was very nice and had everything set up in a timely manner. The children and I were able to have a fun time with little to no hiccups.
I will definitely bring my daughter back and possibly plan another party here in the future!

OK, First time here and I would say that the music selection is OK but the food is the worst! Would have to check out other skate facilities but as far as this one. I’m not impressed at all!

My family and I had a great time skating here. It was our first time at this business and we went on a night where everything was a dollar which was very nice considering the typical prices are like going to a movie. I don’t think we would pay normal prices which could average around $ 12 a person for skates and admission. The place was filled with a diverse group of people and wasn’t too busy as we got a refresher on skating. Locker rental is $.75 which seems steep to me.

I bring my boys here maybe once a month to do some skating. They really enjoy it. Roller skating for hours, go around and around the rink never tires them out. This place is always jam packed on the weekend, especially on Saturday’s. Birthday parties and regular patrons can enjoy the rink at the same time. The food here is just ok, nothing spectacular. Pizza or chicken tenders with fries, the basic items. All in all its a good place to take your kids to burn some energy on the weekend.

Went last night for the Labbe Orthodontics skate party. I didn’t want to take ANY chances getting myself hurt. There were so many kids and I do not know how to skate and do not want to learn because I might end up getting a concussion or breaking a bone or something. The person that was supervising the rink was I think EXTREMELY slow and did not care if a child got hurt. The only good thing that I would say about this place is the small arcade and the prize table. I got an inflatable frog and it was good. I wouldn’t return because of the chances of injury.

Snack bar decent… Too many kids for my taste… After a certain time it should be no underage kids… They have no structure on the skate floor… Ppl be doing whatever they want…

I didn’t enjoy myself here… at all. First, it’s way too small. I grew up skating at much larger rinks and this place seems tiny in comparison. Second, I don’t know if they have an adult night or not but, if not, one needs to be implemented. I couldn’t enjoy myself skating when little kids are falling all over the place or trying to skate with an assist. It’s just too much and too dangerous. Third, the skates were weird. They just seemed way too wide and stiff. The skates I used to rent fit more snuggly. Maybe skate rinks have changed dramatically since I was a kid or this place really falls short. Either way, I won’t be back.

Don’t naver have b day party hear ants in the kids food rude customer service naver again and when told the management they act like it happens all the time

I am basing this review in comparison to the rolling skating rink in Laurel…
Day/​time of visit: Sunday, 2:30pm
Purpose: 4 yr old bday party
Ambiance: Typical roller skating atmosphere. Fun, fairly clean, diverse group of patrons, lots of families and younger kids, but yet, saw a couple of young adults for group outings. (It is also Christmas break time). They have a live DJ that played a good mixture of music. From current pop to 1990’s to current hip-​hop and r&b. I was totally jamming.
It appears they have purchased new skates for the majority of sizes that includes the 4 wheel typical roller skates and in-​line skating. They still smell like disinfecting spray, but I would rather smell that then someone’s funky ass feet. What do you expect though? (I’m beginning to cringe now that I think of how many strangers have worn those skates before me… *shiver*).
The place has a small arcade areas, a food stand, seating areas, self service lockers, and a party area. Pretty we’ll spread out.
My experience here is limited to my 4 and 3 year old. We had skate mates that they held on to as they are learning how to skate. These make such a difference when teaching them. The slower skaters tend to be towards the center of the rink where there are a few large circle benches that sit in the center, which I think is a great concept.
I enjoyed my time there. I enjoyed the venue and believe it’s one of the better rinks in the area in terms of cleanliness.

As others have noted this place is a bit worn/​dated, but it is still a fun place to take the kids; or have an active date skating around kids. The price is reasonable, and I have observed some coupons in local publications that makes going even more affordable. They have both traditional skates as well as rollerblades for rent. The music is Top 20’s hits. This is a popular spot for children (6 – 10 age range) to have birthday parties on the weekend, so you will be hearing the DJ. calling party attenders to the «Party Zone» quite often. Pizza here is better than average for this type of setting (slightly better than Chucky Cheese, if that helps).

This place is a hell hole. Plastic skates and a worn linoleum floor.

Pros: This skating ring is only about 30 minutes from Silver Spring and the atmosphere is very fun, like the skating rinks you might remember as a kid. Brightly colored décor, flashing lights, arcade games and TV screens everywhere, and a bunch of toy prizes to buy. It’s a sensory overload fun atmosphere. There are half-​walls to run into to stop yourself, and seats in the middle of the rink to take a break. They do a lot of birthday parties on the weekend, and seem to have a better set up for it than the other two rinks I visited. You can rent skate mates for $ 5 each for kids who are just learning.
Cons: The rink surface is cement, not wood, and it’s not completely even. There are steps getting into the ring. The adult skates are the tennis show style instead of the boot style, which I found hard to use. They were very hard to tighten enough, so they slipped around on my foot. I found myself clumsier than usual on those skates because of the poor fit and lack of ankle support. The sensory overload feels a lot like Chuck E Cheese, which is too much for me. There’s very little seating outside of the rink, so it’s crowded. It’s also the most expensive of the three places I visited near Silver Spring. It was also VERY difficult to find. The address didn’t register on our car GPS or our smart phone GPS.
I prefer the Laurel rink to this one.

Don’t think for a minute that I would wish failure upon my child, but after coming here I am so glad that my daughter has no sense of balance. Outside of it being a miserable experience for us both, I was itching to leave this place as soon as I smelled it.
Skate Zone was opened in 1996 (the last time I went roller skating come to think of it) and seems to hold all 15 years worth of sweat and feet smells. It is badly in need of a good cleaning and ceiling repair. The carpet that lines the walls and benches just made me want to seek out some antibiotic soap after touching it.
I am in no rush to get back here and although there were signs saying that they were under repair I saw no indication of this place receiving a badly needed overhaul.