Fast Forward Skate Center

I used to come here when I was a kid. That was about 20 years ago. Nothing has changed. Literally nothing. The flooring, the walls, the arcade games, the tables. My 8 year old daughter had fun though. The bathroom smelled like sewage. There were signs up saying the rink floor is going to be redone soon, which is good, because it was really hard to avoid the parts of the floor that were very uneven and anyone that wasn’t a very good skater kept falling. Anyone that did stay upright would get tripped up by those that fell on the uneven parts.

Violet L’s friend hosted a retro-​themed birthday party here on 5÷3÷14; we stopped-​in for an hour or so.
+ New owners appear to be putting some effort into the building
+ Ceiling tiles are gone, and replaced with corrugated metal
+ Lighting fixtures repaired
+ The dank, sweaty smell is gone
+ Staff was very friendly, helpful, and good natured
+ Music was superb
— Skate floor is still quite uneven; saw several people fall in spots where there were issues with the flooring
— Parking lot is still very DMZ-​like
I’m hoping they keep making improvements, and wish them well.

Yes, the parking lot has tons of potholes and you feel like you might get mugged. Yes, it is quite dirty with dust, old Twix wrappers and empty Gatorade bottles in the corners… and yes of course it is stuck in a time warp. Oh, and there is one somewhat creepy but nice 50 year old man skating «to the beat of his own drum» and kids who cut you off and end up hitting the wall. However, this place is freaking FANTASTIC-​everyone is in a good mood, there is great skating music (just to clarify, I didn’t say great music, I said great skating music), the snacks are just like I remember, they have glow sticks and other glowing objects (i.e. glowing grills and pacifiers)…and if you’re there to have a good time and skate your pants off, you’re gonna love this place. Apparently there are new owners and things are on the up and up. I would go back when I have the chance and I suggest you do too!

I went to Fast Forward today for a private party for 300 Girl Scouts. The rink floor was in bad shape with patches and bumps that could launch you airborne. Because my daughter is allergic to dairy she could not eat the pizza that was brought in by Pizza Hut. Although there were hot foods (such as French fries) in the heated case at the concession stand, I was not allowed to buy anything because it was a private party. Really people? The person who told me this was the DJ working double duty behind the counter, and said, «Hey, I would let you but management doesn’t want any food sold during private parties.». Hey, that’s some great customer service you have there! The parking lot is a crumbling mess with a narrow ramp that accommodates only one car. It is a shame that a city the size of Madison has only one roller rink. It is more of a shame that Fast Forward is woefully lacking in so many ways. I’d give it zero stars if I could.

I took my kids here and we had a great time! Love the little rooms for birthday parties. So cute!

The entire property is run down, kinda creepy and pretty yucky. I had rented some inline skates thad had moldy inserts. I think they may be the only roller rink in Madison so you don’t have too many options.
Obviously this place is popular with kids and they don’t seem to notice all the blight so we would just grin and bear it.

First, I’m shocked there aren’t other reviews of this place.
Second, I called to get their card acceptance policy anticipating a covert issue and the Manager Lea followed up to my voicemail the next day and provided a standard solid rationale/​policy for card acceptance.
Why does this matter? There was a charge that was credited back but it bothered me as I sent the kid out with the specific card to use. Cash is hard to come by in my world — swipe for as much as possible to maintain a proper ledger of accounting.
Anywhoo, THE CARD MUST HAVE THE NAME OF THE PERSON UTIILIZING THE CARD. ok~ IF «CID» is denoted they ask for such.
Sidebar: I hate places that ask for the ID AFTER they’ve already swiped. I’m like come on. Do this first.
At any rate, going forward I look forward to seeing how things get handled.
As for the atmosphere. I like the roller rink set up but I’m not the kind of adult that would drop a kid off or group of kids off to skate alone without adult supervision so that’s what I don’t like when the trouble making instigating kids are left alone, unsupervised and free to roam. Want to know what that looks like… go check out CHUCK E CHEESE reviews (not from me but others) and you’ll know.
They have theme nights, dance contests, group discounts and special openings.