We were "bowled over" by Splitz!Trying to eek the last few minutes out of summer vacation, my husband and I decided to take the kids to Splitz for a little bowling. To be perfectly honest, I'm not such a fan of bowling to begin with. The loud, crowded atmosphere, stinky borrowed shoes, and let's not forget that I can't break 100 (even with bumpers...). So when my husband told me that Splitz was in Westminster and that it was a decent hike from our home in Highlands Ranch, let's just say I was less than enthused. After thinking it through for a whole 10 seconds, I said "what the heck" and off we went.
I think my attitude changed as soon as we walked in the door. Where were the yelling leagues and blasting music? I mean, this place was shiny and clean! Even the video games were good looking. That's saying something

. When the lot of us approached the desk, the manager on duty was super friendly and explained how pizza bowl works. We were able to use a lane for 2 hours (from our first roll of the ball), use house shoes (which were not all that stinky), get a large, one-topping pizza and a pitcher of soda for about $65.00. Plus, you get free socks! Ok, so that may not be quite worthy of the exclamation point, but hey - they were nice socks with little bowling pins on them. And they were free. Not bad, considering there are five kids and two adults.
The lane was set-up so that my littlest kids could use bumpers to help them bowl while the rest of us chose to fend for ourselves. I should have opted for bumpers, but that's besides the point. We were given a server to take our pizza and drink order and we also decided to try out some ultimate nachos from the menu. My kids had just as much fun sitting at the table with the cool chairs as they did bowling. I won't try to explain the tables - let's just say that the seats swing back and forth and have swivel capability. Safe, but amusing for some. As we bowled, the screen would give us tips on how to improve our chances (like by using bumpers...) and show cartoon-styled snippets after each person finished. I always seemed to get the one where the mummy became unraveled. I wonder why.
We had a great time at Splitz and plan to take the trip back again soon. The pizza special is available everyday with varying times and it's a little more expensive during peak weekend hours. For about ten dollars less, you can choose to not get a pizza and get popcorn instead on Monday through Thursday. This really is a nice place with a friendly staff. It's family friendly, clean, and tons of fun. I feel like Splitz has taken bowling to a new, happier place. Oh, and we could all hear each other just fine

.