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Making magic at Chuck E. Cheese's

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Contributed by: Charmaine Robledo/YourHub.com on 1/31/2008

Editor's note: Visit our Faces of Arvada and Wheat Ridge page, where YourHub.com staff and readers can introduce you to more people who make this part of the metro area what it is.

"Hi. Welcome to Chuck E. Cheese. Are you here for fun or a celebration?" Danielle Crowder warmly greets a family as they walk through the front door. When they approach the red plastic rope, Crowder asks to see their hands for stamping.

"It's a safety precaution," she said. "On the way out, we make sure the kids and their parents have the same stamp."

As soon as the family is let through, the children disappear into the arcade games. Meanwhile, mom orders pizza and a cup of tokens.

It's about 11:30 a.m. Jan. 29 as a stream of mothers with young children trickle into Chuck E. Cheese's at 9301 W. 58th Ave. in Arvada. Crowder, 21, who works as the opening shift coordinator, said the mornings are regularly filled with moms who want to get their kids out of the house for a little while.

She's been there since 7 a.m. preparing the salad bar, making sure the games are properly working and doing paperwork. A lifelong resident of Arvada, Crowder lives a couple blocks from Chuck E. Cheese's.

After greeting a few more families, Crowder takes a break and goes into the kitchen to make a batch of cotton candy. She said most employees have to know food preparation and service.

Although marketed toward young children, Crowder said folks even up to 50 years old come to Chuck E. Cheese's. She recalled a 21st birthday party with a sorority house, complete with an appearance by Chuck E. and singing and dancing by staff.

"Our motto is 'make magic,'" she said. "So we make sure they have an experience they don't have anywhere else."

In her 3 1/2 years at Chuck E. Cheese's, Crowder said the most common question she gets is about the kids.

"People say to me, 'Working here must help with birth control,' and I tell them no, I actually enjoy it," she said. "It's fun to work with kids."

Crowder added that sometimes she sees kids come in dressed up as Batman or Harry Potter and they ask to be called by that character. "It's really cute," she said.

And what about the parents? Crowder said they also have a lot of older games that parents can play. Often, Crowder thinks the "parents enjoy the games more than the kids do." For Crowder, she likes playing the racing games.

Crowder said they have Chuck E. Cheese come out during peak hours, which she said are around lunchtime, 3 p.m. and after 6. She has donned the mouse costume on occasion, "even as a manager," she said.

"We just make sure kids see Chuck E. before they leave," she said. "Chuck E. makes their day."

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