Buffaloe Lanes Family Bowling Center – Raleigh

Was hoping to find a sport my son would be interested in and decided to give bowling a try. Visited Buffaloe South and was glad to see they had programs and leagues in place for every age group. The facility is kept clean and up to date and not smelly. The availability of added seating for guest is some what limited but not an issue if the place is not packed. The refreshment area offers the standard fare with a few season items and they have a good size arcade with rooms for birthdays. The lanes are in good form with computer driven scoring and video animations for added excitement. Getting back to the youth program, the staff has placed a greater emphasis on building a good program here with several instructors who are certified as well as one who has coached on the collegiate level and they offer a free added game after the league for extra help. I would recommend this if you have a child looking for an activity other than the basketball baseball soccer etc.

Ahhhh… finally something I can do with my teenagers that has them putting down the electronics! With the student cards that they got from the schools, we have been going so much that they now want to join leagues and have their own balls drilled! I can’t say I mind, because the staff is always very nice and helpful, it’s a clean facility and it’s alcohol free. For me, this is a plus since I know I don’t have to worry about drunk people muddying up the place. Until they build the new bowling center in Holly Springs, (which will be so much closer), these guys have gained some steady customers here!

My review is only on starlight bowling.
Last summer, we loved coming here on Saturdays with friends to enjoy midnight bowling. It was close and convenient and we didnt have to drive all the way into Cary or downtown Raleigh to enjoy a night out which was a plus.
A man named Ethan was the MC and would do different games like «trick shot», fastest bowl, least number of pins knocked down without guttering it, etc while you were bowling… They had trivia too. It was bowling but SO MUCH MORE — he made it so much fun with the side games…
Well we hadn’t been in awhile and went back last night with the same friends (they have 2 kids and dont get out much) and we were looking for the same experience and this place fell completely short.
We assumed that even if Ethan wasn’t there — they’d still have the same side games… well let me tell you — this place thinks midnight bowling is just bowling with the lights down low now.
Most midnight bowling places I’ve been to will have black lights or music or something to make it a little more interesting — this place had nothing. It was really just bowling with the lights dimmed.
Not only that — but the snack bar ONLY had nacho’s. Thats it.
We kept coming back because of how much fun we had… well after last nights experience — we won’t be going back at all.

Decided to go bowling as a fun little track out activity w/​the 8 year old & chose this location because of it’s close proximixity to home & the fact that I had a «play one game, get one free» Citipass coupon :) We really enjoyed the couple of hours we spent here. Arrived early afternoon on a Tuesday and it wasn’t very busy, actually pretty quiet, which was nice since the toddler was slightly freaked out by all of the ball-​dropping action. :(
The staff was very friendly (well, everyone except the snack bar girl– she wasn’t rude, just not as nice as everyone else was). We played 2 games & rented shoes, and after using my coupon it was about $ 10. Not too bad for a couple of hours of air-​conditioned family fun. And my arm was sore the next day so maybe I even got a little bit of a workout! :-)
They have a kids’ club you can sign up for (for free) where kids get one free game per day so that will save me a few bucks each visit! They also have a pretty cool little arcade which we spent some time in. I’m definitely better at skee-​ball than bowling.;) After playing games for a little while, we traded our tokens in for some plastic jewelry & called it a day!
Worth noting is that this is an alcohol-​free bowling alley so if you’re looking for a plass to enjoy a few beers while you bowl, this isn’t your place. Also, the snack bar has a lot of choices (even breakfast biscuits!)! The munchkin enjoyed her chicken fingers (although a little pricey) and I felt their tiny small size soda should’ve warranted at least ONE free refill, but no biggie. It was still a fun time and we’ll be back!

The staff were very great to work with during our track team fundraiser. Great people and environment for kids.