This weekend I made a three-hour trip out to Latitude 360’s Pittsburgh location with full intentions of experiencing everything the venue had to offer. But with a comedy club, dine-in movie theater, luxury bowling, full arcade, dining, and live music, it was simply impossible to properly enjoy everything in one night.
Our Arrival
My friend and I arrived around 7pm. Before driving into the parking lot, I had no idea the building would be so huge. As soon as you come in the doors, you get a great view of the massive first floor. The first thing you notice, though, is one of the employees at a table with a spinning wheel featuring various prizes. This setup is used to make sure new people learn about the 360 Membership Club before getting started.
The membership programs and how they are introduced are really brilliant. Within a few moments, everyone knows they want to have at least the free green membership, which gives you reward points for engaging in various activates and whatever prize you win for signing up. But, if you plan on spending a few hours there, it’s a no-brainer to upgrade to the $25/month blue membership, which gives you over $100 of value to enjoy that very night (not to mention unlimited movies Monday through Thursday and concierge service), as well as ongoing perks for each month you’re a member. There is also a black membership option to get even more perks, but regardless of which option chosen, there are strong incentives to make sure members come back regularly.
Enjoying the 360 Experience
The first thing we did was walk around to see the whole place and then strategize on the best way to enjoy the night. It was amazing to see how big the facility really was and the wide range of people of all ages.
We started with the arcade, which had everything from skee ball, racing games, prize cranes, and a dance machine to shooters, 4-way air hockey and much more. My friend and I had a really great time. Afterwards we were able to cash in on tickets won by playing the various games. The ticket store featured all kinds of candy, toys, electronics and countless other items.
Next, we made it just in time to enjoy the comedy club. The first comedian was an up-and-comer who engaged the crowd well while we all enjoyed a great menu of mixed drinks, draft beer, and food. The second comedian was Carl Strong, who you might have seen on HBO, Showtime or The “Tonight Show”. He had virtually everyone roaring with laughter. This part of the evening exceeded my expectations because I thought the comedy club would just be a sideline perk, but it definitely wasn’t. According to one of the hostesses, many of the people there were “walk-ins” for the show. Having performers that single-handedly bring in outsiders is an excellent way to introduce people to Latitude 360!
After the show we chose the sports bar section of the on-site restaurant instead of the quieter dining area. Although there are multiple premium offerings, such as filet mignon and ribeye, I went with the Cajun Shrimp Po’ Boy with a side of sweet potato fries. It was no doubt the best Po’ Boy I’ve ever had. There was a very generous serving of shrimp, which fell out more than once.
It was amazing how fast time went by. The next thing we did was bowling. There are bowling lanes on both the first and second floor. All the lanes have comfortable couches to sit on, large video screens, flatscreen TVs to track score, and a full-service wait staff for food and drinks. Setting up the game was easy and the luxurious environment definitely made the game more enjoyable.
The last thing my friend and I did was check out the live music. The band was on stage in front of a good-sized dance floor surrounded by tables. You could tell the company really went all-out on the sound system and lighting. Enjoying it all with everyone else definitely ended the night well.
Although we were planning on seeing a movie in their dine-in movie theater, there just wasn’t enough time to do everything. From what I read on promotional material, the movie theater features comfortable home theater-style seating with trays to hold menu items and a huge HD screen with 10,000+ watts of DTS™ digital surround sound. I have no doubt it would have been a great experience, too.
Overall Impression
I’ve never been to a place before quite like it. There are tons of things to choose from and always having a full service menu of food and drinks was really great. Also, the staff was able to answer all my questions and gave great service.
It’s important to note that no one there knew who I was, so our experience was the same as everyone else. After coming back home, my friend thanked me for a good time and said he would love to visit the place again whenever I decide to go back. What Latitude 360 put together is really special and I hope they come to our local area soon!
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