When the Navy first sent my little family across the country to live in an area I’d never been to before, I relied HEAVILY on local Navy moms to fill me in on where all the family friendly fun was.
Before leaving Lemoore, I posted a few guides to the best places to eat / visit / things to do in the Central Valley, and they received some great feedback from local moms and Navy wives. So now that I find myself back in the Central Valley – where I was born and raised – I figured.. Why not get back into the local review scene?!
I know a lot of you Central California mommies (especially Lemoore Navy spouses) have been looking for good day outings for the family, so I decided to start there! And first up? John’s Incredible Pizza in Fresno, California!
While I am well acquainted with John’s, having spent many teen years rocking the DDR pad in the arcade with friends, the folks at John’s Incredible Pizza were awesome enough to host my little family for this review. We visited this past Monday, with a couple of my husband’s co-workers / Navy friends in tow (who had never visited before)!
So what can you expect with a visit to John’s Incredible Pizza? Check out my review below!
John’s Incredible Pizza in Fresno, CA
John’s is located about a 55 minute drive from Lemoore NAS, but is well worth the drive as a full day outing. Unlike your traditional arcade, John’s offers a full package of buffet / game room that can easily fill up your entire day.
Be warned: John’s Incredible Pizza is VERY high energy, and if you go on a weekend, it’s pretty much always packed (expect to stand in a line that reaches to the door just to buy entrance to the all you can eat buffet and fun room).
First up, the FOOD!
For a pizza buffet, the options are quite impressive. John’s offers over 20 varieties from classic Cheese and Pepperoni to Fiesta, Hawaiian and Alfredo – plus all of the pizzas are made fresh, from scratch, daily! But aside from pizza there is a HUGE selection of other offerings, from the salad bar to pastas to comfort foods like chicken and potatoes.
I always end up going all OCD on the food stations and then fill up at the first two stops (the salad bar and pasta bar) and then I have no room for all the yummy pizza varieties and dessert. But I don’t mind since the food is so yummy. One of my personal favorites is the Baked Potato Chowder. SO GOOD. Seriously thinking of asking for the recipe the next time I go…
Oh! And when you go, one of the John’s Incredible Pizza novelties is the Spicy Peanut Butter Pizza. People either love it or hate (our table was evenly split right down the middle on this one).. but it’s something you have to at least try once! I am one of those rarities that doesn’t feel strongly towards it either way, but a trip to John’s isn’t complete without a pizza slice complete with a whole peanut on top gracing your plate. Hehe!
Also, when it comes to the seating, John’s offers multiple dining rooms, and each room is different.. I mean, completely different themes. A sports room, a cartoon room, a mountain lodge room, a classy veranda… seriously, enough to match any mood (if you are lucky enough to find a table in the room of your choice that is.. this place gets busy!)
Now on to the GAME ROOM!
The game room is delightfully chaotic and filled with flashing lights and music – a perfect atmosphere to set loose excited, sugar-filled kids. I have heard John’s referred to as “Chuck E Cheese on crack” and a “child’s casino, with their own little piece of Vegas”.
The arcade has a GREAT selection of games, along with carnival style rides, laser tag, bumper cars, a mini train, bowling alley and a little kids playground area that’s perfect for toddlers.
The arcade games themselves range from cutting edge to old fashioned classics like Skee-Ball and Air Hockey. (And, of course, there’s Dance Dance Revolution!!) Anyway, with over 100 video games, and extra activities, you can see how you can easily burn a full day here.
Be aware: The arcade games operate on a gaming card system, where you load up a pre-paid card with virtual “credits”, and you simply swipe to play. While it makes divvying up cards easy and ditches the hassle of pockets full of tokens, it can be a problem with spend-happy kids. Also, if you lose your card, there goes ALL your “cash”. Some love it, some hate it. Just a heads up.
This is a place that ultimately caters to kids, but grown-ups who are kids at heart have a blast here too. (Case in point, I came her often as a teen.. and this last trip was my first time coming to the arcade as a MOM!) My husband and his Navy buddies also had a blast playing the first person shooter games and getting competitive over interactive rhythm action and speed games. And even my little 16 month old had a blast watching the games and even trying her hand at a few with mommy and daddy!
Overall, as far as arcades and amusement centers go, this is one of the better locations in the Central Valley, with the most bang for your buck. The employees are all polite, sweet, and on the ball with fixing the inevitable problems that arise in an arcade and buffet setting (refilling the food stations, fixing machines that run out of tickets or eat coins, cleaning up spills and tables, etc. etc.)
I know the Central Valley often carried a bit of a bad rap, of being isolated and away from everything.. but trust me, there are some fun pockets of family fun within an easy drive! And John’s Incredible Pizza is one of them!
It’s been awhile since I’ve been there. Now I wanna go with Tessa!
It’s a fun outing!! Tessa loved all the flashing lights.. she wanted to play ALL DA GAMES!! ^_^
Stunning pics and beautiful write up….Love it …. 🙂
Thanks!! <3
That sounds like a great place!!! Not likely that I ever will come near, so eat a pizza for me :))
Rosa
Styleyourselfinstyle.blogspot.com
CAN DO! hehe!
That was a great review. Very comprehensive! The game room looks like fun for all ages. The photo of your daughter on the horse is adorable!
Thanks! And you should have seen the photos BEFORE I took the camera.. haha. She was so scared at first! She was clinging to me like she was miserable and frightened.. so we took her down and she started begging to go back up! So I took the camera and my husband took over, and she started giggling and bouncing and having fun.. little stinker! hehe!! ^_^
Great blog! Thanks for stopping by mine. 😉 I’ve never been to John’s Incredible Pizza but I have friends from Cali and they always rave about it! It’s their favorite place when they go visit home!
Haley
http://hwescott.blogspot.com
If you’re ever in the area, you’ll have to check it out! 😉
Omg!This place looks awesome and the food looks way better than any place here.The card system is a good idea for older kids it would be nice to give each kid there own card so they could know to spend wisely .
Yeah, I rather like the card system… it really is an impromptu lesson in budgeting, haha!
I love that place! I seriously go almost every time I have to go to Fresno. I like the cartoon room but during peak hours the number of kids running under foot in there makes me often choose the log cabin style dining room.
I usually opt for the veranda.. Or the “old people room” as jon calls it haha.. It’s always quieter and a bit more peaceful. That or the log cabin room…
Pizza is one of my favorite things in the entire world! I love that you went here and shared the pictures. I am so hungry, even though I already ate. Would love to try that peanut butter pizza!
Denise
http://www.fashionloveletters.com
It’s a trip! Like I said, people either love it, or hate it! 😉
We don’t have one here, but now I so wish we did, because it looked like great food and fun times, too 🙂
I hadn’t realized till I did this review that John’s is actually a chain! I just assumed it was a Fresno exclusive, haha…
Nice review! Looks like a lot of fun! Have a nice weekend
http://girlandthepolkadot.blogspot.com/
Thanks, it was! You too doll! <3
Was a really fun time. good place to bring the family and just enjoy yourselves while experimenting with some crazy pizza! Also really nice pictures!
Thanks!! Haha, I got a picture of you playing that light up racing game, right?? Did you want the copies of the other pics I took? haha! Glad you had fun!
The pizzas look really delicious and the arcade pictures sure bring back fond memories of my childhood days! Thanks for sharing this post!
Prudence
http://www.prudencepetitestyle.wordpress.com
Yeah, I kind of grew up at arcades, so they have a special place in my heart! <3 Thanks for commenting!
You have so much fun and your photography inspires me very much. Also NOT FAIR YOU GOT PIZZA can I have some! ??
http://littlemissblogery.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1
Hehe, yes, come get some!! But only if you try the spicy peanut butter!! 😉
I personally loved the peanut butter pizza!! But then again, I love peanut butter on just about anything. This place is a lot of fun to kill a few hours with the family and friends!
You WOULD like the peanut butter pizza. 😉 I had a lot of fun with you!! We need to go back and empty out the rest of our fun cards!!
Your little girl is adorable! She looks so much like Alex when she was that age. 🙂 John’s looks like a kid’s fairy tale restaurant. My kids would have wanted to live there. Great review!
Yeah, I think calling it the “kids Vegas” is the best description, haha! Your Alex must be a beautiful baby! 😉 😉
Great review and photos! The food looks so delicious. xx
Sara Wallflower
Thanks! I have come here just for the buffet before, the food is that good! Not my favorite pizza on the planet, but for the WHOLE buffet package and variety? It’s awesome!
This place looks fun and the pizza looks good!
Melanie @ meandmr.com
It is!! ^_^
I’ve never heard of John’s but it sounds way better than Chuck-E-Cheese which is our comparable place. I was happy when my boys were old enough to no longer have any interest in going!!!
Yeah, I haven’t been to a Chuck E Cheese since I was tiny.. but I don’t really feel the need to go, (as an adult arcade junky) because they don’t have any fun arcade games.. just stuff for the little ones!
Wow!! I want to go so badly. I wonder how I would feel about the spicy peanut butter pizza. I think I’d have to try it first.
I love places like this and I wish I lived closer. And the photos are fabulous, my dear!
Well, if you’re ever in the area! And thanks! I generally suck at lower level lighting, so I was very pleased with how these came out. 😉
I remember going to this place when younger. It still looks amazing! I’m glad you had such fun there. Maybe I should go again :D.
Hey! Next time you’re in town we should go!
i still love going to these and i don’t have kids! hehe. so much fun and i always give away my tickets to a kid i see. it makes my day.
LOL, that’s what we did this trip! We didn’t really play enough to win a lot of tickets, and anything we could “win” would be a choking hazard for Tessa, so we gave them away to a little girl who had a huge handfill and was obviously trying to win something big.. hehe..
We’ve been to John’s Incredible Pizza a few times 🙂 it does get busy, but the kids still love it! *I* love that it’s buffet food.. That’s the #1 reason (for me) to like it more than Chuck E cheese’s, adventure park, boomers, etc. LOL
Haha, right?! I’m a sucker for buffets 😉