Pinball Parlour in Earlington PA

[Kolchak357]

I was doing some searching on the Internet for some real life pins to play and came across this place about an hour away from me. I never knew this place existed. And check out the list of tables! Planning on checking it out sometime this week. Has anyone been here? If so, please share you opinion of the place. I'll give a brief review after I check it out.

http://pinball-parlour.com/index.php

 

[Sinistar]

Lucky man , the gallery of previous Pinballs that are no longer working or retired is fun too.

 

[dtown8532]

I have been there twice. Probably somewhere around 2007-2008. He has a fantastic collection, BUT, does not maintain them well. Quote taken from pinside.com's pinmap page from last year:

"Not always open when they say they are. Has a bunch of EMs and video games also.

MOST OF THESE PINS ARE IN ABSOLUTE TERRIBLE CONDITION.

Last time I was there, almost every machine had some major issues. Good collection but not well-maintained."

The owner once told me that he used a Pledge type spray to quickly "clean" the playfields. Uhg! Who knows? Maybe the place has improved but I doubt it. One thing. If you're going, CALL FIRST, to make sure he's going to be open. There's also a nearby bowling alley that had some newer Stern's.

My suggestion. Take a drive to the Pinball Gallery (pinballgallery.net) in Downingtown, PA for solid state tables or The Village Arcade in St. Peter's Village between Elverson, PA and Phoenixville, PA for EM's. Pinball Gallery's pins are in fantastic shape since most of them are also for sale. All are on quarter play.

 

[Kolchak357]

Thanks for the input. Sounds a little disappointing. I will probably check it out anyway. Even a poorly maintained White Water is better than none. Pinball Gallery and Village Arcade sound like some places to hit for sure. Haven't played an EM in years.

 

[dtown8532]

Thanks for the input. Sounds a little disappointing. I will probably check it out anyway. Even a poorly maintained White Water is better than none. Pinball Gallery and Village Arcade sound like some places to hit for sure. Haven't played an EM in years.

No harm in trying. Let us know on here how it was. Which ones were great, decent or just plain broke.

 

[szycag]

There's a record store called Music Underground in State College, PA that had Cirqus Voltaire, Twilight Zone, and Scared Stiff. They all worked perfectly. Bought some vinyl, smoked hookah and played pinball, it was a pretty good time. There's a pizza place right by it that has Sterns too. I didn't check that out myself, but I think the girl working there told me Spiderman, Ironman and Simpsons PP.

 

[Kolchak357]

Ok, I just came home from the Pinball Parlour. I'll give a brief review while it's fresh in my head. I agree with dtown in saying that this place a a fantastic collection of tables (see YouTube link a bottom to see all of the backglasses). Most tables are not on great shape. Most tables play fields are dirty, there were many bulbs out, and several weak flippers. They are only open for 3 hours per night, and there are still plenty of positives to keep you entertained for three hours. Here is what I played or tried to play.
Addams Family - machine was dirty but played ok.
Attack From Mars - the top half of the main saucer was missing, but other than that the table played well.
Cirques Voltaire - Played well, one of the better maintained machines.
CFTBL - looked and played very well.
Earth Shaker - in pretty good shape and yes it shook quite well.
Elvira Part Monsters - out of order
Fisf Tales - playable but the DMD is dead (sad)
Hurricane - played great, one of my favorites there.
Indian Jones - out of order, total bummer there.
Junkyard - I played a few games and it was a blast. Never played it before. Love that wrecking ball. But my buddy said the machine was acting up toward the end of the night and was unplayable.
Medieval Madness - left flipper had full power but was hanging too low an just ruined it.
No Good Gofers - worked fine and was as fun as I remembered.
Safecracker - worked fine. A very different kind of game. Need to play this more.
Scared Stiff - looked and played great. Played more games of this than any other table. Loved it!
Star Trek Next Gen - looked and play very well. Tough table, but fun.
Twilight Zone - table very dirty and top right flipper was underpowered.
Whirlwind - looked good, but the discs didn't spin. This is a deal breaker for me.
White Water - looked and played well. Ramps in nice shape. Forgot how hard this table was. Kicked my ass the first few games, but I loved it.
Revenge From Mars and Star Wars Ep 1 were up and running, but I had no interest in playing them.
I didn't play Banzai Run or Funhouse, but my buddy said they were in pretty good shape and he enjoyed them.
I did play a few EM's like Klondike and Sure Shot and a few others, but I cant remember all of the names. The condition of these is pretty rough. But they were still fun. Got up to 93K in Sure Shot but couldn't get the score to turnover. Maybe next time.

As I said they are not maintained in collector shape. It appears to be a one man operation. The guy has a full time job and opens this place in the evenings. Super nice guy. I think his name was Paul. He even opened up early to let us in. And you should easily be able to find enough to keep you having fun for three hours. And it was only $15 for the three hours of unlimited play. I would definitely go back again. My pal and I both agreed on that.

That's about all I can remember. Let me know if you have any other questions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm31b4e5wC8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[dtown8532]

Glad to see you had a good time. At least there were enough decent pins in playable condition. The tables against the wall when you first walk up the stairs (AFM, MM, TZ, IJ, STTNG, Roadshow) always seemed to get the most plays. Thus, some always seemed to have issues. Too bad about TZ. It was working really nice when I was there. Although, that was about four years ago. The other big problem for me with this place is the hours. 7-10 pm is kinda a pain for me when its about an hour and a half away. Wish he was open during the day time but, I understand, he has a full time job as well. Was nice of the owner to open up early for you though.

I think I'm gonna stick with The Pinball Gallery. May not have the awesome selection of this place, but its closer and the machines are in much nicer shape. Besides, they just got a BK2K to eat my quarters.

 

[Kolchak357]

Heading back to the Pinball Parlour with a friend or two this Thursday 8/30/12. If Anyone else can make, be sure to say hi. I'll be wearing an orange shirt.

 

[Kolchak357]

Making my monthly pilgrimage to the Pinball Parlour again tonight with a couple friends. I'll be there the entire time they are open (7-10). If anyone else is going to be there, say hi. I will be wearing an Ohio State shirt.

 

[Kolchak357]

Heading down to the Pinball Parlour in Earlington again this Thursday (1/17/13). I'll be there from 7 to 10 PM. Any other locals? Be nice to meet ya.

 

[Jutter]

Long expensive traintrip from where I live. But worth it... soon I hope.
Etten, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Checking out the website, it's a private collection though, and I'd have to hook up with some dutch pinballfreaks here perhaps, to plan a glorious gettogether with lots of pinbally goodness.
http://www.gameroom-etten.nl/

 

[Kolchak357]

Hey Jutter. I agree, worth the train trip for sure. What a super collection. They look to be in beautiful condition as well.

 

[Metalzoic]

That's a private collection? That is insane. I wish I had a million to blow on pinball tables.
Dude has a TOTAN just hanging out practically outside.

 

[netizen]

Long expensive traintrip from where I live. But worth it... soon I hope.
Etten, Gelderland, The Netherlands
Checking out the website, it's a private collection though, and I'd have to hook up with some dutch pinballfreaks here perhaps, to plan a glorious gettogether with lots of pinbally goodness.

*drool* You so could not do that where I live because of the weather.

That is an amazing collection to even be near. May you play yourself ragged, LOL.

 

[Kolchak357]

Heading down to the Pin Parlour tomorrow with a couple of friends. If anyone else is going to be there, please say hi. I'll be wearing a yellow baseball hat.

 

[dtown8532]

Heading down to the Pin Parlour tomorrow with a couple of friends. If anyone else is going to be there, please say hi. I'll be wearing a yellow baseball hat.

Would like to but "my better half" wouldn't be happy. Curious to hear how the machines are doing. Give us a report on condition, please.

 

[Kolchak357]

I talked to a guy on Pinside that was there a few days ago and he said almost all of the EMs were down. He said the owner doesn't currently have anybody to work on the EMs. He also mentioned that a few of the SS pins were also down. And that many of the working pins sorely needed cleanings and bulb replacements. So it sounds about the same as usual. Basically it's a one man operation and the owner doesn't have the time and/or money to keep it the way he would like. But I'm sure I will have a great time. I always do. Even if only 10 machines are playable, $15 for three hours is still a bargain.

 

[dtown8532]

I still think you should check out The Pinball Gallery in Downingtown, Pa. They've merged with an ice cream shop for more room. I was just down there last weekend. While they don't have the all encompassing list that the parlour does, most of their machines are varied enough and in good working order.
Couple highlights:
Addams Family - beautiful shape
Funhouse - could use a cleaning but fully playable
Fireball - hard as hell but in great shape
Genesis - custom version with different ramps, lighting and a really cool Metropolis style back glass
Revenge From Mars - works great and is really fast.
Genie - beautiful shape
Vector - also beautiful and fast
Joker Poker - great shape
Pinbot - very brutal
BK2K - great shape and one of my faves

Check out his site for the complete list.
And he's got WOZ on order....

http://www.pinballgallery.net/

 

[Kolchak357]

I still haven't gotten down there. They were closed for the move. I didn't even know they had reopened. My wife and I will make the trek in the next couple of months. As long as I promise her a banana split from the ice cream shop, she will come along for company. I'm kinda waiting for the WOZ they ordered to show up. Did they get it yet?