Review: Bowling at Splitsville Downtown Disney Westside
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Recently, Rebekah and I had our first opportunity to try bowling at Splitsville under normal circumstances (we had previously bowled during the Disney Parks Blog Tweet-Up, but that was free). Splitsville, which opened in December at Downtown Disney Westside, is much more than a bowling alley and we've visited there many times over the past few months for lunch or dinner. They also have several bars, patio seating with live music and pool tables. But it's not called Splitsville for nothing and was finally time for us to go bowling!

At 11a on a weekend we arrived at Splitsville with the intention of bowling a couple of games while also having lunch. We told them our names and shoe sizes, paid the $40 plus tax (more on pricing later) and were met by a hostess holding our shoes (which use velcro - yea!) in a bag who led us up the escalator and to our assigned bowling alley.

Splitsville bills itself as a "luxury" bowling alley, and service like that was a great start. The alloted bowling time is one hour and in the bottom corner of the scoring screen is a countdown timer. When we got to the alley it showed 1:04 - they added a few extra minutes so we could get there, get settled and get our shoes changed and get a ball - a nice touch. Everything had already been entered in the scoring computer so all we needed to do was start bowling. There were already a lot of bowling balls at our alley of various hole sizes and weights (and colors!). Convienently, there is a size (M, L, XL, etc) on each bowl to indicate the hole size and a number to indicate the weight. So if you like the hole fit of a ball but find it too heavy, you know exactly what to look for in a different ball. If you can't find a suitable ball right there at your alley, there are banks of balls placed close by as well. Some of the balls have Disney characters on them, another nice touch.

With everything set up and a ball selected, Rebekah just started bowling. Score is kept automatically, of course. And at the conclusion of a game, you simply have to hit a key on the computer to start a new one. In addition to showing the score of the current game,  a cumulative score for all games is shown off to the side. We had absolutely no issues with the scoring computer during our games but there is a service button (and tons of roaming Cast Members) had there been an issue.

A few minutes into our game a server came by and asked if we'd be having lunch as well. We told her we would and she brought us the full restaurant menu. Having eaten here before several times without bowling, we quickly made our selections. Rebekah had the JB Roll (salmon, cream cheese and scalion) from the sushi menu which she enjoyed. I ordered a veggie pizza without cheese. It comes on a wheat crust with tons of vegetables and is very yummy (it's even better with the cheese - I've had it that way, too!) Service was excellent - at least as attentive as when we've had at a regular table.

Atmosphere

Even during the day, Splitsville has a party atmosphere. Music from 80s on up plays loudly, but not too loudly, with accompaning videos throughout the floor. Having such a wide variety is nice, there's bound to be something for everyone. There is also a large television monitor directly in front of each pair of lanes. Ours was showing ESPN (with no volume). Splitsville is built on two floors with bowling lanes and dining tables split among both. Today we ended up bowling on the second level.