Pilgrim Lanes & Funtime Arcade

Been going here since I was young probably over 20 years now! It hasn’t changed a whole lot and I Like it that way! You can tell that it may not be quite as popular as it once was but still a fine establishment

Don’t bother. Owner is difficult.
I wanted to like this place, as I prefer to support smaller family owned places when I can. We visited today during school vacation and had a terrible experience. I called at 11am to be sure the advertised special on the website was still running, I also wanted to be sure there weren’t any leagues. I was told by a polite man that it was super busy and he expected it to be less busy around 1 or 130, I said perfect we would wait to come in.
We arrived at 130pm. I asked for two lanes. We had 5 people, 3 small children who wanted bumpers and one cognitively challenged adult person I brought for her birthday wanted to bowl free of bumpers. The woman heavily sighed then asked if we had made a reservation. This prompted a cycle of difficult questions and answers with her. I explained about the earlier call. She consulted the man working with her (his voice sounded similar to the man I spoke with earlier) and he nodded to us and offered to allow us to start on one lane until an adjoining lane opened. This sounded great and I agreed. The woman was not happy with this solution and expressed to him with attitude that we shouldn’t «go ahead of other people». I had no problems waiting if that was the concern and she didn’t even explain that it could be an option, she seemed pretty focused on why I didn’t make a reservation if I called earlier. The customer service was so awful and she was beyond difficult to communicate with. Once she identified herself as the owner And the man working with her as her husband I felt that I had to leave, I couldn’t support her business.
Last year we had my daughters birthday party here. I assumed it was an isolated experience that we had issues with the overall logistics. They require a cash deposit that must be made in person. We live 30 minutes away so it wasn’t convenient, they refused to take a mailed check or credit card over the phone. Only option was cash deposit. When we went in for the party we were over charged. Somehow we were charged for an upgrade to the agreed party. Luckily we were able to work that out but it wasn’t until someone called someone who said they had made a mistake.
Overall, I don’t think think business is well run nor is it run with the customers convenience in mind. This is interesting considering there is reasonable competition with another bowling establishment in town.

I have been bowling at this center since I was a young kid, when I used to enter the youth state tournaments every year. I have always loved this bowling center, for several different reasons.
First, I like the fact that there is A LOT of spectator room for other people if you have a big group with you. They have 3 rows of bleacher-​type seating that makes it not only easy to put your stuff down, but also to get a glimpse of what’s going on in the entire bowling alley. It was one of the main reasons why there were several Candlepin Bowling shows that were televised at this center, including the big Channel 5 Candlepin Bowling Championship show from 1988 – 1995, as well as Candlepin Skins, the Candlepin Challenge, and Candlepins for Dollars. So these lanes have a VERY high reputation, if not THE highest for all Candlepin centers around New England.
Second, the way this center has progressed in technology just blows my mind. I absolutely LOVE the new pin cams that they have!!! These pin cams let you get a close up view right from your television scoreboard of your lane. It not only lets you get a MUCH better view of what pins are left on the pin deck, but it also lets you play with more strategy in terms of where you need to make your shots. This alone is one of the main reasons why I love to go to this center.
Finally, this place keeps their lanes VERY well maintained, as well as the arcade that they also have. I rarely ever have mechanical problems when bowling on my lane, and everything is always clean when I go to this center.
Prices are alright, I mainly go on Tuesdays for their $ 2 per game special, but other than that, they charge what most other centers charge per game (I think it’s $ 3.50 or $ 3.75)
In the end though, this place is by far one of my favorite Candlepin Bowling alleys, and I know I’ll keep coming to this center for A LONG time.

My boyfriend and I were there last Saturday and were sorely disappointed. I’ve gone here for years, and he and I had been there at the end of last year. Since that time, they’ve taken out most of their arcade games and have ping pong tables set up there instead. They only have one pinball machine left. They still have skee ball (my favourite), but only one of the six skee ball machines was fully operational. One other one worked but only had one ball in it. Upon reading other reviews, other people have encountered the same thing. The ladies room was a mess too. Sadly, it seems like this place is falling apart, and no one seems to care.

This is one of the best candlepin alleys that I’ve been to. Pilgrim Lanes is a place that every candlepin bowler should go to! The pins had good action, there is even a video camera that you can watch the pins with. The people that worked there were super friendly, there were a couple of times where a few of our balls got stuck back there and they ran back there and got them for us really quickly even though they were super busy.
They wernt super cheap, but I can’t really hold that against them they are on par with average bowling prices.

This place is super friendly. I take my kids here for there birthday parties and just to bowl with friends. And our pack of 60 cub scouts and their families come here every year for a night of bowling. Considering our group size and age its a challenge to find places that will happily accommodate us and these guys are the best at working with our group. No matter what the situation the people who are working are simply the nicest.

I’ve been going here since I was a tiny kid, on leagues or just to bowl in general. Very kid friendly place — big arcade with a party room attached.
The bowling is candlepin style, which is common in the area. They also have billiards tables. For their party packages, I believe the pizza comes from Romano’s next door.
Most of the staff has worked there for years and they’re pretty friendly and good at handling any issues you might have.
My only gripe is that the arcade games aren’t as well maintained as they could be. Fix the DDR machine!

This is a very kid friendly bowling alley. I went to the other one in Haverhill and they were so unfriendly. We signed up for the free summer bowling.
Kids love it there. We even had thier birthday party there and everyone had a great time.
The arcade is nice and has been updated along with the party room.
The bowling alley is of course like most others, been around many, many years and they all show thier age. You go home with that need to scrub your hands feeling.
Bowling is getting expensive but with that free summer program its great. All we pay for is shoes.

I’ve been bowling here 2x now and I gotta say few complaints.
If there was such a thing as a classy bowling alley I might complain that this locale isn’t exactly swanky but since that is an absurd notion — we’ll move on.
Here at Pilgrims they have a small but sufficient arcade with a WORKING STAR WARS TRILOGY game. I’m already ready to go back.
Beer and Wine is now available there — although the cheapest stuff you could imagine. Still a great spot for families.
Pass

Oh my gosh, i dont even know if i can leave a relevant review anymore. We used to go here ALLLLLLL the time and it was the greatest. I remember going here before the funtime arcade was as big as it is. It used to be a small dark room with a few games and i used to ply spy hunter ALL the time.
The food used to be in a rotary vending machine where it would spin around and you choose what you want and it stops and you open the door and pullt it out.
Then when it became funtime, it was a lot of fun. Better arcade games, birthday parties, prizes. Can it get any better? I havent been here for the glow bowling though, but im sure its ammmmaaaaazing.

When good time’s are a must, so’s Pilgrim Lanes.
I have been going here as long as I can remember. I grew up about 5 minutes away on foot, so that’s to say it is in the Acre.
Pilgrim offers both bowling lanes and an arcade.
The lanes are candlepin and somewhat famous. A bowling show on TV is filmed there every Sunday, so that might be useful to know.
On Friday nights, the black lights come on, and so does the disco; It’s glow bowling night! Lots of young kids, and surprisingly an older crowd come out and it’s always a good time.
I think shoes cost about a buck to rent, and the lane is probably about $ 2 per person or so.
Now for the good stuff– the arcade. This place was nearly dying when I began frequenting again a few months ago. In my childhood it was a bustling place where a kid could spend hours and still be dragged out sayin’ «1 more game, pleeeeaaase!!» There weren’t many games a few months ago, but now it’s built up significantly. You can play skeeball (not old fashioned, new and plasticy), air hockey, video games, virtual type games, dance dance revolution, pinball, and my personal favorite slam-​a-​winner.
Slam-​a-​winner is a crazy game I can’t really begin to explain but to say it’s high stakes and it’s highly addictive.
Tokens are $ 0.25 and most games are between one and two tokens. Dance dance revolution is more expensive than that, but it also is really, really hard!
A lot of young kids will be hanging out, and teenagers. I am a twentysomething, but luckily I look young so I feel like I fit in and no one thinks its strange that we hang out there. We also feel at an advantage because we are able to have had a few drinks before we head in.
There are prizes to be redeemed, but they aren’t anything amazing. Mostly dolls, trinkets and toys. But who really plays for the prizes? I have about 5,000 tickets saved up. Not sure what I’m waiting for…
There are also pool tables, and a small snack area here. However, I highly suggest that if hunger visits while you’re at Pilgrim, you go next door to Romano’s for the best buffalo fingers in the Merrimack Valley, if not the state.