Frequently asked questions about Orbit Skate Center

Can I bring my own food and drinks into the rink?

No outside food or drink is allowed to be brought into the rink during public sessions. Our snack bar is stocked and priced reasonably (unlike a movie theatre for instance). Our family friendly prices make eating at Orbit affordable.

If you have a private party reserved at the rink and have made arrangements ahead of time, you are allowed to bring in your food and drink.

If you have a reserved birthday party during a public session you may bring cupcakes or a cake for your party. Ice cream cakes are not suggested, we do not have room to store ice cream cakes.

Can I get a job at Orbit Skate Center?

Working at Orbit Skate Center

If you wish to apply for a job at Orbit Skate Center, you might want to know what we look for in a staff member. An outgoing personality is a must and skating ability is a plus. We can't teach employees to love people and children, that's built into our nature. Our primary goal is to make sure that our guests enter the building saying "WOW" and leave at the end of their visit saying the same thing. We value our employees very highly and put great effort into training and teaching each person to work at their potential and finding suitable duties that match their personality. There is no discrimination in our hiring practices, not by race, gender, religion, or age. We do have dress requirements and appearance requirements just like Disney or Starbucks. Showing up in ragged jeans, with excessive facial tattoos, piercings, hair colors, mohawks, gang related clothing, or other things that add up to an unappetizing appearance will generally keep you from working at the rink.

We accept applications all year round, just come in and fill one out. We are not always hiring but keep the best prospective resume's on hand for when we do need to hire.

We are hiring for the 2011/2012 season now. Please come in and fill out an application anytime the rink is open. We are looking for skating floor guards, DJ's that can entertain, party host/hostess's with the mostest and smiling skate room personnel. Email your resume or stop by the rink.

Job Descriptions

Snack Bar Cook- Part-time weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and week nights (6 - 9:30pm) position working in our snack bar preparing pizza and other food items for our guests. This position needs someone that can keep up with a fast paced environment and work under pressure. Must enjoy people and children and be flexible, able to be part of a team. Apply at the rink or email your resume.

Snack Bar Counter Help - Part-time evenings 6-9pm weekdays and various weekend hours, up to 15 hours a week. Have transportation and be reliable. Outgoing personality and like children. Previous experience a plus. Training is provided and uniform shirts.

Birthday Party Host/Hostess - Part-time weekends and school holiday afternoon sessions. Our birthday party servers need to be able to work under pressure, love people and want to help make the birthday star's special day even more special. Paying attention to the family, making sure their food is delivered hot and that the party runs smoothly. This position involves terrific people skills. Must have reliable transportation and punctuality is a must.

Floor Guard/Host - Are you a good skater? Our floor guards must be proficient skaters, have patience and people skills and the ability to skate for 3 hours at a time. Training is provided as well as uniform shirts. Neat appearance, at least 18 yrs of age. Prior experience a plus but not necessary, we will train you to adhere to our methods.

Skate Room - Part-time evenings 6-9pm weekdays and various weekend hours. Must like people and have an outgoing personality. This position involves organization and keeping the skate inventory neat and tidy, and making sure the skates are in working condition and doing minor repairs if needed. Training is provided.

General InformationApplicants must be at least 16 years old, and must have reliable transportation. No excessive facial piercing is accepted, uniform shirts are provided and all pants must be clean and neat. You do not need to be able to skate to work at the rink unless you are applying to be a floor host.

We look for people with a winning personality and the ability to relate to many different kinds of people. Orbit is a busy place and you must be able to work under pressure and enjoy people of all ages.

We do background checks and our Director of Security is an Arlington Heights Police Officer. Our guests safety is one of our highest priorities

Can I go out on the floor in my shoes to take pictures?

Parents are not allowed out on the skating floor with shoes on for any reason during a public session. It's too dangerous with skaters not watching for pedestrians walking on the floor. If your child needs your help, please let your hostess, a manager, a floor guard know and we will help your child get to you.

Can I use coupons on party packages?

Once your child has a birthday party at Orbit, you will receive monthly coupons and news unless you opt out. The month before your child's birthday next year, you'll get a free coupon for the birthday child if you book your party at Orbit. You may use the Birthday Child Free coupon that comes to you the month before your birthday, but you cannot use 2for1 or free passes on birthday parties.

Do parents have to pay that wish to stay but not skate?

Parents of birthday children skate for free the day of their party. Parents and Grandparents accompanying their children to skate a public session and not skating are also free. We appreciate our Guests utilizing the snack bar to cover the costs of keeping a facility like Orbit Skate Center open and do not bring in outside food or drink. If you change your mind and wish to skate, you can go to the office and pay for admission and skate rental. You must have a receipt to get rental skates back at the rental skate counter.

If you are parent coming with a child to a birthday party, please note that we do not guarantee reserved seating in the snack bar. General seating in the snack bar is for guests that are eating. There is no claiming of tables for an entire session because your child is visiting with us for the birthday party. Most parents spending time with the birthday family utilize the reserved birthday area tables to rest while the children are out skating. We also have large screen Video for any major sporting event and have the NBA and NFL subscription for important games. If you wish to skate, you need to pay the admission and we include skate rental.

Do you have a lost and found?

At the end of each session, we walk the rink and off floor areas gathering up any items that are left behind. Valuable items are kept in the office for 30 days. Skate, outerwear, bags, and other assorted clothing is placed back by the skate room in a lost and found bin. After 30 days, they are donated to a woman's shelter. If you call the rink and leave a message, please give us a phone number that you answer. You can stop by anytime the rink is open and ask to see if your item is in the office or lost and found bin. We recommed that all our guests use our lockers, they cost 50 cents. We take no responsibility for any items left after a session.

Do you have a skate shop?

We have a complete skate shop that carries a range of skates in a large variety both quad (regular roller skates) and inline skates. We have children and adult sizes. Our brands include Riedell, Rollerblade, Pacer, Sure-Grip, SP-Teri, Harlick, Atom, Luigino, Powell Bones just to name a few. We do repairs, mounting and fitting. Our prices are great and we offer complete customer service. Roller Derby packages available and with any skate purchase, you get a punch card with 7 FREE Admissions to skate at Orbit Skate Center. That's worth $52.50 in free money. The shop is open any time the rink is open. Check the schedule to see our open times.

Do you have lockers?

Yes, we have lots of lockers and they cost 50 cents. All personal belongings must be locked in a locker and not left on benches, tables, seats or under the benches. If you lose an item and come up to the office, our first question will be "Did you lock it in a locker?". If you do not have a locker key, we cannot help you. If items are left behind we do have a Lost and Found and keep items for a few months before donating them to a shelter.

Do you provide teachers for the children that cannot skate?

Not during a session, but you can arrange a private lesson prior to the session or suggest to your guests parents that they take advantage of our Drop In Class every Saturday from 12pm-1pm. The cost of the class is $3.50.

How big is Orbit's floor?

Our floor is 200 x 100 hardwood rotunda maple. It is considered by most to be one of the finest floors to skate on and very fast. We wash the floor several times a week.

How can I get coupons to skate at Orbit Skate Center?

The best way to get regular coupons for skating at Orbit Skate Center is to sign up for our monthly Newsletter and Coupons. Occasionally we will have specials on Facebook and Twitter, so be sure to subscribe to us. Our coupons vary, from BOGO 2for1 skate passes, free passes, and discounts on certain sessions. Our birthday guests are given free skate passes as part of our affordable birthday packages on reserved parties. We offer our local schools donations as well as Holiday Punch Cards for free skating during the holidays. If your school isn't participating, have them contact us and we will enroll them in the program. It's free to schools.

What accommodations does Orbit offer for Guests with Special Needs?

Our special Guests can experience roller skating in a couple different ways. Northwest Special Recreation rents the rink for private time and bring groups to skate. During our public sessions, we allow wheelchair skaters out on the floor with a skating adult. They are welcome to skate the entire session including couples. We do ask that during more active skates like Dodgeball, Locomotion any wheelchair skaters exit the floor for safety reason. If there is no adult with the skater that can skate, one of our floor hosts will go out with the skater for a few times around the floor. We do not provide for a floor guide for the entire session. Guests that can wear skates have a waist high wall to hold onto almost all around the floor. Adults are not allowed to walk on the floor in shoes. In our seating areas, we can move tables to make guests in wheelchairs or with walkers more comfortable. We have a private restroom in our pro shop for guests with wheelchairs, just ask at the office or pro shop if you need help.

What do you have in the snack bar?

We serve homemade pizza, hotdogs, nachos, hot pretzels, bosco sticks in three varieties, Hawaiian Shave Ice, Pepsi products and also have healthy juice drinks, energy drinks and all the candy and chips you could want. Our prices are family friendly.

What happens in the rink when it's not open to the public?

Orbit has many activities besides open public skating sessions. If our schedule does not show the rink as open for a session when you wish to visit, we are not open and you are not guaranteed that someone will be there. If you are trying to pick up invitations for your reserved party, please come when the rink is open to the public. Our other activies might not have access to the office. Orbit has speed clubs and groups that use the rink when we are not open to the public and do not have access to many areas of the rink.

Where is Orbit Skate Center located?

We are located right off Northwest Highway, 3 blocks east of Route 53 in Palatine Illinois. Arlington Park Racetrack is right across the street. You can get driving directions by clicking Location on the Main Menu.

Orbit Skate Center

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