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Oceans 18 Blacklight Miniature Golf
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
18 reviews for Oceans 18 Blacklight Miniature Golf
18 reviews in English
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Review from Cross S.
Oakland, CA
2/1/2012
On our Honeymoon my wife and I decided to go mini golfing. Mini golf is the game we love. In one of the tourist coupon book we found a Black Light Mini Golf with 18 Holes!!!!
It was fun!!! I love all the black light artwork. The course was very fun. However there were no animated obstacles. They staff was friendly and the place was clean. Best yet, they are open late!!!!
The only con that I have is that they are inside of an abandoned mall. It is a little scary in there. There is no security or anything.
For anyone going to Oceans 18 Blacklight Mini Golf I highly suggest you find a tourist coupon book. You can get a better deal with one. -
Review from Micah A.
This is a really good place to embarrass your friends because dandruff shows up really bright under black light. Ocean's 18 is a cool idea with a not great but not bad execution, like choosing to go with the atypical spelling of "black light."
Blacklight mini golf! Can you believe it? I can, because I was there. It's in a dog friendly mall but this place doesn't allow dogs. We went in, paid, and started playing. The dude behind the counter was on his cell phone so he forgot to get us a scorecard but we found it and got it ourselves. I kept the pencil later out of spite. That'll show'em.
Overall the course was set up in a neat way with easy to read signs that pointed to the next hole. Everything was clean and fish themed. The real problem with this place was that it went against the spirit of mini golf.
In general, the goal of mini golf is to try to aim for the weird and difficult method of getting a hole in one, where if you miss you're probably stuck behind some obstacle. If you aim perfectly, you get a hole in one (or close). That's why mini golf is so fun. There's luck involved, but there's also skill - you measure angles, look at curves, and basically see the best way to get to the hole, whether that is going straight in or bouncing crazy off the walls.
This place doesn't have that. What they have are walls that are made up of jagged brick, so if you hit the wall you have no idea where the ball is going to bounce. In addition, they put obstacles directly in front of the hole, so you can't go straight in. Essentially you have to aim for a wall, and then hope that the ball bounces off the right jagged edge.
I don't know if you've ever tried to bounce a golf ball off a rock-cement side walk, but it doesn't just bounce right up. It shoots every which way depending on the angle of the rock it hit. That's what this place was like, so even though there were a few holes you could still ace if you aimed correctly, this mini golf place was more about damage control. You aimed to get close to the hole, but not to go in. That's a way less exciting way to play.
Still, the black light thing is cool, they play club rap music in the background, and they have an obstacle that looks like a beaver sex toy, so overall it's not a bad place to visit. It's just not as great as it could be. -
Review from Rona F.
Oakland, CA
12/6/2011
This is just for the arcade and the staff, as we didn't play golf in, just wandered in one night looking for something fun to get into. They have some cool 80s style video games, including one of those multiple-game machines that includes Centipede and Tempest, two of my faves from back in the day. The guys that work there are friendly and professional, which is saying a lot considering how most places like this are run. Next time I'll try the golf---gotta love the ocean theme since they are right next to the aquarium and ocean/bay!
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Review from Norman P.
San Jose, CA
6/12/2011
I totally thought this would be very cheesy. In fact, it was pretty good!
The drawings on the walls were great (in the blacklight genre) and looked professionally done. Great fish theme going on. Blacklight fish, shark, octopus, lobster (dont touch the lobster). Fish on the walls, hanging from the ceiling, on the floor.
My favorite hole was the one with all the tiny blocking fish on the floor. I'd like to think they were smelt (one of my favorite fish).
$8.50 per adult. Pretty reasonable for over an hour of 18 holes of fun.
Open late (in case you're looking for something to do in the evening) after the stores in the mini-outlet mall close. -
Review from Merisa M.
Sacramento, CA
6/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Everyone has been miniature golfing before, but I bet there has only been a select few that have done it with blacklights.
My family and I are were on our annual vacation to Monterey and were looking for something to do one evening. We had already eaten dinner and were done walking Cannery Row when we stopped inside this mini-outlet mall. We saw a sign for Miniature Golf and thought, hey, why not?
When we walked in, the entire course was dark with the exception of blacklights beaming down onto aquatic animals and coral. We went through the entire 18 hole course and couldn't have had more fun.
This Miniature Golf Course is probably one of the best and most fun Miniature Golf experiences you could ever have. Although a lot of the course holes are similar to outdoor ones (ex: wind mills, a raised hole) to play in the dark with everything glowing is extremely fun! The employees are nice, the course is nice, everything is neat and clean, and I would highly recommend giving it a try. -
Review from Phil M.
Salinas, CA
6/16/2011
Considering it's the only mini-golf course on the Monterey Peninsula (that I'm aware of--next closest being in Santa Cruz), it's acceptable. But the course itself is only mediocre. Admittedly, indoor courses are generally fairly limited, but this one is overly basic, no creativity, and most holes are nothing more than a flat run with a few static blocks placed as obstacles.
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Review from E C.
Seaside, CA
2/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
Finally the Monterey side of the Monterey Bay gets a good miniature golf course!
The black light theme is great and well done! The glowing fluorescent paint in definitely adds something new to miniature golf. There are little issues with the construction of some holes, but that's really nit-picking this wonderful course. Fun for locals and visitors alike. -
Review from Maria L.
Seaside, CA
Nice, clean, fun!!!
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Review from Krista Y.
San Diego, CA
10/31/2010 1 photo
This is the most decorated, exciting, colorful (insert more positive adjectives here) mini golf course I have ever been to! (I have not been to many.)
Probably was incredibly expensive to put together. There were murals on all the walls of different fishies and eels and things. Everything was painted gorgeously.
Tons of fun - granted: this is one of the 3 things there is to do in Monterey, so there is not much to compare it to. All in all, i would still go out of my way to mini golf here if we picked it up and moved it to San Diego. Yay! -
Review from Stacie V.
San Jose, CA
8/30/2010
OK, so it's not the most high-class place, but it is what it is...an indoor glow-in-the-dark mini golf place...and its really fun!!!!!!
My husband and I went here one day when we were looking for something to do after we went to all the shops, but before we ate dinner.
We were the only ones in the place and had a blast running around taking pictures and being silly like little kids.
It's inexpensive and entertaining and made me feel like a HS kid in love all over again!!!! -
Review from Stacy E.
Petaluma, CA
3/15/2007 8 photos
We had so much fun here. It a indoor miniature golf place were everything glows in the dark. Not only did my boyfriend and I have fun it is great for children which his daughter (6) thought it was the greatest thing ever.
The only thing that is not really a big deal is that you get behind a group of people you end up waiting a long time. Because some of the holes were actually very challenging! -
Review from Erin O.
7/29/2007
Better in theory than in reality. I took my 7-yr-old here last time we visited the Monterey area. The pictures on the web site had me totally looking forward to miniature golfing in a glow-in-the-dark place. I knew it was in the cannery, so I was expecting that it took over all those empty stores. Fact is, it is in a very small area on the 2nd floor at the far end. I was surprised by how small and squished together it was.
The cons:
-Every hole is the same: Basically, you aim your ball under some glow in the dark sea-related statue and then you bounce around sea shells that glow in the dark.
-The holes that are more unique than that, aren't designed well
-It's very stuffy inside and you have huge fans blowing dry air at you
-It's in a very small space, so each hole is a short distance and when you step out of of one hole, you are at the next (literally no space between)
Pros:
-It's glow in the dark!
-It's something different to do while at Cannery Row and it's a unique experience
I'm just sorry they didn't do more with the idea. I think if it was a larger space and had real outdoor type sprawl and better hole designs, but indoor black lighting, it would be very cool. I'm giving it 3 stars because I thought it was a waste of time after hole 2, but my daughter loved it...so for me, it was a 1-star experience but for a 7-yr-old, it was a 4-5 star event. -
Review from Michael D.
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
7/22/2010
Got to take my high energy kids for a little play time after dinner to spend some time after a little time away. It's open later than most places on a week night so it's far better than just watching a movie. We have been there a couple times and not much has changed but it's still a fun time to glow in the dark and act silly around the glowing under sea creatures.
It's a little pricey but nowadays what isn't?
The guys taking care of us were pretty good about getting us everything we needed to cause a ruckus plus they were motorcycle guys which I am a fan so, well you know..... -
Review from Andrew H.
San Francisco, CA
12/1/2009
This place is pretty darn fun. Although its 8.50 per person, but theres 18 holes. The holes are all pretty original, ocean theme, if you enjoy the sea, you might enjoy this place. The holes go by slow if you play the right way. Cause while my friends and i were playing, another group behind us just ran into our course and played while we were still playing, which was extremely rude.
But overall i liked this place. 4 stars for being very orginial, but a bit expensive. Wear WHITE ! it'll be purple when you walk in. haha -
Review from Drew T.
7/3/2010 2 photos
Not as good as Neptunes in Santa Cruz, but pretty fun if you bring a lot of people. Usually, not too many people here except tourists. Better than bowling and close to the ocean so you can head out after and still be close to the action.
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Review from Julianna L.
West Sacramento, CA
11/18/2009
Well-hidden in the top floor of the American Tin Cannery, this 18-hole mini-course recompenses visitors frustrated with their faulty GPS (me!) with sheer amusement. Designed to give visitors an under-the-sea experience, every thematic hole flouresces with a montage of vibrant sharks, squid, sea horses, turtles, lobster, sunken ships, JELLYFISH-you name it. And the holes are sufficiently challenging--even for grown-ups. The only bone I have to pick is with the $8.50 fare. Boo!
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Review from Cynthia P.
Alameda, CA
6/10/2007
oodles of fun. the course is pretty well designed, complete with murals of freaky looking people. the guy at the front desk was super nice -- he let my pals and stay way past closing time.
-1 star because it was damn hard to figure out a way to get in after the rest of the outlet closed. and it's super stuffy inside, despite the industrial strength fans. -
Review from Mike M.
San Jose, CA
4/29/2009
Me and my ex went here once and I thought it was lame for the price.Makes Golfland look like Disneyland.We were tricked by the flyers that made it look hella better.Anyways,probably good for the kids,but it didnt do nothing for me.Almost impossible to see anything,the golf balls should have glow in the dark spray on them or something for people with bad vision like me.
