Since changing from a children’s museum to a restaurant and video arcade, the senior after-prom party has become much more age-appropriate.

For the 2011 prom after-party, the seniors  went to Port Discovery in Baltimore. The general consensus received from prom attendees was that it was alright, but that it grew really boring really fast.

Basically, it was what they made of it.

This year, prom will be held at the Baltimore Aquarium and the after-party has been scheduled to be at Dave and Buster’s in Hanover, Maryland.  Dave and Buster’s is quite a change from Port Discovery.

For anyone who doesn’t know what Dave and Buster’s is, it’s a restaurant and arcade with a sports bar feel.  It’s been compared to the ESPN Zone.   This is fitting because before the prom after-party got moved to Port Discovery, it was at the ESPN Zone, which was located in (downtown) Baltimore, Maryland.

The ESPN Zone was a beloved after-prom spot for students, but it was unfortunately closed in 2010.

Dave and Buster’s has a number of different fun activities for everyone.  It has billiards and shuffleboard, and an array of different video games.  The video game section of Dave and Busters includes Carismo and Daytona USA (Nascar simulators), Dance Dance Revolution, Nothing But Net (basketball hoops), Super Trivia (a trivia game for six competitors with several different categories), Typhoon (a rollercoaster simulator), and more.

If students are going to be stuck in one place until the early hours of the morning, the place definitey needs to be fully stocked with tons of caffeine and entertainment to keep students awake.

Picking a place where the prom’s after party will be held is a very tricky choice.  There will always be the kids that will have a miserable time no matter where  it’s located because they would rather celebrate after-prom at their friend’s house.  The school just needs to focus on picking a place with a number of different activities to please the majority of the class.

Dave and Buster’s could be a viable option.  Some kids who only want to take a nap can sit in the restaurant area while the kids who want to play games and make their night enjoyable can go and play in the arcade.

This is the last real chance for the class of 2012 to gather together and have fun.  Everyone gets really excited about prom, but let’s change things.

Let’s get excited about the whole slew of events that is in store on prom night.

Amanda Graziano is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.