Happy Birthday Chuck E Cheese
Who knew that having a rat as the mascot for a restaurant, really bad cardboard pizza and snot covered arcade games would last 35 years. Congratulations. You know the guy who started Atari also started this? He had a pretty good run there in the 70's didn't he?
That place gives me a headache, has horrible pizza, but I kinda love playing the skee-ball. Hee
ReplyDeleteNever been in one...
ReplyDeletenow if they could only cut down on the fights and the rapes.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad they stopped serving beer. It was their only saving grace.
ReplyDeleteI loved this place when it was Showbiz Pizza. I even had a Mitzy doll.
ReplyDelete@RenoBlondee - Ski ball is awesome! That & the Bozo bucket game. Totally cheated at both though.
ReplyDelete*skee-ball. D'oh!
ReplyDelete@lauren yes the beer helped the adults I'm sure, but to me the best thing about this place is the musical genius that is the Rock-a-Fire Explosion-- the robot band that (used to?) play at there back in the day. It was awesome. They had a gorilla drumming and a cheerleader mouse and everything. MGMT actually had them "play" on their song Electric Feel.
ReplyDelete^^YES! Mitzy was the cheerleader. I think she might have been turned into some sort of bird later on.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJpHLyxy6ps
ReplyDelete(K - I'm done, promise.)
ReplyDeleteI used to get freaked out in that pool of balls. Do they still have that? It seems dangerous
ReplyDeleteI was so glad when my kids outgrew that place. It gave me migraines.
ReplyDeleteMy kids loved this place when they were young. I abhorred it! Can't believe its still around. Thought it was a mouse, not a rat?
ReplyDeleteI think our's still serves beer. They used to time your drinking so you couldn't get too faded.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't had a party there in a while. Fingers crossed that we're done with Chuck.
I worked at Chuck E Cheese's as a teenager. Our owner at the time was given the franchise by his father, and he used to hold some insane all night parties and raves. Not that we were invited, but the next day his 15 year old staff had to clean up the beer bottles and sperm. I also found cocaine in the ball pen.
ReplyDeleteOh, and he had his friends "rob" the place and they brought real guns.
All in all I have to admit that at the time I thought it was AWESOME, but I'm now deathly afraid of ball pens (mostly due to child urine).
^^OMG!! Best Chuck E Cheese story I've ever heard!
ReplyDelete@*girl - your job sounded worse than De Niro's in "Taxi Driver."
ReplyDelete@girl - OMG yet another reason to avoid Chuck E Cheese.
ReplyDeleteI always think of that song by some Comedian called Chuck E Cheese Hell.
*they cater to a snot nosed clientel at Chuck E Cheese Hell*
Love the skeeball~LOL
ReplyDeleteI worked at Showbiz Pizza before it became Chuck E. Cheese. I totally made out with my boyfriend behind the stage many a night when we were closing.
ReplyDeleteThe one time I had to dress up as Chuck E., I had a kid come up to me, hands straight out grabbing "are you a boy or a girl?" after that, I told them I'd NEVER wear the suit again!
I had my 6th birthday party at Showbiz Pizza. That singing band was hilarious!!
ReplyDeleteChuck E Cheese was totally 80's in our house...my little brother had birthday parties there, but not me...Farrell's all the way!
ReplyDeleteThere is a explanation right here: http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-stupidest-habits-you-develop-growing-up-poor/
ReplyDeleteBig Mama - That was Tim Wilson, I believe. I can't even hear the words "Chuck E Cheese" without finishing it out in my head!
ReplyDelete(NOTE: This is Himmmmz WIFE typing on his phone because he's LATE getting ready due to spending all his time on this site. So I'll take a stab at participation until he gets out of shower).
ReplyDeleteForget condoms...forget the pill...
or planned parenthood. Take the teens to Chuck E. Cheese for the entire weekend. 100% effective against future overpopulation. (Though I am now a Mom so what do I know eh? hah!).
@Himmmmz wife
ReplyDeleteThat post made me giggle out loud! Ha!
AMEN! Take them there or a water park in July, both are effective birth control
ReplyDeleteIf you can actually make 'em work for an entire summer at Chuck E. Cheese, they probably won't have sex until they're at least 40!
ReplyDelete(Of course, I just spent 2 hours in a restaurant having pancakes w/friends & playing w/an extremely cute 7-month-old, who then went home w/his mommy & daddy when dinner was over, so what do I know? :-)
Used to take my kids there to meet friends whenever there was a school vacation. One evening after a fun-filled day there my friend called to tell me her daughter picked up a tick in the ball pit! I still have bags of coins and game tickets I never redeemed.
ReplyDeleteI agree Chuck is the ultimate contraception.
ReplyDeleteGirl - SPERM???? CHuck E Cheese were you can have the best orgies.
I remembered Showbiz wh=e had the end of the year soccer parties there. It was my Oasis of joy in that desert of PAIN.
SPERM??????
A tick? ball pits have to be gross too many parents have no concept of personal hygiene.
ReplyDelete@Mario - That article explains a lot.
ReplyDeleteI loved Showbiz/CEC when I was a kid. It was THE place to have a birthday party. I made playing skeeball for prizes my JOB. Cut to about 10 years ago, I take my nephew. The place was...sad. The mouse stared at my boobs for entirely too long. My nephew asked if we could leave & go elsewhere. It was a bust.