I’m on spring break right now, and since the weather is going to be rainy today, I decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese! We first chose to go to one that was twenty minutes from the condo we are at, which is in Port Orange, FL. We went to it and found that the Chuck animatronic was powered off. It looked to be in good condition, so my hope is that it was just powered off for repairs. I knew then that we needed to go to the second closest location, which was going to be in West Melbourne, FL.
West Melbourne was a success! This location has a Galaxy Stage. The Galaxy Stage is a stage that was tested at the Chuck E. Cheese's location in West Melbourne, Florida when it first opened on April 26th, 2011. It is a precursor for the Circles of Light Stage. This is the only stage of its kind, so it was cool to get to see that.
I learned that Chuck E. Cheese will be wiping out its iconic animatronics back in 2019. This was a heartbreaking discovery! I am not only sentimental for them but am now a FNAF fan who appreciates animatronics of all kinds. I recently went to two locations! Of course, I wanted to see more. It was cool that I ended up getting to see two locations, one in Port Orange and another in West Melbourne. I would recommend visiting either if you are in the area! Their Chuck animatronics were in very nice condition!
Update: As of September 2022, the Port Orange location was badly damaged by Hurricane Ian. Unfortunately, the animatronic was damaged as well. Reconstruction has begun, but it is unlikely that the animatronic will be back in due to the 2.0 Remodel. RIP!
Also, if you watched to the end, you saw a surprise visit to the Knoxville, TN location! This was a quick decision I made because I left something at home when I came back to campus. To get that, my parents and I chose to meet somewhere in the middle. It was a perfect coincidence that CEC Knoxville was perfectly in the middle. I have been wanting to go back since I visited in December. I am pleased to report that the animatronics were doing quite well!
Dates of Visits:
Port Orange, Florida - March 15th, 2022
West Melbourne, Florida - March 16th, 2022
Knoxville, Tennessee - March 26th, 2022
Update: As of May 2022, the Knoxville Stage has been removed. Rest in peace.
If you would like to see my experience with the Madison, TN location, here is the video: • Round 2! | Chuck E. Ch...
Update: As of April 21st, 2022, the Madison Stage has been removed. They will be missed.
I found a document listing every CEC location that still has animatronics. This document was so helpful as I planned to visit certain locations! It gives you all of the information you'll need to know! If you would like to look into the locations, here is the link to that document: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Here's my opinion:
I fully disagree with CEC Entertainment’s decision to remove animatronics from their stores. They are making statements that they are outdated and do not apply to modern-day children, which is outrageous. If CEC is so concerned with that, they can modernize them! We have the technology to do that now. However, CEC thinks an interactive dance floor is a perfect replacement for them. I don’t believe that children are going to find that more interesting than animatronics.
I try to recognize their position in this. Animatronics are expensive to maintain. If something breaks, the repair costs are expensive! That’s with good care! There are locations where they aren’t maintained. I can only imagine the costs to fix those! They have other matters that they should look into. Eliminating the animatronics won’t fix all their troubles. I stand by that opinion.
Retro is trendy! It entertains a much broader audience as it ages! There is a considerable community of people who are enthusiastic about them, whether they love them from childhood or appreciate them for other reasons. I always try to look on the bright side of things, even when the situation isn’t in my favor. However, I don’t see this as an effective way to boost their company.
If you would like to hear me share my full opinion and see my experience with the Knoxville, TN location, here is my video: • WHY ARE THEY DOING THI...
If you are interested in learning more, here are some links:
comicbook.com/irl/news/chuck-...
www.showbizpizza.com/history/...
www.zippia.com/chuck-e-cheese...
#savetheanimatronics #chuckecheese #chuckecheeseanimatronics ‪@cecknoxville3899‬ ‪@CECFlorida‬
0:00 Intro
0:46 Port Orange Trip (FAIL)
2:28 West Melbourne Trip
4:28 Billy & The Bully - Show
7:59 Stay Positive - Show
11:39 Cinematics
13:43 Outro (or not)
15:01 SIKE!
15:03 SURPRISE!
16:16 My Family - Show
19:52 Stay Positive - Show (Again Because I Love It)
23:27 REAL Outro
25:31 Bloopers