Chuck E. Cheese dissolves the animatronic band, reduces nightmares forever
By Sundi Rose
In “I can’t believe it took this long” news, Chuck E. Cheese breaks up the creepy animatronic band, and children rejoice forever.
Anyone of a certain age remembers the best/worst destination for birthday parties. Thanks to Chuck E. Cheese, many birthday parties of the ’80s and ’90s included a “live” performance by those horrifying, life-sized, animatronic figures. As those memories are both fond and scarring, Chuck E. Cheese announced it will phase out the robot band.
According to a story from CBS News, the franchise has a new lease on birthdays, and it looks like our favorite pizza-place is heading in a different direction. Soon, you won’t have giant robots twitching and jerking to a garbled “Happy Birthday” while tables of children look on in horror.
CEC Chief Executive Tom Leverton told CBS they are looking to make it a more “modern experience,” and it promises to be “the biggest thing we’ve done for the look and feel of Chuck E. Cheese for two decades.”
The overhaul will also offer streamlined play areas, open kitchens, and more neutral tones. The goal, says Leverton, is to “make sure while we are focused on being a kid business, mom and dad will have a great experience [too].” And since kids experience entertainment very differently than we did years ago, they must work to keep pace with tastes and preferences.
The revamp will start in a handful of pilot cities, starting in San Antonio and then moving to the Kansas/Missouri area. This is just the latest effort to update the pizza joint.
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In case you’re feeling a little nostalgic about the animatronic band, don’t fret. CEC Entertainment, Chuck E. Cheese’s official corporate umbrella, is considering replacing the robots with actual live singers. While this might seem a like a step backward, technologically speaking, it’s definitely going to go a long way to reduce mental scarring from those terrible animatronic beasts.