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Whatever happened to the Showbiz Pizza robots

I grew up in Lynchburg in the 80's, and one of the best things we had going for us was Showbiz Pizza. Pizza + videogames + animatronic figures = a great time for ten-year-old Sean Tubbs.

Flash forward however many years, and the place is out of business, and then I read this on Boing Boing. Some guy bought one of the sets, somewhere, and then reprogrammed them to perform new styles of music.



To me, this is absolutely hilarious.

Comments

Anonymous said…
The Chuck-E-Cheese in Manassas still has the robots. My son, 5, ran out in terror. That may be why they've removed them :)

The video is hilarious.
Sean Tubbs said…
I thought so, too! I had not seen the words "Rockafire Explosion" since about 1985 or so, but, to see them in that context was awesome. Apparently, there are other videos involving Chuck-E-Cheese, but he doesn't resonate nearly as much with me.
Anonymous said…
I found those Youtube links a few days ago myself. Fun stuff, a big blast from the past and it was fun watching the characters and going "I remember that... and that too!"

BTW, Tubbs, I also grew up in Lynchburg, VA in the 80s. Sorry to hear Showbiz is gone from that location. Great times, man!

I haven't been into a Showbiz/Chuck E. Cheese since my Lynchburg days, but from what I hear, the Chuck E.'s aren't the greatest place to be (But I guess the experience varies depending on the franchisee).

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