Discovery Zone Memories

[fuzzygobo]

Alas, when I was a wee tyke, DZ didn't exist. Or Chuck E. Cheese (although one not far from my house was rumored to be a front of the Mob!)

The closest we had was The Children's Place, which was a clothing store found in a few malls. There are still some around today, but not like in the 70's. They had the clothes in front, but a HUGE indoor playground in the back. The coolest fixture was a giant tv set, with a huge see-through screen, and YOU were the action on the screen . They had an early video camera set up, so others could see you hamming it up. And when your parents called you to tell you it's time to go, you left the tv area going down a 15-foot slide!
Like I said, The Children's Place still exists, but the playground is long gone. Dang me.

 

[Scooterforever]

Alas, when I was a wee tyke, DZ didn't exist. Or Chuck E. Cheese (although one not far from my house was rumored to be a front of the Mob!)

The closest we had was The Children's Place, which was a clothing store found in a few malls. There are still some around today, but not like in the 70's. They had the clothes in front, but a HUGE indoor playground in the back. The coolest fixture was a giant tv set, with a huge see-through screen, and YOU were the action on the screen . They had an early video camera set up, so others could see you hamming it up. And when your parents called you to tell you it's time to go, you left the tv area going down a 15-foot slide!
Like I said, The Children's Place still exists, but the playground is long gone. Dang me.

That sounds like the coolest clothing store ever in existence. When I was a kid, there was also a Chuck-E-Cheese type place up by my grandparents' house in Reading. Can't remember the name, but the mascots were two monkeys dressed like kids. It was similar to Chuck-E-Cheese, except that, like DZ, there was more of a focus on the playground and less of a focus on the arcade.

 

[Schfifty]

DZ was THE place to be! I had a few birthday parties there in the mid 90's. The tube mazes had to be my favourite. They really should re-launch it for today's generation of kids.

The closest we had was The Children's Place, which was a clothing store found in a few malls. There are still some around today, but not like in the 70's. They had the clothes in front, but a HUGE indoor playground in the back. The coolest fixture was a giant tv set, with a huge see-through screen, and YOU were the action on the screen . They had an early video camera set up, so others could see you hamming it up. And when your parents called you to tell you it's time to go, you left the tv area going down a 15-foot slide!
Like I said, The Children's Place still exists, but the playground is long gone. Dang me.

Children on huge televisions inside indoor jungle gyms in the 70's? You lucky person.

 

[mariolover]

Somebody online named Tara told me that they were born in 2002 and remember being at Discovery Zone. But what I don't get is that DZ closed in 1999, so how is that even possible?

 

[mr3urious]

Reviving this thread once again 'cause I'm feeling a little nostalgic:

As a kid I was lucky enough to go to DZ and its competitor Leaps & Bounds (which was owned by McDonald's, interestingly enough) at least once. I normally don't say that today's generation is missing out on something like this, but they're missing out, man. I would really love to see someone somewhere work to buy back the rights to at least one of these playplaces (which DZ bought in 1995 and to which was bought by ol' Charles Entertainment Cheese himself in 1999 after it went bankrupt, sadly enough) and revive them, seeing all the hysteria over obesity and physical inactivity today. And it's gotta be from those who have passionate and fond memories of them, which there shouldn't be any shortage of.

Also, I don't know about anyone else, but the L&B I went to (may have been in Scottsdale or Northern Phoenix) had an elaborate maze of tubes that washed those filthy ball pit balls, which was really hi-tech for its time, not to mention mesmerizing. That and a metal zip line whose handle magically returned to the top after use, possibly via electromagnets. Those are the two tech wonders that stand out to me from those places.

And check out this series of photos of the prototype L&B in Naperville, IL. Gotta love the "Quiet Room" for adults, which I hope was soundproofed well enough.

http://www.kendrickdevelopment.com/--leaps--bounds.html

 

[LittleJerry92]

DISCOVERY ZONE!

Oh man..... that place was my JAM when I was a kid....

The colorfullness, ball pits, slides, arcade games, oh man...

I remember at least having one tantrum when it was time to go.

I was sooooo upset when my local DZ was closed down.... I dunno what it's been replaced with now.