CheeseVention 3-- Reviews and Comments!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Hi Gang!

Well i'm posting this thread NOW as i would like to encourage those attending to leave there comments, reviews, and even photos here in this thread for easy reference.

I did'nt want the pre-CV3 threads to get cluttered with post-event news...so i created a new thread!

Let's hear all about your fun times in Texas! :D

[Mr Munch88]

Well since I couldnt join you for lunch at 12 in Tx I headed to Danvers at noon(our time) and had lunch by myself. It was packed! Had a group of 40 plus a party and lots of public, so.....I jumped into Chuck for a half and hour and made magic(as I was picturing all of you in TX!) I also wore my Showbizpizza.com shirt all day.
Hope all is well there... keep those reports coming, I want to read all about it!

[RodHouTx]

This is my first CheeseVention, and so far (Day 1) it has been totally amazing! And I have enjoyed hanging out with you guys so much! So many talented and knowledgeable people!

[tinafan80]

So far.... THA BIZZNESS!!!!
Let's see what day 2 will be like!!!!

[captslappy]

Are you people still here??

[chuck rules]

Same Here!:D Please keep those reports coming.

[Lilredridinghood]

Hey Sillies,
Aaron and I recieved a very jumbled, staticy phone message tonight...at first it sounded like Barney Fife was talking to Andy Griffith, but then we figured out it was Billy Bob and Looney! Ha, thank you guys? We tried calling you guys back but the connection was sooo bad. But i'm glad you guys are having a great time! :)

[looneybird78]

OMG!!! How did that happen?! I HONESTLY!!!!! Did not know I had even called... It had to have been during "On the Road Again" I swear I was sitting there thinking of Aaron and I doing the duet of that on the StarLauncher.... Yes sorry we could have gotten a better connection... that Number was confusing us all to?? No one recognized it?!

I guess it was just meant to be that we were thinking of you guys!

And now it is about time for me to Get "ON the Road Again!"

ITs been a blast here in Shiney Happy (HOT) TX! Thanks to our hosts for the wonderful event. Also lets give thanks where thanks is due... Mr. Menutia himself... Round of Applause... without his valiant efforts the Balcony PTT show would have never made it... Thanks to all attendees it was a blast finally getting a chance to meet you all. It was worth the trip for me to be able to be a part of this... Jokingly I guess I am Co-Host for CV6 so see you all then??? hahah

Peace n Pizza! Talk to you guys more when I get home!!

[looneybird78]

OH and...

PS.. J sorry I didn't get to meet you... But I did film the Video greeting to J... Unfortunately being behind the camera I didn't get to be part of the video until I made the cameo at the end.. THANKS TO J TOO!!!!

[Mr Munch88]

Thanks guys! cant wait to see it... hope it makes it to me quicker than we got cv2 video to you all!

[captslappy]

We made it! We survived it! :x

[tinafan80]

All I have to say is, all ya'll crazy!!! LOL
I love you guys! You made the weekend VERY rememberable.
I hope next years is even MORE fun than this years. CV3 was THA BIZZNESS!!!!
Can't wait to see how our country a$@*# turned out on video.
See you guys soon hopefully!!!
Luv,
Donovan

[Mr Munch88]

Im glad you all had a great time, but fill me in.... WHAT HAPPENED????
What was the best thing, how were the shows? who won sky tubes? Who brought what to show...IM DYING HERE! I NED TO KNOW WHAT WENT ON!

H E L P !!!

[tinafan80]

Now you guys know that Jen is going to type out a full CNN report for you guys when she gets to her computer! She is talented like that and will be able to give full details of what happened. It was fun though!

[chuck rules]

Now moving on to our Rover reporter Jenn Waitt!:D Take it away Jenn!:lol

[captslappy]

Email me J and I'll give you the "quickie" ;)

mscherpenberg@yahoo.com

[chuck rules]

OH FILL ME IN TO CAPT!:D

[captslappy]

Let's see...

We went to Chuck E Cheese came to my house played Sky Tubes watched videos, watched robots, watched more videos, did some trivia some where in there, watched more robots, did some videos, watched more robots went to bed.

Went to CEC, watched videos, watched more robots, watched videos, watched even more robots, went to another CEC watched the 3 stage, Donovan and Jenn got offered jobs by the manager during the birthday show... came back watched more robots and videos and went to TJ Hartfords...

I'll let the others tell you guys the details...

[looneybird78]

Rod you ran away before I could talk to you in TX nooooo.... Drop me a line off board Damon.Breland@gmail.com

BTW pics coming soon... Where do I need to put em at? Photobucket? Suggestions?

[pizzacam]

That was a very fun weekend!! Thanks to Jenn, Mike(The Capt), Mike(Menutia)Travis and J!! Great video J!! Thanks for the transportation and good times Donovan!! :eek :lol

[RodHouTx]

This was so much fun. So many great folks. So much show knowledge in one room! I told some people at my store about it. They want the DVD when it comes out! I am ready for next year!

"Is This Cake Taken".. LOL!! You just had to be there!
(See "Recognitions" topic).

[captslappy]

Rod I know you were going to stop by after TJ Hartford's. If you did I am so sorry. We got busy talking to Travis and Steven in the parking lot and it took us a bit longer to get back. Then I also had to get gas. I hope we didn't leave you out there cuz you were gone when we got back.

[RodHouTx]

No no.. I was "dog" tired. I went back to the hotel and was out instantly!

I will be back in Dallas on October 6-8 for a bowling tournament.

You guys can e-mail me at rodneyjmail-cec@yahoo.com

And maybe all the Texas folks can get together again soon since there are quite a number of us, and a certain mouse has a driver's license now.

[captslappy]

Good deal. We forgot you might be heading back to the house and I was worried we kept you waiting because we stood around talking and took to long to get back to the house. Good seeing you though!

[MatHat13]

CV-3 to me was everything a CEC/Showbiz fan would ever want, I really enjoyed it, hey the wattaburgers rocked too, better start mailing them here Slaps.:hat

[Lilredridinghood]

Hey Damon,
How funny is that! The first part was all just a bunch of jumbled voices, but then we could make out "Little Arrows," playing!

I'm so glad CV3 was a sucess! I can't wait to see the pics!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Hi Gang...

I'm safely back home here in Boston after the Big Event in TX! YeeHah it was fantastic fun!!! I was lucky to escape as The Captain wanted to lock me in his shed and keep me to work on his Cyberamics! Ha ha! Well after 3 days of hardly any sleep, i am finally rested up enough to be able to type! So here goes.....

Well based on what folks have posted so far, most can figure out that CV3 was a big success. I think everyone had a great time, and are already looking forward to next year! Of the three CV's we have held so far, i think this one was special. Having animatronics helped, but the wonderful mix of fans from all corners of the country really made this years' CV a treat.

Now here's a rundown, a best as i remember, of what went on at CV3:

My CV experience began on the day before ( Thursday) arriving at DFW Airport. As i was outside curbside in the pick up area, i suddenly realized i was being whistled at by a bunch a freaks in a mini van. "Hey baby...need a ride?"

Turned out the "freaks" were none other then Menutia and a motley assortement of CV3 Attendees: Nick, Mike, and Travis! Needless to say once i realized this ( which i admit, at first i DID'NT!) i jumped in the van to be whisked away at lightspeed via Chicago Driving c/o Darling Menutia.

We then arrived at The Captain's pad, and after peeling ourselves off the inside windows from the G-Forces, we fell into getting the place set up for CV3. Menutia and Mike had already started earlier in the day, but now that i was in town it was time to put the pedal to the metal and get down to business.

While the Two Mikes went to the garage to get the shows up and running, i went about setting up some of the display tables and getting to know Billy Bob and his buddy Nick. After some general hanging out, i went out to the garage to make sure the Boys were'nt about to send the place into orbit with all the air pressure and old electronics they were dealing with ( hee hee!).

They fired up the ancient Cyberamics Control System computer and reel player to see what would happen now that all the characters were aired up and ready to be tested. The switch was thrown and nothing happend! This is when everyone started to sweat, as it looked as if the plans for running the Balcony Show were out the window. But animatronic freaks don't give up so easily....and we had some fine honorary Tech's in da house who knew what to do and how to solve the problems they were having.

In a short time Menuta had the system running, and we all stood back in awe as the first animations stared to twitch for the first time in 20+ years. This was about 9PM, and at that point we only had Pasqually running. Everything else was dead, but at that point we were happy to just get the CyberSystem up and functioning.

Now this is where things got fun.....

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

In the following hours, Menutia, Mike, and myself went nuts trying to get the other PTT characters up and going. The Bot frames were just being broken in after 20+ years of storage and non-use so there were bad valves and other mishaps due to the age. All things considered, when we finished up around 2AM, what we had going was still pretty dang impressive under the circumstances and extremely tight time limit.

At that point we were all in awe...as we had successfully brought this classic show back to life! We had all the characters running, though not perfect or fully functioning due to time restraints. We also had The Original Warbelettes working thanks to Steven's expertise and also the fabulous Flag Waver Mentuia had brought down from Chicago. The famous Clapper Board was also rigged up to at least light up, but sadly time did not allow us to get it going mechanically. We also had a rare Band Board on the premesis, but again, time ran out on us so we were'nt able to get that going for CV3 either.

However, what we DID have going was very cool. We sat there for a while with our mouths open ( mine was at least) and watched animation sequences that have not been seen in 25 years for sure. We were exusted, but estatic with glee over what had been accomplished. I think i can safely say we had the ONLY operating PTT era show now at CV3. Original show reels were used on the authentic and genuine system to present the show soundtrack and programming signals. We even had some laughs and ran a ancient diagnostics reel in which you can hear the Band Board and other effect in the background on the recording! Pretty sweet.

I also spent some time grooming the characters ( RAE included) as many don't realize how much a difference brushing them out can make appearence wise. I have been doing this for years, so it's a natural behavior to me. I brushed out the PTT Players and they looked much better...i remember both Mike's commenting on the big improvement.

I left Mike's with Menutia around 3AM and we spent the next hour and a half or so trying to find our way back to the Clarion Hotel from the Captain's. One thing is for sure...TX sure loves to build things and one of those things is very long roads!! It was insane..but we finally arrived at the Clarion, which was situated directly across the street from CEC's Home Office. I discovered that the hotel had a "Brock Suite"....no doubt named after Bob Brock who was the head of Showbiz Pizza back in it's heyday. Menutia then noted that this used to be a Holiday Inn, which was true. Bob Brock owned all the Holiday Inns back then, so it makes sense to have a personal suite for him at the local Holiday Inn across from where he worked! Very neat find it was.

We finally arrived at the hotel and crashed big time after a very busy day. I vivdly remember hitting my head on the bed pillow at exactly 5 AM....crazy i know...but man was it SO worth it to get that show going.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

FRIDAY JULY 21st-----CheeseVention 3!

Friday i awoke after only 3 hours of sleep and prepared myself for the Big Event. I decced myself out in my CEC gear and headed down for a quick breakfast and met up with Menutia. We were both feeling the lack of sleep BADLY but we were so pumped about getting the CyberSystem up and running. It has to be said that Menutia is a genuis when it comes to this stuff!

We headed off to meet up with everyone at the Iriving CEC location. We had a good crowd of attendees this year and they were ready to party. We stated off with a nice lunch, and basically took over the Show Room in Irving. The few Guests that were there must have been wondering who these people were that were so into the show and signing along with the music too!

A visit by Mike Hill ( CEC's current Show Programmer) was a neat bonus. He stopped by for a quick lunch and said hi to everyone which was cool. Thanks puppetmaster29 for being a part of CV3!

Irving is the famous flagship "test" location of CEC. Here you can experience new concepts and ideas the Company is testing here first to decided wether or not it should be used at all CEC Stores. They are currently in the midst of testing to much talked about "Token Cards" system which eliminates Game Tokens as coins and instead replaces them as "Points" on a scannable debit card of sorts. Most arcades and casinos today use them...and i'm glad to see CEC step up to the plate with this idea ( read more of my comments on this concept in the " Game Cards" thread in the CEC Section here).

After seeing what they have done and what they have come up with to incorporate these cards into the CEC system, i am now totally convinced this is the way to go. I can so see this happening soon..maybe the next couple of years...as it has too much going for it. The new scanners that are retrofitted over the coin mechs on the games are neat...as not only do the lights inside it change color to let you know you can play, a small lcd screen built into it also tells you how many "points" you have left!

The only down side is that you can only use the cards at the store you purchased them in. This is no doubt to help curd the rampant second hand business on E-bay, but it also can help each store keep track of Guests fave games as each card has traceable features like this built in. Way cool and long overdue! My advice people: SPEND YOUR TOKENS NOW as they will be worthless once this new system is started! Tickets as well, as soon these also will be tallied on the cards. Iriving will be dropping game tickets in September to try it out and see what the reaction is.

Getting back to CV3 now....

After Lunch we all rode together in a caravan up to Carrolton for the official CV Site: The Captain's place! Here we were all treated to some neat collectibles displays and scrapbooks many fans had brought with them. Mike's Mom had also used the Cv Fund money to good use, and put out a nice spread of snacks and munchies for everyone. Plenty was availbie for all.

I made the official kickoff announcement, and after passing out the Goodie Bags and stating some general info, we launched into the traditional Triva Contest. This year we only had 3 contestants ( you guys are too shy!) who were Steven ( Moonrockers), Danny ( CEC3066) and Donovon ( TinaFan80). They did very well and in the end Danny was the winner. Keeping with CEC policy however, "Everyone is a Winner", all contestants were able to choose a prize from the prize counter.

Travis ( Veganova) made some fantastic goodies for everyone to drool over this year at the Merch Table. Attendees were tempted by some nice CV3 and CV2 T-Shirts and also a preview of the previous CV themed DVD releases. Also on hand were the sought after CV3 Limited Edition Plushs, which featured our favorite rat dressed in red shorts and sporting a red CV3 logo shirt! Very cool stuff, and it was eagerly snapped up by those in attendence.

After the Triva Contest wrapped up, it was time for the wacky "SkyTubes Race" board game. Travis had made up extra playing peices so everyone could play at once ( yep..all 12 or so of us!). The main rule was that you had to play "in character" and as such you had to behave and talk like the character piece you had chosen. Of course, part of the fun was no one was told this BEFORE they chose their piece..( heh heh..) so imagine Donovon voicing Mitzi, Matt voicing a very annoyed Looney Bird, and The Franchise doing a very good King impersonation! It was far out and silly. The Captain showed up and decided he was going to be Harmony Howlette and since he is Co-Host and she is our "mascot" this year, he should be able to cut ahead of everyone! At one point he even stood on Dook, having rope-tied him to the ground. Eventually though, it was Pasqually( played by ?) that won in the end! Pasqaully...go figure!

Once the game was over, it was time for a little entertainment to cool down with. The lovely Dolli Dimples then performed for us all much to everyone delight. Dolli appeared at last years CV but was not operational. Her cosmetics were restored by me, and shipped back to The Captain where they belonged just in time for CV3! Here she actually performed, and what a treat it was to see and hear her again!

Once Dolli entertained us, it was time for some serious Animatronic insanity: Time for some Rock-aFire Explosion action!

[looneybird78]

And now... DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/da.../my_photos (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/damon_breland/my_photos) :hat

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yep.....

Now it was time to gather everyone up in the "Showroom" garage to experience some Classic Rock-aFire shows! Mike had done a great job getting all his characters togther and working, and this year we had a nearly complete show with Rolfe and Earl, Billy Bob and Looney, and Dook, Fatz, Beach, and Mitzi! It was awesome to see...and the high point of the day came during the "Let the Sun Shine In" number. You had to be there to really understand exactly what happened, but i think Donovon ( TinaFan80) said it best: "We just had Church in here! Ohhh Jesus!" ( waves arms). Yeah, it was the Gospel folks..brought to us by the RAE...and that's no joke! It was a MOMENT man....a bonafide MOMENT and electric energy in a spiritial sense it can be said. Everyone was clapping and singing, and Donovan was going mental which was hilarious to say the least! It was a good finale to the RAE Shows, so we let it be and moved back into the house to cool off from the TX heat and to recoup after our moving experience.

Back in the house, everyone grabbed a drink, a plate full of snacks, and parked themselves in front of the large tv screen to enjoy some rare and unusual video footage during the Video Showcase segment of CV. To kick things off i played the special video message J had sent along since he was not able to attend in TX this year. As Co-Founder of CV, it seemed right to play his message first for the attendees, and i have to say they were FLOORED by what they saw and heard! I never dreamed it would have gotten the reception it did..but man it was great! Folks laughed outlloud at the antics of J and Looney Bird as the tried to figure out what they were going to do for the weekend since they won't be in TX with everyone. J suggests going someplace to have some fun, in which Looney has some suggestions ( Plaster Fun Time, Circus Playhouse, Showbiz Pizza). When J mistakeninly suggests Chuck E. Cheese's, Looney's suttle but unhappy expression sends the auidence wathcing into a fit of loud laughter. J was missed at CV3, but this video message was definately one of the highlights for many.

We were then treated to a lineup of some clips of Damon's Creative Engineering trip along with other bits attendees had brought to share. We ran some 90's era CyberStar videos also, and some sneak peeks of the CV2 Event dvd program as promised. It was a enjoyable way for everyone to take a break and get to know each other better.

During the Video Showcase we were graced with a personal visit by Billy Bob, who shook hands and posed for photos with his fans. Special thanks go out to Nick for securing Billy for us, he was a very welcome additon to the day!

After everyone had a meal and had cooled off, it was time for the finale of the Event: The PTT Era Baclony Show presentation! While everyone was in the house watching the videos, Menutia and Mike were in the garage getting things going anf finalising the show. Harmony Howlette was our special guest, and as such we ran original Harmony Show Reels form 1981 for the occasion.

Everyone was gathered up again and we treked out to the "Showroom" to witness history: A operational PTT Era show! We had all 5 Classic Era characters up and running, along with the original Warbletettes backup singers. We also had the rare Clapper Board on display, and best of all ( to me at least) we had a original Flag Waver mech complete with PTT Rat Chuck E. flag!! When the show started, it was MAGIC.

Even though time did'nt allow us to get the charcters movements all working, i think everyone there that night agreed that it was still pretty amazing. The style of the animation is so completely different then today's CyberBot programming. Jaspers' eyes would move back in forth like crazy to give him a wild and crazed dog appearence...which totally keeps him in character with the personaification of him at that time. Chuck had the famous "eye flutter" animation i have talked about here for a while, and it was a thrill to see this again as i remember this so well from back then. It was really cool to see these shows again, and with Harmony! Some real gems we heard, and i think many came away that night having a new respect for the Cyberamic Bot's and the "primative" Computer System that runs them ( off a reel to reel player mind you!) Hooray for "Old Technology"! Super Special thanks go out to Menutia for making all of this possible! I salute you Darling!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Once the PTT Show wrapped for the evening, fans departed back to their hotel rooms while a few of us stuck around to help clean up Mike's house. It was a little trashed, but hey, it was okay! The Captain was too pooped to notice i think.....but a few of us tidied up so things would look presentable for the next days events.


SATURDAY JULY 22----CV3, Day Two! Woo Hoo!!


After a good nights rest ( shyeah...right! As if....) it was time for yet more fun. Attendees gathered once more at the Iriving CEC to decided what the group would like to do with the day. We had a few choices, but most agreed it would be best to return to Mike's and simply hang out and enjoy the RAE and PTT shows. Many just wanted to enjoy hanging out...so we all jumped in out vehicles and headed out into the TX desert to arrive at The Captains' place once more.

Day 2 has traditionally been the "hang out" day at previous CV's and this year was no different. Many more videos were watched, many more sodas were consumed, and for lunch we ordred out for pizza and sat there watching Dolli Dimples perform again. It was as if we were playing "Pizza Time Theatre" ourselves in that room.....it was the first time Dolli had sung in front of a group of people eating pizza in many a decade i'm sure.

After everyone had their fill of pizza, it was time to unviel this years "Surprise Guest"...another CV tradition. This year we had something special up our sleeve...and it deleivered! Fans were led back to the garage and to everyone's surprise Madame Oink was now amoung the Pizza Time Players instead of Harmony! We had a new Guest! Reels were rolled and Oink came to life in the fun PTT show "The Tune Machine with Madame Oink". Catchy title, eh? This show was produced in 1984..years before the RAE made a similar show. After cycling through old Birthday shows, a Cheer, and other tidbits, everyone seemed to be ready to move on to some other activity.

The RAE was fired up again and we enjoyed some more Classic Shows, this time run by cassette tape. I find it utterly amazing that people we know that attended this year found a way to present a animatronic show in the ways that were acheived. Running a RAE, with all it's animation signals as well as it's sountrack off of a mere casette tape is amazing in many respects. I'm still impressed by this and many more of the technical feats that were accomplished and on display this weekend. I special tip of the hat to all the techno-geeks who make it all possible!

The crowd had now had their fill of the shows, and were now anxious to see the much talked about CEC 3-Stage that the nearby Richardson CEC still had. Originally we had planned to visit, but The Captain suggested it might not be what everyone is expecting as the show is in poor shape and the trip is a time consuming affair. Nethertheless, the fans wanted to go...so it in the end the majority won out and we headed off to Richardson.

[captslappy]

One note I want to add to the cyberamics viewing... we only had 2 physical guests (Harmony and Madame Oink) but we had show material for all 5 guest stars including Foxy, Sally, Harmony, Madame Oink and both versions of Helen. We watched Foxy and Sally using the Harmony robot. We were floored that they used originally programming dating back to the early years. Pasqually and Munch originally had doors that hid them and initially there were only 4 robots. The guest came along a year or two later so often times we only had Jasper and Chuck going as Pasqually and Munch were 'bheind their doors" and the guest was not programmed. We learned so much about the programming watching those tapes.

After Oink's Tune Machine we ran some cyberstar stuff with Helen Henny. Madame Oink gracially offered to do Helen's role for us and lip synced her parts since Ms. Henny had other commitments this year. I'm sure after Jenn talks more about the weekend she will post about what we learned about the programming from teh Foxy and Sally reels we watched on the PTT part of the site. It will be an interesting commentary to say the least!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Arriving in Richardson we were treated to a sight: The store was originally a Showbiz Pizza and boy did the building show it! It looked just like your typical stand alone Showbiz location..it was so cool!!

Inside you could easily the Showbiz store layout...with the customer walkway that goes right to the back of the store, to the huge Showroom and smaller game areas. The Sports Room was even somewhat still easy to envision in the corner, along with the original Showbiz Gift Shop location. It screamed Showbiz big time, even though it was converted to a CEC location many years ago. Sadly while we were there, it was revealed by one of the Managers that this location would close at the end of this Summer. A shame, as it was a cool store.

The show was in the before-mentioned condition, but it was'nt as bad as it COULD have been. Nick revealed it was actually quite GOOD compared to what he has seen at other 3-Stage stores. It did'nt matter to me though, as this was my first time seeing a 3-Stage in a locaiton so i was happy as a clam. We arrived just as Chuck E. was coming out to perform the Live Show for the Birthday parties in attendence and it did'nt take long for some of us to storm the stage and participate in the performance. Actually, let me re-word that: TAKE OVER the performance!

The Franchise and TinaFan rushed up and started to seriously party down to "Chuck E. Says". I think the staff was pretty stunned..and Chuck did'nt quite know what to make of it! It must not be everyday this happens....complete strangers take the stage and not only perform a routine, they SING along and know all the words!! After the show both were told they should fill up applications for employment by a mangers who was watching the show! Ha ha!! Little did he know...! While the show was going on one manager brought another one in to see the scene they were creating..but i have to tell you, that crowd was PUMPED after that.

The Birthday Show was then played, so of course Franchise and TinaFan did the show. I decided then to join them...so there we all are going completely theatrical on the 3-Stage. What a scene! It was great!!

After spending some time here, we decided to head back to Mike's to pack up our stuff and get ready for out Dinner date. Before we left however, a series of group photos was taken in front on the 3-Stage characters. Matt then decides he can't surpress his craving for CEC Birthday Cake frosting and proceeds to stun everyone ( including the Birthday family themselves!) by scooping up a handfull of cake right off one of the tables and consuming it in front of everyone! I did'nt learn of this until we were well on our way back to Mike's.....man i could'nt beleive it! Matt, what were you THINKING dude??

Well anyway....speaking of food....it was just about time for Dinner by the time we returned to Mike's. Everyone gathered up there goods and items they had brought to share. I helped out Menutia in loading up his van for the long ride back to the Windy City with all the show electronics and one Cyber Pig. By the time we were done, everyone was ready to pig out big time and we had pre-chosen a fantastic place to do so: TJ Hartfords!

For those who don't know, TJ Hartfords is a adult geared resturant owned by CECE. The only location that exsists is in Littletown, TX and it is right next door to Hooters! Well, we did'nt know that until we arrived..so you can imagine how hard it was to keep people from changing there minds and wanting to go see the Hooters Girls instead...(ha !)

TJ's was NICE! I really liked it a lot. You could see some resemblences to CEC, and we even managed to find Pasqaully pictures on the walls in some areas ( well....it LOOKED like him!). There was a sports bar, and a main dining area. They also had a small game room with old games that no doubt came out of CEC's after remodels that you could play for only a nickel! Pretty cool. They even had a coin operated horse in there ( hey, it's Texas after all!) and MatHat insisted i ride it for Richard who was'nt there this year. By the way RIchard, it was a nice "Sundance" horse with a real leather saddle and bridle! Nicest coin-op horse i ever saw really...

The food was great....and everyone was so loud and excited that night. I sat at the far end of the huge table we were seated at and proceeded to space out with the two Mike's in sheer exuastion. Our brains were fried that night...after so mnay days of not having adequet sleep..but heck, it was nice to see everyon so up that night.

Travis finally showed up with Steven later on ( those two.....lol) and we all enjoyed the last remaining time together before it was time to leave TJ's and bid farewell for this years meetup. It was tough, as we could have stayed on in the parking lot for another hour or so the way things were going. No Parking Lot Live Shows this year....but the good times at TJ's made up for it.

Everyone spits up and head back to their hotels. Many ( including myself) had to leave earlt the next day to head home....but by this point Mentuia knew the roads in TX pretty well and we made good time back to the Brock Suite.

Morning came far too soon and i was wiped out. The trip home was loooonnnggg and it was good to be back in Bean Town after the Big Event. I had a blast and i'm so thrilled that everything went so well and all who attended seemed to have the times of there life!

Huge thanks go out the The Captain for agreeing to Co-Host the Event this year, and to his MOM too for all her efforts in getting us the nice spread of food and for prepping the Goodie Bags!

Thanks go out to my Darling Menutia....without whom we would not have expereinced the historic and amazing PTT Shows! Thanks also for carting me around all weekend!

Thanks also to Travis for his continued support of CheeseVention over the years. I did'nt see much of you this time around ( boy..you must be really religious to spend so much time at "church" during CV man..hmmm...lol). Hope you had fun!

Thanks to Nick for bringing Billy Bob, and your fab scrapbooks! Thanks also for not nuking Corporate Headquarters for "killing off your childhood" or tripping Chuck E. when he leaned over that vat of processed cheese.

Thanks to TinaFan and The Franchise for their undying enthusiasim at CV3. You guys were without a doubt the life of the party!

Thanks to Gabe for joining in and bringing some of his CyberStar shows to enable us to present them as they should be seen!

That reminds me...i forget to mention that on Saturday, Madame Oink and the Pizza Time Players performed some "modern" shows from the early 90's, complete with video accompanyment courtest of Menutia! ( what can i say..the man is a genuis). The difference in the animation was interesting, and the younger fans enjoyed seeing the Bot's perform these CyberStar shows again for them!

Thanks go out to EVERYONE who attended as well...without YOU, the Fans, we would'nt have a CV to begin with!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

**********************************************




IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL CV3 ATTENDEES!!!




**********************************************


If YOU attended CV3 and captured the Event on film via a videocamera, then i want YOU to send me your footage! I would like to begin work on the CV3 dvd IMMEDIATELY but i need as much footage that exsists as possible!

If i remember right, we had 4 people filming:

LooneyBird78
The Franchise ( and his folks)
Billy Bob Brockali
Veganova

I think Gabe was too...

If you have footage, PLEASE SEND IT ASAP in dvd or video format ONLY to the address below, care of "CheeseVention Footage"

36 Grant Road
Lynn Ma
01904


At the Event i had annouced that everyone should send there footage to Gabe to be edited down into a program. This has now changed as he is not able to do this. You can still send your fooatge though, as i know he would like to have it. If you CANNOT get your footage converted into dvd or videotape formats, then definately send it to Gabe and Nick can help tranfer it. I am asking for these formats only as i can only edit and create the forthcoming CV3 program on videotape. So if you have your footage on a high-tech format, please try to convert it. If you are'nt able to...senit off to Gabe and Nick be able to do so.

I would like to get this program made in the next few weeks for a ( hopefully) quick release. The faster you send your footage, the faster we can get this done and back out to you asap! I know there is some GREAT footage of many highlights from the Event, and chances are everyone will have some of there footage included in the CV3 dvd release!

Thanks everyone, and thanks to everyone who filmed CV3 for us all!!!

:D

**********************************************

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

I'm just now going back and reading what was posted as i spent the last couple of hours typing the huge review above.

The Captain mentions a interesting happening i forgot to cover ( thanks for reminding me!)

We did run the Foxy and Sally reels and i noticed how during certain segments Pasqually and Munch were not programmed. It suddenly dawned on me WHY: Back then they were behind there "doors". These were shutters that would open and close in time with the characters ques in the early versions of the Balcony Stage( pre-1980). The reason why these two characters would remain still during certain show segments was simply because they were NOT VISABLE at that point during the show! This was a amazing discovery!

It was also discovered that some of the earliest material we played did not even have the Guest characters animated at ALL! This has led to the theory that PTT recyled some of the earliest shows, shows that go back all the way to 1977 when there was NO GUEST character Bot' to begin with! This was equally fasinating to see.....only the four main characters would perform while the Guest "slept" with no programming at all. This proves the long standing therory that PTT reused some of it's earliest known shows at this time, which makes sense really when you consider that both Sally the Skunk and Foxy Colleen were "new" in 1978/79.....a mere year or two after PTT began!

So we were seeing some of the FIRST Chuck E. Cheese animatronic shows created that night we watched the Foxxy and Sally reels.

Freaking fantastic!!!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Thanks Damon for posting your fab photos!!

Now at least folks can get a tasting of some of the things that went on at CV3!!!

[captslappy]

Also, our new theory on things:

The original show was:

Band
Warblettes
Crusty
Chuck
Jasper
Pasqually

Then HELEN replaced Crusty

Then Foxy replaced Helen and Munch was added in. We aren't sure if the clappers were there originally or not but the band and flags definately were.

Jenn's earliest program may blow this apart as it mentions Pasqually, Jasper, Munch, Chuck, Crusty, Warblettes and a guest (examples given are Glen Camel and Elkton John) but these guests never happened so who knows!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

True, but i have suspect this was something that was in the works....this "Guest" feature was added later on to keep the shows at different PTT's different.

This was back when PTT was just starting and there were only a small handfull of locations, primarily in CA at that time around 1977. A year or so later, with more locations opening or planned, the concept of having a added "Guest" character was created to keep the various shows in other locations from being all the same. This ment that even if you had been to PTT before locally, you wanted to go to another location nearby to see what they had. It was a brilliant marketing move really when you think it over, and that is what Nolan was: a brilliant marketer amoung other things.

Yes, originally it WAS just four character plus the Warbelettes. This is proven in the first CEC newspaper ad from May of 77' announcing the grand opening of the first PTT in San Jose. It clearly states "Big C, Jasper, Crusty, the Warblettes, and Pasqually" amoung it's text speil. I have a photo of that same location from 1979 that shows Foxy in Crusty's place. I beleive this is how it was, and there was no "Guest" per say until 78'/79' came along. The reels we watched, and the above references, prove it to me at least.

I am still so freaking amazed at what i witnessed those nights watching the Harmony/Sally/Foxy reels. I am looking forward to seeing any video footage anyone has of these in particular!

Send your video footage to me!

CheeseVention Footage
36 Grant Road
Lynn Ma
01904

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Captain,

I just had a crazy idea.

We SO need to get the FULL SHOW going. I mean, look how far we came that night!

How would you feel about maybe sometime in the future the three of us get togther again and spend a weekend getting everything running? That would be one heck of a fun weekend to me....

Menutia can bring down his stuff again if at that point your system is still not up along with his Band Board and the three of us just go nuts and clean, repair, and run the whole show with everything! Clappers up, Band Board cleaned and set up, all your Cyber characters repaired and cleaned ( puts hand up) and then we sit back and watch.

Best of all, we run all these old shows and film them! Such treasures of this rare nature should be archieved for ALL to SEE!

What do you guys think? This is something for the future...whenever you two could get together and whenever the air fares to Tx come back down to Earth ( gasp).

[menutia]

Everyone spits up and head back to their hotels.

Jenn, I was able to hold my lunch down.

:)


~M

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Oh....

And if we do this, i'll bring my Checkered Vest back!!

Just don't lock me in the shed with Daisy, okay? :lol

[captslappy]

Yes my preciousssssssssssssssssss (stroking the vest).

Yeah taht would be cool. I have already found a place that has the 4 way valves and I know where to get mouse valves. After I recover from this I plan to work on the show further and fix a lot of what did not work. I dont know how soon it is til I get back from TN. I know I'll be gone most of Sept and Oct. for the farm. I'll be free again in Nov. on but will be at Disney in early Dec. for 4 nights.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Sounds good.

Maybe the end of this year, or even early next year will work out. It really depends on when you and Menutia are availble. My schedule is very flexible so that would not hold me back in most cases.

Between the three of us, we should be able to get everything running. You and Menutia are the experts on the "mechanical/computer system" end of things and i'm the "cosmetics/movement grading" expert. We can't lose!!

Just think: a FULLY restored PTT Era show with all movements, like new cosmetics, and all rare props operating together for the first time in 26+ years! There is even talk of getting some lights together for this too....the light show must be awesome judging by the lights going nuts on the light driver card!

All of this would of course be filmed for archeival purposes....the stuff we discovered at CV3 on those reels programming-wise is too "valuable" to let dissapear again after all these years.

[RodHouTx]

What about the rock-Afire Explosion?!?!?!?

[captslappy]

The Rock-afire is pretty much working. I need to order a few parts from Aaron like a few masks, the Mitzi shoes I had were borrowed and I need a set, Beach Bear's hand (I'm sure you noticed it was a bit funky) but otherwise the RAE is good. I still have a few leak issues since all of my characters are used except for Billy Bob who I purchased from Aaron a few years ago. The CEC stuff is what really needs help.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Rod, the RAE is already "archieved". Footage of it in action is very common to come by. Entire shows can be had on video tape, either taped on location or pro promo videos.

PTT Era shows however, are very very rare to find on video. Most that has been found is just bits, usually part of a promo video from that era. The fact is that back in 80/81' when these classics were performed in-store, your average guest did not have a video camera. Video did'nt really become availible to consumers at a affordable price until the mid 80's, and by that time the Classic Balcony Shows we are talking about were already over.

So it's important to get these shows captured on video as no where else has this been acomplished that we know of. Never before has a PTT System been up and running with the Cyberamic characters to run a show before! It really was a historic event that took place there at CV3 and it got me to thinking that we should get together again and spend time we did'nt have before CV to get the rest of the show up and running as it should be.

Complete restoration is in order. I can restore and clean the cosmetics to a point where they will look almost like new. I have many years experience already with this. Menutia and The Captain are more mechanical experts and they can handle that end. I can tend to the cosmetic repair and also oversee the correct movement settings. At CV3 the settings were a little off, but that is simply because we did'nt have time beforehand to go over them and correct the adjustments.

It won't be easy, but it will be fun and well worth the investment methinks.

I'm looking forward to it already! Wish i could just shoot back down there this weekend and pick up right where we left off!

[dheineCECfan]

Regarding early CECPTT video footage: The person who runs the Disney Extinct Attractions Club at www.extinct-attractions-club.com still hasn't located in his attic the 1977 Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre first location San Jose, California video footage videotape in the attic in his home, and we have yet to see on videotape or DVD-R the 1979 Real People feature about Nolan Bushnell and his 1979 Chuck E. Cheese's footage.

And: To make a restored 1977 PTT show, you have to make new robotic mask and cosmetics for a Crusty Cat robot.

[captslappy]

We also need to find a Crusty reel too. I may recreate some cosmetics for my show if we can locate that reel.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

I have recieved confirmation now about the "Brock Suite" at the Calrion Hotel we were all staying at....

Yes, it WAS a Holiday Inn that was owned by Bob Brock. It is now owned by his buddy Tom Cocoran (sp?) and the suite is indeed named after Ol' Bob!

Awesome!!

[pizzacam]

Yeah, it was a Holiday Inn in '04 when Jasper T. Jowls and I stayed in it during our tour of CECE...

[dheineCECfan]

You can even make a robotic mask and cosmetics to recreate CECPTT robots of Foxy Colleen, Sally Sashay, and the Mopsey Sisters besides recreating Crusty. How about a recreation of the 1978-1979 first version goose looking guitar playing Helen Henny (originally a Helen Reddy parody?)? Also: A recreation of the CECPTT Ice Cream Emporium's The Little Shavers would be hard...

And, regarding my tour of CEC Support Center HQ in Irving, Texas in 2001, at the time I toured the place, I was staying at the The Mansion at Turtle Creek hotel in Dallas.

[puppetmaster29]

Sounds like you guys had alot of fun. Sorry I wasn't able to hang out the whole weekend, but it was great to meet those of you that I did get to meet at the Irving store.

[captslappy]

Hey Mike, sorry I didn't have time to talk to you at the store. I didn't realize that you had to leave so quick and you were just there on lunch hour. Drop me aline sometime and if you want you can see my stuff at some point. Mscherpenberg@yahoo.com

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Does anyone have any more photos to share?

We have Damons' up now.....but i'd like to see what else is out there!

YouTube video bits would be cool too...however keep in mind not all of us are able to watch them ( J and myself included).

Rock On!

[ChuckEFranchize454]

i wanna thank everyone. i had a great time meeting all of you guys. its was definetally a life changine experience for me getting to finally put faces on everyone lol....jenn did u give J his gift from me??? i hope you all enjoyed my lego model setup...btw damon excellent pic of them...

Donovan- SING IT B**** that was priceless
Jenn- hope those trivia questions and prises helped
Matthat- u and that cake:lol :lol :lol
Mike,Mike,Nick,Jenn(hope i didnt forget anyone on this one)-tha shows ruled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gabe-glad that my bro could make it
Damon-loved the pics
Danny-you really kno ur dept 18 trivia
Mike(Menutia)- you sure were not long lost brothers????:eek :eek :eek :eek

[tinafan80]

LOL

I didn't think that would stand out the most from me!! LOL
The whole SING IT B**** thing. LOL

I had a great time with you guys last weekend, and let me tell you, none of you guys will be forgotten. LOL

I am sure next year will be just as fun if not better. But this years CV will be hard to beat.

I want to thank everyone who made CV3 possible this year. That means each and everyone of you who came and those of you who weren't able to make it but played a part in it all. AMAZING! And Cat, the shows.... FLAWLESS! You are the bizzness!!

Luv you guys cause you all crazy!!!

:rollin

[dheineCECfan]

Where can I find Damon's CV3 pics?

[looneybird78]

Page 2 half way down is the post with the link

[pizzacam]

http://sp-com.tripod.com/pizzacam/pizzacam/5ec2re2.jpg

Hahaha, man this about sums up CV3 all of us having fun watching the shows and Donovan go wild! :lol Great pic Damon!

[puppetmaster29]

:lol look at Donovan breaking it down with his sweaty armpits.:rollin I love it.

[captslappy]

Yeah... that's a good pic to sum it all up there! :rollin
Donovan you are crazy man but that is why we love you!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Great pic...Damon took many GREAT ones!

Damon, any chance you can post that awesome one of Menutia, Mike and me in front of the PTT Show? It's the one you shot up high, from the RAE Stage.

I'd like everyone here to see this, as it captures our Co-Hosts rather well...( did you hear that Mentuia...you have been 'promoted"!)

[captslappy]

Yes since one of our others went AWOL on us... *cough* :lol

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

No no Captain...

He did'nt go AWOL...

He just went to "Church"...

*cough*

*cough*

;)

[captslappy]

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggggggggggggggggghtt... ... "church" ;)

[tinafan80]

Church???
Ok, you need Jesus with all that lying!!! :rollin


look at Donovan breaking it down with his sweaty armpits.

Let me tell you, I am surprised my whole shirt wasn't sweaty cause it was 482 degrees in that garage. But well worth every sweatin moment of it cause we had fun. I think the heat actually added a little more to the fun of it all!! I was HAPPY!!!!

[puppetmaster29]

LOL... Well you know Donavon to some of us black folks (key word being "some") we feel right at home in the heat. :b

[looneybird78]

Drum Roll Please....

J's Cheer Video is now on YouTube. I made 2 versions. A long one for those with Hi speed internet and a Short one for those with Dialup.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXB3bKOY-sM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXB3bKOY-sM) (short)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJDtnWWT-hg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJDtnWWT-hg) (long)

Also At Jenn's request the Yahoo Photo Album has been updated with the pic she wanted!

pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/da...on_breland (http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/damon_breland/album?.dir=7e58re2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/damon_breland)

[pizzacam]

LOL that's funny! I like the longer "prep" version. Us trying to get it all right. :lol

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Thanks so much Damon...and thanks for adding the short version of the video for those of us who have the slow dial up connections ( like me!)

It's great to see more pix added top your album!!

Everyone check out pic # 101 4054......it's my fave!!

It's The Captain, Menutia, and me posing in front of the PTT Stage right before we packed it up at the conclusion of CV3.

I love this pic...it's my desktop photo right now!

[captslappy]

me too!

[menutia]

LOL... Glad to be of service. I was very proud to be a part of CV3. And while I might have been a facilator I was no way as involved as Jenn & Mike, the hosts for CV3. You folks did some pretty amazing work. (Oh, you too Vega.... out of sight... out of mind.) You know we love ya Travis!

The best way to sum up the event was in "your own words".



* "I have a copy of the ***** showtape... YES, here with me."


* "So... you have a copy of the ***** showtape? Hmmm.. can I borrow that for a few minutes?"


* "I'm outta here!!!"


* "Flying lessons!!!"


* "Hey baby, need a ride?"


* "Yes, those are legos...."


* "Stay off the stage... get down, or we'll get kicked out."


* "I just hit the jackpot on 'Wheel of Fortune'!" (In southern accent)


* "Who picked 10AM for the get together?"



* "Hey, are you still looking to buy a....?"



* "Want me to kick your A$$ at air hockey?


* "Is this how everyone in Chicago drives?"



"Just turn the wheelchair around and take me out backwards!"


* "Come on, hit that high note... you can do it!!!"



* "I'm going with Steven... to his church... (pause)... (pause)... Bye!"



* "I'll just have the onion rings... and a glass of water!"


* "It's like the 'HOLY GRAIL" for showbiz collectors!"


* "Jenn, do you have that video of the 2002 annual meeting....?"


* "Sing it Biotch!"



I'm sorry if I left out one of your quotes.. I know I must have missed some of the lines that made us all laugh.




Menutia's Final Thoughts...

* It is amazing what you can do when you put your heart, mind, & soul into a project.

* Wow, I am part of a choice group of talented friends. We all have outstanding personalities, and great knowledge. It was wonderful to get together and share that magic.

* You may grow old, but you don't have to grow up.

* Those 2 wires (when touched together) make an awfully bright spark! (Just kidding Jenn!)

Thanks to all of you for making CV3 the best it could possibly be!

~Menutia

LET THE SUNSHINE...LET THE SUNSHINE IN... THE SUNSHINE IN!!!

[pizzacam]

"Just turn the wheelchair around and take me out backwards!"

:lol That's an order! :lol :o

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Great quotes there Menutia darling....

And yes, i cannot get the RAE version of "Let the Sun Shine In" OUT OF MY HEAD!!!

Oh *****!!!


:lol


By the way...Travis REALLY was at church with Steven. No, seriously HE WAS! Sorry i did'nt beleive you Vega....and apologies to Steven if he's reading this mess.....i had no idea!

Love you guys...

You know, we need to get together again sometime......8)

[menutia]

I know they went to church.. but the situation is too good to pass up.

Travis was espically praying that he would make it through the weekend.

I completely forgot about going to church... that is something we might need to work into next year.

(And yes, Let the sunshine was somewhhat of a religous experience...)

~Michael

[captslappy]

There are certain things certain folks just aren't going to live down cuz the rest of us ain't gonna let them! :lol

[VegaNova]

I look at it this way. It's cool for everyone to give me crap... I know I probably deserve it. But at least I'm not going to be remembered for the cake incident (sorry Matt!) :rollin

-VegaNova

[chuck rules]

If i would have been there. I would of said. I don't know this person at all lol.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Travis, you rock man.

Sorry i did'nt beleive you ...



Man...stop talking about cake ....it's making me hungry!





Oh by the way folks...on a more serious note:

Don't forget to SEND IN YOUR VIDEO FOOTAGE OF CV3!

I would like to start work on the NEW dvd for this Event...but i NEED YOUR FOOTAGE!!

I hope everyone can send me there stuff by mid-August. The longer it takes to get footage for the show, the longer it will take to get the dvd out there for ya'all!

Let's not have what happened to the CV2 disc release happen THIS year, okay??

:b :b :b

[chuck rules]

Poor Jenn. Too much cake talk.:lol

[Snap]

Man..Wish I would have come to this one!

[chuck rules]

Maybe you can next year Snap.

[captslappy]

I still dont have the house back 100% but its getting there...

[cec080]

Wow! i'm finally done reading all of that cheezevention stuff! Man it sounds like you had an awesome time. I think that was so cool that puppettmaster29 showed up as well!!! Man i don't know why you think dept 18 don't care as well as cec. Mike represented the whole company and should be acknowledged for it. :D

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

The feeling has been in the past that Dept 18 is way cool...it's just the people who hold their pursestrings ( aka "Corporate") are the ones who tend to give fans the impression sometimes of not giving a hoot.

The Dept 18 Boys would LOVE to do all sorts of cool things. with the shows i'm sure....but their hands may be tied due to budget constraints and other things.

It was nice to see Mike join us! I wish he could have hung out with us all day at the Event, but what time he gave us was great and appreciated. Thanks dude!



Oh...and Captain, are you serious? You STILL don't have the house back to normal yet?

Wow....what are you gonna do when Menutia and Me come BACK?????

:lol

[pizzacam]

Too bad Mike chickened out and didn't come to the capt's house...right mike ;) :lol

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Actually Gabe....if he DID come to The Capt's, we probably would have scared the CRAP outta him with all that we did, and all that happened!

Think about it....


Scary, huh? :rollin

[CEC3066]

Jenn is right if he had come to our secret hideout we could haver gotten in some serious trouble

[captslappy]

I told Mike he was welcome to come by sometime and see everything. Yes the house is finally back in order now!

[puppetmaster29]

:lol scare the crap out of me? Not a chance. If I could have hung out with you guys, Donovan wouldn't have been the only crazy one there, I would have been laying on my back peeing in the air just like the rest of you.:rollin OK... maybe that was T.M.I but you get my drift. It was nice to meet you guys and put a face to some of the names on this board.

Oh and Capt, it's nice to hear you got your house back in order and dont worry I plan to take you up on that offer.

[captslappy]

Cool... I need a little time to get the C-stage up and running. It was not at its best during CV3 and I need to do some computer work to make that happen but I am hoping to have everything 100% soon.

[CEC3066]

you think you'll be able to build that (NOTE TO PIZZACAM: Send Slappy the house install manual)

[pizzacam]

Haha IDK man it IS kind of rare...I can send him a scan though ;) It's be cool if he build a mock C stage or Balcony!!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

I think between the three of us, we could very well do that.

We have the manuels and the man power, and certainly the will to do it. It's all up to the Captain though.....if he wants to fund it all.

My offer is still up Mike.....name a weekend and maybe we can all hook up to do what we talked about post CV3. No rush, whenever is cool as long as it's not during Nov/Dec.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Bumping up for our newer readers to enjoy....


:)