Info about Aaron and Creative Engineering?

[macrossmaster]

Hi all.

Been curious reading the board for a long time about CEI and Aaron himself.

Is it just Aaron at CEI now, and how many did he employ at the peak of business?

When (years) were the RAE tapes made?

What was the last RAE production?

Why are there crates of RAE robots still at CEI, and how long have they been there? Roughly how many vintage RAE's are sitting crated in Orlando?

If Showbiz isn't his main thing anymore (obviously) what does CEI do for money these days?

Thanks for reading these burning questions.

[MMBBfan327]

Well, I know the last show for the RAE was "The Rolfe & Earle Show," which was not produced by Aaron or CEI, it was by ShowBiz.

[looneybird78]

Is it just Aaron at CEI now, and how many did he employ at the peak of business?
No its not just Aaron anymore. His girlfriend Kerry is also there. He also does have some "Sub-contractors" that do various work for him such as Steve with the Masks. At the PEAK of Showbiz there were HUNDREDS of employees!

When (years) were the RAE tapes made?
The Rock-afire had tapes made for Showbiz from about 80 - 91. Then post Showbiz era shows (mostly Show Selector) were made up till around 1996.

What was the last RAE production?
The last robots were produced in 1983. The last Showtape was produced in 1996. I know that one of the LAST Songs ever recorded was "Free as a Bird" but there was also several Lipsync songs done around this time too.

Why are there crates of RAE robots still at CEI, and how long have they been there? Roughly how many vintage RAE's are sitting crated in Orlando?
The old warehouse that those crates had been LONG stored in was demolished. So Aaron had no choice but to remove the remaining inventory from it and take it to the Original CEI Location. They have been at CEI now for about 3 years. Roughly there are only 2 or 3 COMPLETE shows left. Although there are several odds and ends that could be made to complete PARTIAL shows after that.

If Showbiz isn't his main thing anymore (obviously) what does CEI do for money these days?
Aaron is Semi retired. CEI still does a few odds and ends. The Starlauncher was around for a while. There is currently work being done on a totally new show "Hanna Bannana". And there are still the few shows that could be sold too ;)

[lildook]

btw, looneybird78 is Aarons dedicated memory backup.

:)

David

[macrossmaster]

Thanks so much! Always was curious about those things. Man, I had a vision of like 20-30 crated RAE's just waiting to be opened...:(

[kaittttt]

And how cool would that be..?

Going into a warehouse and prying open old crates full of those kickass animatronics just waiting to be used again/for the first time..? :]

[Snap]

And who is Looneybird 78's back up? ;)

[the robo rob]

does Creative still bring in regular buisness?

And I mean as in daily buisness other than the occasional fan or commision.

[RockafireGuy]

Nope.. fraid not. Although it wouldn't have been a bad idea to concentrate on other types of attractions besides restaurants and keep going. Dark rides and Theme park shows are still in demand. Other uses for animatronics could also be considered. After all; Sally Corp. does alright. Sally still recieves regular business.... and if you want to get my opinion.... I think Creative's animation is not only more affordable than Sally Corps'.. but far better than Sally Corp's in many ways..... so I don't know why not. Sally Corp. makes a pretty good income restoring old animatronic attractions, upgrading other people's old systems; re-doing old dark rides.. etc.... Creative could have possibly done the same type of thing.. among other things. I think an effort to save the shows in the restaurants that are slowly being permanently destroyed by their owners who know nothing about them should be considered. There needs to be somebody to help save these shows. Billy Bob's Super Wonderland's show needs to be taken to a place outside of the restaurant to be restored and repaired to perfect working order... which could possibly take a long time depending on what needs to be done..... LOL!.. here I go running my mouth..... anyway....I think Creative is kind of quiet these days because Aaron wanted to retire...... which is completely understandable as being the CEO and founder of your own private company requires almost 100 percent of a person's time.

[the robo rob]

Oh yeah, Sally does really good. Not to mention Distortions who caters almost directly to the hauntd house world. You could get a decent animated scene from Distortions for like 2 thousand. Mind you its not the same as a multiple show band, but still.