CheeseVention 4--Reviews and Highlights of the Event!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Here is the "official" CheeseVention 4 all purpose thread for reviews and comments realted to everyone's experiences at this years' Fan Convention.

I figured i would go ahead and start it off now, so when things get going in the next few days those with computer access can post reviews hot as they happen! This was popular with last years CV, so thought it natural to have another for this years Event!

Darling Menutia is already in CA as i type this...living it up as only a man of his stature can do. Tomorrow i fly into Oakland to join Danny and The Franchise for a night of fun and preperation for the weekend's festivities.

So....let the Festivities BEGIN!

:) :) :) :)

[Rockafirefan]

Jenn, can you please try and film the preperation like you did at CV2?

[bzier]

I'll be In San Jose tomorrow! See you guys on Friday!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

I DO plan on filming a little bit of the preperation at Danny's tonight....but other then that what prep was needed has already been done.

Tomorrow will be a GREAT day! Wait until you guys see what we have in store for you!


:cecwink:

[Chuckette566]

ahhh... i am in san jose at the best western now and they aren't letting me check in. all i want to do is sleep at this point. I am ready for tomorrow

[CEC3066]

Franchize made it & we are about to pick up Jenn

[Rockafirefan]

Jenn, please give Chuck E. this massage for me:
HAPPY 30th CHUCK E!

[dheineCECfan]

I wonder, will there also be clips of CV4 highlights on the YouTube site?

[VegaNova]

Wow... still going at it here in CA. I know that others have stories to share about their adventures (or misadventures in Fullerton from I hear) but I wanted to post these photos of a few of us from earlier today at Disney. Long day and now time for sleep. Got a ton to write about the event, but it'll have to wait for another day. :cecwink:

[pizzacam]

Hey Glad to see Disney went as planned! I had a great time with you all this CV as usual! My only "snag" was the traffic and those freeways in L.A. :bbembarassed: Seeing that San Jose store, uWink and the rocker stage was totally worth the trip! :smokin: Not to mention Tom's generousity! Nice to see someone else who still cares about the begining right!?

[pizzacam]

Here are a few CV4 pics I resized to fit here!

[Rapid T Rabbit]

CV4 was an absolute blast for me! I was so happy to get to meet all of you (some again) and this was one of the most fun weekends ever in CEC fan history!

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More pictures

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[pasqually82]

Awesome pictures, guys! Please keep them coming. I definatley need to visit that CEC in San Jose.

One question - do they only have Studio C there or are there other stage shows there since this place seems so huge?

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[ChuckEFranchize454]

those are some great pics richard!!! i had a blast with everyone! i will never forget this weekend! it was the best Bzier thank you for giving me and Chuckette a ride around all the places and thank you youngcalihottie for helping us get to all the CEC's around the area!!! we all had a great time! Danny thank you for letting me crash with your place the first night! i had a great time with everyone and getting to meet some of the new faces! you guy are amazing!!


for those who dont kno what happened at Fullerton!!!
this store was a 3 stage and when we went they were getting the phase 4 remodel!!! sadly they lost there stage...but for good reason tho...the stage was collapsing on parts acording to a cast member. well the manager came out of the back and at that same time from a distance i was saw the sign they still had the "Make Magic without it were just another pizza place" sign in the back and from a distance i was trying to shoot it and the manager goes "ok i think its time you go". man that hurt alot getting kicked our for no reason what so ever. well robbie suggested that we go to another store after that.

so we decided to go to Placentia CEC
boy were in for a treat. this store had a ROAD stage...i have never seen a road stage before and it was different to say the lease to me lol. well we sat in the showroom and the cast was so friendly and the GM was very friendly too. well danny wanted to hear the Chuck E Shuffle and watch it from a road stage! well me and Chuckette ended up doing my routine that i came up and that i taught her and danny did it as well. well anna told the manager that i was chuck e and asked the manager if i could perform as Chuck E for them...and she said yes!!!! :cec_thumbs: finally i got to play chuck e at another store i was so excited!! so i performed bingo with anna and New Birthday by myself...well everyone that was in the store ran to the showroom to watch the show(literally) i had everyone in amazement and the GM loved the performance!! she will be getting one of my live show dvd's as well so there getting a copy with the footage


btw both when we got kicked out of the other store and me performing as Chuck E were both caught on film!!! so u can see all of it

i filmed alot of stuff and got as much as i could for everyone to see!!! thank you everyone for making this an amazing Cheese Vention!!!! well i will psot some pics soon of everything i can gotta run ttyl

Peace and Pizza IM OUT!!!!

[MMBBfan327]

Simi Valley looks amazing!!! I need to see more pics!

[Rapid T Rabbit]

I definately need to visit that CEC in San Jose.

One question - do they only have Studio C there or are there other stage shows there since this place seems so huge?

No, that HUGE store only has Studio C. It did have cabarets during its PTT days I'm sure.

[dheineCECfan]

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Which CEC has the painted house facade stage?

Also: Who did the CEC drawing with other cartoon mice including Mickey Mouse and Mighty Mouse?

[MMBBfan327]

That's Simi Valley, CA.

[chucki233]

CV4 was an absolute blast for me! I was so happy to get to meet all of you (some again) and this was one of the most fun weekends ever in CEC fan history!

wow!! where was that third picture taken? why is he in that glass thing?

[Rapid T Rabbit]

Who did the CEC drawing with other cartoon mice including Mickey Mouse and Mighty Mouse?

That was the Chuck E. Cheese Rodent Wall of Fame, which was part of the San Jose store when it was originally PTT. Officials from Disney spotted the pictures ago including Mickey and other characters belonging to them and ordered the wall scrapped. It has sat in that storage room ever since.

[Rapid T Rabbit]

wow!! where was that third picture taken? why is he in that glass thing?

That is a display window next to the entrance of the San Jose store. Long before this store was PTT and CEC University, the building was a toy store. Today that window is still used as a display, now occupied by the old MMBB Chuck E bot that used to be inside before it was replaced by Studio C.

[dheineCECfan]

That was the Chuck E. Cheese Rodent Wall of Fame, which was part of the San Jose store when it was originally PTT. Officials from Disney spotted the pictures ago including Mickey and other characters belonging to them and ordered the wall scrapped. It has sat in that storage room ever since.

Besides Chuck E. Cheese, Mighty Mouse, Mickey Mouse and other Disney mice...did the CECPTT Rodent Wall of Fame even include Speedy Gonzales (Looney Tunes Mexican mouse) and/or Jerry (Tom and Jerry cartoons) and/or Pixie and Dixie (Hanna-Barbera)?

[VegaNova]

Hi Everyone,

I'm trying to get this up while the info is still hot - Billy Bob's Blog #4 has been posted and has a write-up of what went down at CV4. I've also thrown up some photos of the event from the California stores that I personally took and have gathered from the Forum.

Check out the Homepage for links to the latest updates!

More photos will follow (man I love the new way of updating the Photo Gallery - it's so much easier than before). There will be more photos of the event down near the 1st store's location, and also of uWink once I can get them all put together. Plus we'll have an update on the new "Chuck E. Across America" event that has started with CV4 and will continue until CV5.

Enjoy!

PS - We didn't get to see the Rodent Hall of Fame displays very well, so all the ones we know of are in the photos we were able to snap off. There was several boards though that all came together to make one display. Some of them are in the photos I just posted to the gallery and I know one of them also has some of the mice from Cinderella.

[chucki233]

That is a display window next to the entrance of the San Jose store. Long before this store was PTT and CEC University, the building was a toy store. Today that window is still used as a display, now occupied by the old MMBB Chuck E bot that used to be inside before it was replaced by Studio C.

Wow! does it move? That is realy weird because I saw that EXACT thing except w/o the picture in a dream before i even knew about that :indifferent:

[chucki233]

does anyone have any videos of the san jose cec?

[pizzacam]

Franchize filmed the majority of the event....with Jenn and Richard.

I got about 7 mins of footage total cause it's hard to roll and film so when I parked I filmed. :laugh:

I mainly wanted pics so I got about 7 rolls of 3mm and 150-200 digital ones... ;)

[MMBBfan327]

lol, I love at Simi Valley how Pasqually has no mustache. Also I'm gonna bet that Simi Valley is prolly the only CEC in the country still with the flags hanging up and also the '80s oil paintings. You guys are so lucky to see that!

[Rapid T Rabbit]

Franchize filmed the majority of the event....with Jenn and Richard.


Well most of what I managed to tape was on the road trip itself and our day at Disneyland.

[pasqually82]

I hope Simi Valley stays around a little longer the way it is. I have to make it a point to see the flags. Wow, I can't believe that they still have those up. Obviously, the don't work with the shows, correct?

[CEC3066]

Franchize thee reason we were asked to leave Bell was because of that shot of the the sign you took in the kitchen. Granted the manner in wich we were asked to leave was rather rude.

[MMBBfan327]

I also must admit seeing a "Pasqually's Play N Place" sign basically made my day.

[pizzacam]

Yeah, me puting on that Pasqually head in my avatar made my day on friday! :laugh: :smokin:

[bzier]

Actually Danny, It was Fullerton, not Bell, and the manager didn't like us BEFORE he saw Matt filming that sign...he was just a jerk.

As for the Simi Valley CEC, according to Rob, it's up for a remodel and Studio C this August...so for those of you that plan on seeing it...go before then...or else you'll be greatly disappointed.

That store was amazing, and great to see.

[pizzacam]

Yeah, that sucks great hospitality huh?

Oh well we all had a great time regardless of one a-hole... ;)

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Hi Gang!

I'm fresh back from CA and wanted to give everyone a review of what happened this year at CheeseVention 4. All i can say is "WOW"!!!


Vega did a great job covering the highlights in his recent Billy Bob's Blog entry, so i will elaborate on it with some added details.

Before i do that however, i want to take a moment and thank all the people who were involved this year in helping to make this event come alive and happen. A big THANK YOU goes out to the following people:

To Danny: For having me stay with you and you Mom that night, for Lunch at the Blue Bayou, and for all the local knowledge about where to go, where to eat, and what to see!

To Travis: For all the awesome publicity and support of CV4, the fabulous CV shirts, and the generous contribution towards the 30th Birthday Bash costs.

To Menutia: For all the driving....and more driving....and also for being "Mickey's Friend" and sharing your great benefits with us!

To Tom R.: For helping bring a nostalgic touch to this anniversary event by offering some choice activities and memorable moments for all who attended the 30th Birthday!

You guys ROCK!!! Basically everyone inolved in CV4 is to be thanked, yes thanked...as each and every one of you added something to our Event. Wether it be photos, video footage, your stories, your company, you get the idea! This is what makes CV what it is, it's YOU the Fans who make the Magic happen!



Ok.....now with the thank yous' taken care of, time for a overview of the Event.

Every year Cv seems to get bigger and better by leaps and bounds, and this year was no different. It was a fantastic time...and i loved California a LOT. It's so beautiful out there....the rolling hills and those mountains all around you. I am glad we had the travel times on the road, as it really made me appreciate what the surroundings had to offer.

i arrived on Thrusday night in Oakland near Danny's home to spend the night with him and Franchise. Most of the other attendees were already in San Jose, sneaking a peek at the SJ CEC while i was with Danny preparing some last minute things for the Event. It was a late night, but we did squeeze in a few quick videos and i managed to draw a quick poster that was to be used for photos the next day. We all crashed around 2am or so.

The next morning we awoke and headed off to San Jose via car after a few last minute printouts of maps from the computer. Danny had the idea of making some binders for all the drivers containing maps and address' of all the places we planned to visit during the weekend. Needless to say the binder idea came in handy from time to time when we needed some street names and address numbers.

We arrive at the Best Western across the street from the fabulous San Jose CEC and gape in awe at the sheer size and uniqness of the building. Typical cookie-cutter CEC this is NOT....this place is one of those sought-after gems that contain an edge all it's own. Exploring the inside though would have to wait, as we had a hot date in dowtown San Jose at Santana Row. Here is where the first PTT opened in 1977 on May 17th. May 18th 2007 saw Classic Rat and Modern Chuck appear on the property there along with many of their biggest fans for a neat CV Surprise. This was kept under wraps until that day, so it was a nice treat for those in attendence. Many photos were taken, as well as video footage, as even the mall itself wanted some pix, They had no clue that is where the first CEC ever was.....well, now they do is all i can say!

After our visit to Santana Row, it was time to party down at the San Jose store. Chuck's official 30th Birthday Bash was now in full swing..and i think the Santana Row thing was a great way to get things started and people pumped. We arrive at the San Jose location and after yet more photos of us all out front and with the CEC Statue, it was inside to enjoy what this particular CEC had to offer. WOW, what a place!! Two floors filled with some fabulous eye candy...both old and new! Observant fans noted the nice mix, and also noted some neat exclusives, such as the ancient "Chuck E. Cheese's PTT era outdoor letters now inside the upstairs gaming area and the "San Jose" Token Medallion signage high up on the wall as you climb the stairs to the 2nd level. The best to be seen however was on the 3rd floor..but i am getting ahead of the story.......

The party rolls on and Jessica from San Jose was our Party Hostess. The tables were all decorated and balloons were added. I had brought some special retro decorations to recover the cake stand design with, as well as some custom cake decorations to fit the nostalgic mood. Things went well and soon everyone was chowing down and enjoying the show. Cakes were brought out sporting candles shaped as the number "30" which was a very cool touch ( thanks SJ!). We all now knew it was only a matter of time before we would all be doing some Live SHows with the Birthday Boy himself!

Chuck came back out ( after our extensive photo shoots outside) and did several shows with us, most importantly "Birthday Star". It was quite a sight seeing about 5 of us up there with Chuck doing the songs waving banners, signs, a Rat Flag, and blowing bubbles....all while wearing our PTT Derby Hats! Yeah....we certainly gave the staff there that day a eyeful....lol...!

After came and a few more games, Tom invited us up to view the old CEC University upstairs in the fabled "3rd floor" of San Jose. Up here one could behold some fabulous items from PTT"s past, including a set of Flags, old games, walkaround heads, Cyberamic computer door, reels galore, old signage, and in a wry bit of coincidence, a old "Topo" robot. For those who are not familiar with "Topo", he was a personal robot that Nolan had a hand in creating back in the early 80's. More info can be found by researching "Androbot".

After the visit upstairs, it was time to take in a few more games and pack everything up for the long road trip down the Southern CA. We had stayed 2 hours longer then originally planned as we were having such a great time, but we all knew we had to be on the road soon or we would be having a very late night.

We headed off after some parting thank yous to the folks in San Jose and hit the road. In the end it took about 10 hours to drive down to Anaheim, with two pit stops along the way: Monteray Bay and a Retro Mcdonalds. We were kindly offered some complimentary sweet treats by a friends of Menutia's and gladly accepted the yummy Dippin' Dots, ice cream sandwich cookies, and liquid refreshments. We spent a little time along the seaside while enjoying our treats....seeing seabirds and otters playing in the surf.

The road trip went on for what seemed forever but it was still fun. You have not lived until you have driven any long distance with our group. We had the Rock-aFire music pumping, along with the classic rock and oldies. Add to the mix the humor of Menutia and the annoying compliments from Donkey ( "Are we there yet"?) and you have a very accurate picture of the trip down. I never saw so many trucks in my life! We finally arrived safe and sound in Anaheim at the Days Inn on Ball Road. Very small place...but perfect for what we needed really. Everyone hit the hay as we had a big day ahead of us on Saturday.

Saturday dawned and it has to be said that most people were pumped for today. We all were holding our breath at the thoughts of what could happen that day, and even though in the end it did'nt work out the ay we had been hoping for, i for one feel it ended on a positive note.

Saturday started off with a quick trip off to the Simi Valley CEC, as most people who attended expressed a lot of desire in visiting this Store. It is one of only two known locations that still have it's "Rocker" Stage setup. What we did'nt know however was that it ALSO had the Flag Wavers still installed and lining the Showroom! WOW!!! My jaw hit the floor when i saw those up there...and even though the actual flags were changed out, and they were not hooked up to run, it was still so DARN COOL! Myself and the Two Mikes checked out the show computer and noted that the flags could have easily been fixed and made to run...all that was needed was to replace a cut set of wires! Sadly this show and more then likely the Flag Wavers, will be junked when the Studio C Beta is moved in this August. Yet another classic peice of CEC history in the dumpster......:bbangry:

Simi Valley was originally a old PTT.....it still had it's Caberet Characters connectors and airpipe behind a giant tv screen in a seperate room that was no doubt once a Caberet or Lounge. Only die hard PTT/CEC fans would get a buzz off of finding that hidden in a store, but man, i have to tell you that was darn cool!

Simi also still had a lot of it's late 80's signage, including the "oil painting" character pictures in the Showroom and "Caberet" room. These can be seen in the Photo Gallery here, as well as in the other Cv4 thread. It was nice to still see these in use! No doubt these will also be trashed once Studio C arrives this summer......

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

We were not able to stay very long at Simi Valley CEC, as we had a "hot date" at uWink Bistro that we just could'nt be late for. As we headed out and back to our vehicles, it was decided then and there to return to Simi later on and have out finale dinner there instead of Rock-aFire Pizza.

We all jumped in our modes of transport and headed off to Westfield Promenade in Woodland Hills to visit Nolan Bushnells' newest resturant concept. For months now the excitement and tension had been building regarding out visit, ever since my initial contact with Nolan about our upcoming event and visit sparked his interest. Nothing was set in stone, and right up until the day i left for CA i did not know for sure if he would be there. We were all hoping of course that he would join us, and all the comments i recieved from other sources led me to beleive it was a nearly sure thing.

Well, as it turned out....he did'nt make it.....at least he did'nt get there until after we had already left! Yes, you read right: Nolan WAS there to see us...but was running late and was hoping he might still catch some of us still there! When i returned home from CA, i kind note was waiting in my Inbox from him sincerely apologizing for missing us at uWink. He expressed great dissapointment at missing out, as he was tied up with business matters and was behind schedule. If we have another event, he wants to be a part of it. So that's the big Post-CV4 news folks: Nolan WAS there.......but unfortunately we both missed each other by a few hours! :bbsad:

uWink itself, while we were there, was very nice. I thought it was a cool concept and although i may agree that one may not want to be there for hours upon end it was well worth checking out and having a meal at. I personally loved the place. I found it refreshing and hip, but i'm a low-tech kind of gal so maybe i am easily impressed? Dunno...but i DO know what i like. The food was awesome. Everything i had was top notch quality and absolutely delicious. Sure the price may have been a little high to some, but you get what you pay for.

The games on the touch-screen monitors were fun to play....and i can see this being further expanded in the future. I beleive i read somehwhere while researching uWink that a more expansive game library is in the works for the system. Perhaps one of the neatest details i noticed while playing some of the games is that Nolan and his daughters' are listed as having the high scores! Bloxx was the game i noticed this in. Cool ! This is even better then " Hidden Mickeys"!! :p

When everyone was done, and photos had been snapped, it was time to move on. We all piled in again to our vehicles and headed back over to Simi for more photos. When we had been there earlier, the Manager had approched me and happily introduced herself with a great big smile. At first i thought it odd for this to happen, but then it dawned on me that she might think i'm from Corporate! I suppose one could have mistaken me for that....after all, how many girls dressed in a old CEC polo, black pants, black shoes, carrying a black CEC business travel bag do you see? I was standing in the Showroom by the wall watching the show when she came up and said hello, then proceeded to let me know that if there was anything i needed and wanted from her to let her know. Cool! Free Food! LOL! When we returned later i let on that i did'nt actually still work for CEC...and Travis will NEVER forgive for that! LOL! :laugh:

We stayed a hour or so and watched more of the show, did a Live/Birthday with Chuck ( Richard was in heaven) and played a kick butt game of TMNT between myself, Captain, bzier, and Franchise! Soon it was off for another stop over at the Bell, CA CEC which since it opened, is THE top-grossing CEC location in the Company. Nobody comes close to beating Bell's weekly sales figures. We are talking $65,000++ a week here....

A very nice store right in a very rough neighborhood, it was packed full of sreaming kids. At this point many of us were dead tied from the previous nights total lack of sleep due to the 10 hour roadtrip from San Jose. At this point we decided we needed to have a meal somewhere quiet and decided to let those that wanted to stay, stay. Myself and others headed back to Anaheim for dinner at IHOP ( which in the end turned in breakfast instead!). It was not all that much quieter then Bell CEC though...as the place was packed full of overly enthusiastic visitors who were in town for DisneyLand's "POTC 3" Movie Premiere Event that night. I tried so hard to avoid this event...but thankfully it did not mar our visit to DL in the coming days too much.

Anyway, back to CV4.

Sunday dawned and we were ready for some fun with a different rodent, namely Mickey Mouse! This was my first trip to DisneyLand, being a regular visitor to WDW in FL. We all had a great time and i loved every second of what i was able to experience in the Park. DL was awesome, and the detail level of everything is bumped up several notches when compared to FL. I was impressed with "Walt's Park". It lived up to all i had heard about it, and i came away liking it more then i thought i would. I CANNOT WAIT to come back!!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

I won't go into too much detail about DisneyLand, as most here have already been. I was thrilled to expereince it, as well as DCA ( "Disney's Caifornia Adventure"). I also traded some pins, as i had some Guests confuse me with a Cast Member. Yep...happens a lot to me. When i go to WDW, i am often mistaken as a CM. I don't know why really, my only guess is that i am usually alone and i have my pin lanyard on. So yeah....i was mistaken for a CM 4 times in DL! How nutty is that?

Sunday we were treated to lunch at DL's famous Blue Bayou resturant located inside the "Pirates of the C" attraction. Danny had made arrangements for us and it was a very nice experience. The food was fantastic and the atmosphere was relaxing and lovely. Naturally us CEC fans had to have some fun, so when they brought us paper bags to put our leftover containers in, it was decided to get creative. The Captain made a bag puppet out of his by drawing some eyes on it and making him talk. I then had to jump in and make a girl one for the other one to talk to. In the end we had 4 going...Vega having a Earl lookalike and Menutia having a wrinkled "Boss"! Good times....

Monday came and some of our group was departing. Vega and Richard had to head off, those that were staying headed over to D's California Adventure. We had a good time riding the rides and strolling around, as we split into two groups so each could move at a different pace. Later that night we went off and dined at Buca, which was awesome Italian restaurant Danny had highly recommended months ago during the planning stages of CV4. It did not dissapoint either! The food was great and the playful atmosphere and Italian themed decor was a attraction itself..( expecially the Hercules staute...lol)

Tuesday came and we decided to hit the road and vist Rock-aFire Pizza on out own. By now it was a small core group still in town...and we wanted to check it out. On the way we stopped by a couple of CEC's along to way. Placentia ( sp?) had a rare "Road" Stage with half-bodied Bots' but it was in poor working condition. Helen had a huge burn hole in the back of her head from it falling off at some point and being left to rot on the shelf spots. All the cosmetics were in very bad shape and quite dirty. All the lighting was screwed up too....as everything was plugged in one off!

Next up with San Beneridino which was a cute little store. It was originally a PTT, and it's 2 stage was in excellent working order. It was't perfect, but it was the best one we had seen the entire trip. We left there and headed off to Rock-aFire Pizza in Indio.

Along the way, we went through a valley that had several wind farms. For those not familiar, there are places were energy is collected/made from the rotating of huge blades on a windmill supported on a giagantic steel pole. Seeing hundreds of these windmills all spinning from the tops of the mountains to the valleys below them was pretty surreal. I loved it!

After a hour or so of driving 95 miles per hour......we arrive at Rock-aFire Pizza! The place is now called "Rock-aFire Pizza Bar and Grill" or along those lines...with it now being aimed more for adults then kids. Think of a cross between a cafeteria and a sports bar and you have the general idea. Funny thing is, the games are still mostly kiddie kill games. Hopefully they will wise up and change this!

Enough about the games,. that is not what our readers want to hear about! They want to hear about the Show! Well, i have good news and i have bad news...

The "good news" is that the RAE is still there. The "bad news" is i would'nt exactly call it a "show"

It was probably THE saddest looking excuse for a RAE Show i have ever seen, and that is putting it mildly. It is a abolute disgrace. You could tell it has been a while since anyone has paid any attention to it in any form whatsoever, both from a repair sense and a audience sense. It was a dissaster. Billy Bob alone is still giving me shivers. His entire forearm on his right side is gone. Just GONE...as in the fur is gone and what you have left is a Terminator- looking shaft of an arm covered in black duct tape! Gack!! He looks like a frick'n nuked mutant! Beach Bear still has his hand spring/ endo steel skeleton showing very clearly for all to see and a badly rotted mask. His entire chin is rotted away now with a gaping hole where the end of his chin should be. So sad to see this really. Fatz has two of his left fingers missing, having been badly banged off by his spaztic organ playing. And Choo Choo.......don't even ask! His face was RIPPED OFF and flipped over so all you saw was the shell back! It was RAE HELL!!

So um yeah....the Show sucked, but i was still glad we went out there and checked it out. It makes one appreciate what goes into keeping the show running as it should, and how it whould look. We did see some rare video from the Tivo shows, including this REALLY random one starring Aaron Fechter himself and a couple of giggling young ladies holding balloons! Yes, it's true. It was the best thing i saw there at Rock-aFire Pizza. Anyone have this video? I forget the song...one of the Mike's may remember it. I think it was "Shout" but i can't remember.

We had lunch there and i thought the food was okay. The pizza crust could have been a bit more flavorful but the cheese was very tastey.

Okay...so after yet more photos and videos we left Rock-aFire Pizza and headed back to Anaheim. On the way back we hit yet another CEC location...this time one we discovered by accident on the way up. We drove by it on the highway and noticed how it was admist it's Phase 4 remodel. It was very obvious, as all the outdoor signage and awnings had literally just been ripped off the building and in it's place was a couple of vinyl banners stating " Open" with Chuck's modern head. We HAD to check this place out! I was hoping that we would catch the inside of the store also in this rare "between phase" mode and we were treated to a great and total surprise: This store ALSO had a rare "Road" Stage!! Wow!

The location was the Corona, CA CEC. They had a excellent Show, working very well and the characters were in terrific shape. Sadly it is very likley the old Stage will be gutted and replaced with Studio C. Inside the building was very funky...as again, it was caught in a "between stages" mode. I am familar with it from witnessing transitions back in my day when i worked for CEC, so seeing this again and knowing the pattern was cool.

The place had just been repainted inside as it reeked of that fresh paint smell. The tables and booths were in chaos as everything was just sort of scattered around in random spots. On the ceiling you could see where they had just ripped out the last remants of the Showroom/ GR wall divider, and plastic was hanging down from several spots. Very much a work in progress. The protective plastic was'nt even removed yet from the freshly installed wooden bansiter tops. Neat stuff.

After our visit here, we headed back to Anaheim and stopped at Downtown Disney to have dinner and check out a few shops. Naturally i had to buy some Disney Pins.....and Menutia picked up some goodies too. We finished up with a nice dinner at Rainforest Cafe', and the temple theme is awesome there. If you have never dined at the RC in DTD CA, DO IT!

Wednesday came at the perfect time i think, and the day began with me and Menutia hitting the local UPS Store to ship off the stuff we could not fit into out suitcases! We then took off for the very retro and unique Long Beach Airport ( I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!!!). Talk about aviation history man.....this is what airports were like back in the 40's or 50's i think! Where else can you board your plane from a step ramp...on the actual landing field? Way cool airport for the airtravel nostalgia fans.

I arrived back here after about 5 hours in the air, and i'm back here in MA. I miss CA already, but i know in the future i will definately be BACK!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Classic CV4 Quotes:


" I need to take a shower...i smell like a plane"

"Are we there yet"?

"Get THAT on video...."

"What?"

"Craptastic.."

"Indeed...TM"

"I am so living in the wrong state..."

"G-Forces!!"

"Do you work here?"

"It's a California thing..."

"Let's go see what's in the dumpster!"

"Whoa cool man"

"Cha....."

"Are we there YET?"

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave..."

"What Live Shows would you like to do?"

"Travel B****h"

"Mmmmm....sugar......."

"Oh ***** "

"Do you know where we are going?"

"Dude..."

"Live Coverage"

"That was cool"

"Bananerrrrrr"

[VegaNova]

That's awesome to hear you guys spent Tuesday doing Rock-afire / Chuck stuff! I really thought it would be another Disney day. That sucks about Rock-afire Pizza... you'll have to pass along pics at somepoint. I wish that I could have seen one of the Road stages. That's another one that I've only seen in photos.

Also I'm glad/sad to hear that Nolan was actually there at uWink. It's awesome that we wrote you and offered up to meet again - I'd love to take him up on that if we ever can. Heck if we had known he would have been there later I know that I totally would have been up for sticking around for the chance to meet him. I'm sure others would have been as well.

Oh and as for everyone asking about video... there was a TON of video shot of the event and the DVD should be awesome this year. Not everyone was filming all the time (except maybe Franchize... he probably has the most complete footage of all), but I think the event was filmed front to back between all the cameras we had going. I personally shot footage of Winchester Blvd., San Jose, Simi, and I believe some of uWink and Bell.

[menutia]

Aaron Fechter himself and a couple of giggling young ladies holding balloons! Yes, it's true. It was the best thing i saw there at Rock-aFire Pizza. Anyone have this video? I forget the song...one of the Mike's may remember it. I think it was "Shout" but i can't remember.


It was the "Beethoven's 5th Symphony used at the end of the "Bach to Rock" show... just after Mitzi does the "Lover's Concerto".

[VegaNova]

I was feeling a little CV nostalgic so I just now added a slew of "new" photo sets to the Photo Gallery:

More photo sets of CV4 including uWink and other locations, along with photos from all previous CV weekends can be found in the Misc. Photo Sets Section:

http://rock_afire.tripod.com/pizzacam/misc/index.html

Also sets of photos that took place at actual stores (that I had enough to justify making an entire page for) can be found on the CEC stores page:

http://rock_afire.tripod.com/pizzacam/cec/index.html

Enjoy!!

[chuckrules]

The photos are awesome Travis. And to any of the other's that submited CV4 photos also. Way cool guys!

Love the Helen Henny robotic photos Travis!:D

And Gabe love your Pasqually picture. That's very you!:D

[Rapid T Rabbit]

Jenn--you forgot to mention our Monday brunch at Goofy's Kitchen...
http://www.bobdbob.com/~rtrabbit/fursuit/GOOFYK07.JPG

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Awesome additions there to the Photo Gallery! It's nice to have all the CV Photos from over the years all in one spot. This will make it easier to show someone new to the fold some of the neat things we have done with this Event.

Nice work Vega!

My photos are awaiting development.....so down the road i may have some to share.

Video footage now...well, i don't have a lot. It's hard to try and run the event, let alone try to enjoy it, when you have to stop and film things. There is a lot i missed, but i have full faith that Franchise and Richard captured it all for us. I DID however get some nice travel footage of the CA hills, a wind farm in one of the valley on the trip to Rock-aFire Pizza, and naturally Rock-aFire Pizza itself. So yes, at some point everyone will get to see just how poor of condition this show is in.

Billy Bob Brockali, if you are reading this......let me know if you are interested in putting together this years Dvd Set!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

This may be of interest to those who attended:

http://www.santanarow.com

There is also a breif article about Santana Row on Wikipedia. Check it out!

[CEC3066]

yeah I meant Fullerton. don't know why I typed Bell. guess thats what happens when you visit too many Chuck's

[dheineCECfan]

I guess no photos of 1977 CECPTT first location Winchester Blvd. San Jose found in the CEC University Storage of the big CEC in San Jose.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Darryl, what are you talking about?

Do you mean there is a photo on the wall up there of the FIRST PTT?

I did'nt see it.......but then again, there was SO many other cool things to be looking at....;)

[dheineCECfan]

Darryl, what are you talking about?

Do you mean there is a photo on the wall up there of the FIRST PTT?

I did'nt see it.......but then again, there was SO many other cool things to be looking at....;)

Actually, not one of you at CV4 saw a first PTT photo. But I like the photo of the big current CEC originally CECPTT building you saw at that location.

[harveytwoface999]

That is a display window next to the entrance of the San Jose store. Long before this store was PTT and CEC University, the building was a toy store. Today that window is still used as a display, now occupied by the old MMBB Chuck E bot that used to be inside before it was replaced by Studio C.

It'd be really cool to see a display of all the Chuck E bots, from portrait frames (replica?) to Studio C's, and see how the bots evolved over time. :cec_smile: :cec_thumbs:

Whoa... de-rail! Back at the ranch...

[pasqually82]

Yeah, that would be something amazing to see. A whole display window deidcated to the evolution of Chuck E Cheese.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

This years' CV Program had two pages of retro photo collages featuring the evolution of Chuck E. It only went up to 83' however, due to the events theme this year, as technically PTT's "Golden Era" came to a end then.

I have not heard any feedback yet regarding the Program ......i know that a lot of attendees probably did not get a chance to look inside them during the Event due to everything we had going on. Now that everyone is back home, i hope you have had a chance to check them out!

Speaking of the CV4 Program, i have heard from Nolan again and he would like to see one himself! One will soon be off to him, so attendees can have the pleasure of knowing he has one as well!

Perhaps i will slip in a few choice pix of all of us gathered in San Jose with the Two Chucks........what do you guys think?

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Something here i wanted to post for everyone....as even those that attended CV4 may have missed this!

Gene Landrums' message to us all!

He was hoping to be able to come to CV4 and hang out with us, but his current publishing schedule did not allow for it. He really wanted to be a part of this years' festivities, so since he could'nt make it in person i asked if he would be up for sending me a message to read to the attendees at the Event. He agreed, and the following was his message:



"Please tell em' from me that i wish them the best and to enjoy a place designed for kids who do not have to sit and be queit, but can eat, drink, and play in a world of fun and fantasy. Sure wish i was there to enjoy being a kid again. Have a brew on me and send my best to Nolan and his new gig."

Gene

I did read this in the Simi Valley Showroom Saturday afternoon during CV4 after our visit to uWink, but some attendees may have missed it, or simply not have been able to hear the entire message ( it was noisy in there!). So...here it is in type so everyone, even those who missed out on CV4, can enjoy Gene's message to us all!

:)

[dheineCECfan]

Nice message from Gene Landrum, S.H.J., now if you only got one current e-mail from the owner of the prototype CECPTT robots who didn't show up at Cheesevention 4.

[captslappy]

Here is a link to my photos from CV4 and my trip to San Diego. Some of the SD pics contain shots of Travel Chuck E.

http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb302/captslappy/

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Nice work Captain!

Aaron has just brought this to my attention....on the official Chuck E. Cheese's website today they have added a "30 Years of Making Magic" banner to the main page! Check it out for yourself here, along with the "30 Year" coupons...http://www.chuckecheeses.com

Coincidence??

Well now at least we know they are reading Showbizpizza.com. Too bad they missed out on the "Party of the Year"!

[CEC3066]

who knows maybe THEY partied at the Company owned San Jose store on Kooser Rd IDK that for sure but it sounds like something the heads might do.

[menutia]

Here are some of my Highlights from CV4.

Chuck E. Chess
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_1363.jpg?t=1180410451

Hey, that's me.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_1389.jpg?t=1180410486

Blow out the Candles
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_1390.jpg?t=1180410508

Smile America
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_1397.jpg?t=1180410531

[menutia]

30 Great Years!
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_1398.jpg?t=1180410640

Dance Dance Chuckie.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_1465.jpg?t=1180410701

Smile, you're on Studio C Camera!
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_2173.jpg?t=1180410813

San Jose CEC from above.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_2195.jpg?t=1180410838

[menutia]

Skool is Cool
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_2196.jpg?t=1180410913

Red
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_2198.jpg?t=1180410991

Green
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_1401.jpg?t=1180411025

Chillin'
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_1748.jpg?t=1180411076

[menutia]

Monterey Bay
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_2203.jpg?t=1180411165

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_2206.jpg?t=1180411189

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_2207.jpg?t=1180411203

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/menutia/IMG_2208.jpg?t=1180411253

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

WOW!!!!

The photos from the San Jose bash are AWESOME!!

Man, these totally put my pix to shame!

[pasqually82]

The pics were great! Awesome job. You guys look like you had the time of your lives

[pizzacam]

Those are great Mike & Mike! I really like the group one of us all at uWink... :)

[CEC3066]

the pix of you in Montery are freaking awsome. Makes mme wish I had been w/ you guys. But I would have never met that guy from PTT on the plane down to southern CA.

[ChuckEFranchize454]

well here are some of my pics from the CV4

Jenn Making the sign the night before
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09618.jpg
Menutia and Classic Rat Chuck
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09627.jpg
Both Chucks with the sign
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09629.jpg
The Giant Statue and Classic Rat Chuck
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09626.jpg

[ChuckEFranchize454]

Lounge
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09686.jpg

From the Second Storie
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09658.jpg

Studio C Alpha at San Jose
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09641.jpg

Party Setup
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09631.jpg

[ChuckEFranchize454]

hehe i stole Chucks Spotlight lol
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09728.jpg

JOKE THIS!!!
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09720.jpg

Fiber Optic sign from a 2 Stage
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09716.jpg

San Jose!!
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09650.jpg

[ChuckEFranchize454]

Cv4 Group at uWink
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09817.jpg

Ben, Jenn, Me, and Mike Playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at Simi Valley
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09824.jpg

Simi Valley Showroom Rocker Stage and Flags
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09845.jpg

Simi Valley Chuck E
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09849.jpg

[ChuckEFranchize454]

-sigh- Fullerton former 3 stage now Studio C Beta
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09872.jpg


Placentia CEC Road Stage
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09885.jpg

Placentia Chuck
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09877.jpg

Great pic Anna took of Munch
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d166/mattrivera/CheeseVention4/DSC09879.jpg

[pizzacam]

Great pics Matt! I love the look of their Road stage with Chuck's new getup! The neon CEC sign does look better on that stage then the fiber optic one :cecwink:

[MMBBfan327]

what other vintage games did simi valley or any other CA CEC have?

[Lilredridinghood]

Wow, i'm so glad you guys all had a great time! Seeing the upstairs of the one cec store must have been fantastic, with all the vintage stuff. Was there any animatronic parts of any of the old cabaret characters up there?

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Awesome photos Franchise!! Wow you guys really took some incredible shots! Thanks for taking the time to add them to this thread, so everyone out there can see what CV4 was all about!

[dheineCECfan]

Nice pix, now if only they can get new Helen cheerleader costumes for the CEC locations keeping Munch Band shows...

[bzier]

Lol! That pic of all of us at UWink...I look drunk or stoned or something! I think I had just sneezed!

[Rapid T Rabbit]

It's time to play that old Sesame Street game,
#One of these things is not like the other#...
http://www.bobdbob.com/~rtrabbit/personal/UWINK.JPG

By the way, was I really the only one who gave/got a hug from Chuck E. at the SJ and Simi stores? (He was too preoccupied at Bell and I didn't go to the rest of the stores after that.)

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

http://www.atari-explorer.com/images/Androbot-Intro-Graphic.gif

Check it out! It's Nolan with "TOPO"!

Look familiar? It should to attendees of CV4.........

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

I think so, Richard.

Hey, was anyone else excited about seeing Nolan's old robot pal "TOPO" up there in the San Jose CEC's attic space? Talk about a wonderful coincidence.....


For those not familiar with Nolan's "other" forays into robots, check out these links that cover the subject rather well:

http://www.atari-explorer.com/.../articles-robots.html

:cec_smile:http://www.robotswanted.com/robotgallery/androbot/index.html

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Here is the working link from above:

Excellent article that covers Nolan's adventures with robots, both with Androbot and Pizza Time Theatre!

Have a look:

http://www.atari-explorer.com/articles/articles-robots.html

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

The uWink website has had a overhaul, and it now features this nice overview of Nolan's many adventures and creations...including CEC's PTT.

Here...take a look!

http://beta.uwink.com/aboutnolan

[Rapid T Rabbit]

Hey, was anyone else excited about seeing Nolan's old robot pal "TOPO" up there in the San Jose CEC's attic space? Talk about a wonderful coincidence.....


Here's a closeup of it. Note the carpet it's sitting on!
http://www.bobdbob.com/~rtrabbit/personal/TOPO.JPG

And Jenn, here's the picture from Video Games magazine that I told you I have....
http://www.bobdbob.com/~rtrabbit/fursuit/cectopo.jpg

[dheineCECfan]

So, Chuck E. has a robot cousin?

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

It's a play of words, Darryl....not for real.


Hey Richard!! Man that video game magazine photo is a absolute GEM! I am forwarding this to Nolan, as i think he would get a kick out of seeing this!

Thanks for posting this up!


I heard from Tom everyone.......he enjoyed having us in San Jose and thought we were a great bunch of people!

[CEC3066]

Better late than never:
I am SO glad you all had a great time here in CA. It was indeed an honor to be the co-host of this years CV. It was an absolute THRILL having Jenn & Matt hang out at my house on the eve b4 the big party (we MUST do it again sometime u 2 err 3 yes you 2 Ana (Chuckette)) taking you guys to Disneyland was LOADS of fun. I am going to be making a return trip to DL in july w/ myu dad and we are driving down. I have a plan (if Jenn will allow me to go ahead w/ it) to swing by the old PTT HQ on the way down since we missed seing that at CV4 hopefully I can get the footage to whoever is editing the CV4 DVD's in time for inclusion on the discs

[pizzacam]

Yeah, Tom just got back sunday from a 2 week vacation(probably much needed after all of us :laugh:) He was having to fly out here to Dallas this morning though for the franchise convention... :smokin:

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Indeed.


I heard back from Nolan regarding the great old photo Richard posted above of Classic Rat and TOPO.

Nolan says he remembers when this pic was taken, and it was in the old Androbot warehouse out there in CA during a company X-mas party. Nice!

:)

[CEC3066]

"I CANNOT WAIT to come back!!"

just remember i'm the one w/ the discounts since Menutia has lost his privleges (i've got an Annual Pass)

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

True, but Mister Menutia has not lost ALL of his priviliges.....

( wink wink)


CA was fantastic and i can't wait to come back. I think about it a LOT...next year i will definately be back!!

[CEC3066]

just make sure you give me plenty of notice so I can give my parents leway time to get the time off work.