Old School PTT kid right here :)

[darthripley]

After watching some great PTT/Chuck E commercials that I remember from the '80s on youtube I found this great site & just had to join.
I couldn't remember all the names of all the characters & just lurking around has brought back a flood of great memories.
I didn't get to go to Chuck E Cheese often b/c my parents couldn't afford it but when I did it go it was a real treat.
We only went to Showbiz once - I was too much of a PTT kid at heart & loved Chuck E's + their arcade games were better.
I know I still have a PTT Chuck E's card & a puffy charm that came on a pencil I had a long time ago that I need to dig out & post up.

Anyways, I look forward to reading more info & sharing memories with others here :D

[raebigc]

welcome to the boards.

[MechaCory]

After watching some great PTT/Chuck E commercials that I remember from the '80s on youtube I found this great site & just had to join.
I couldn't remember all the names of all the characters & just lurking around has brought back a flood of great memories.
I didn't get to go to Chuck E Cheese often b/c my parents couldn't afford it but when I did it go it was a real treat.
We only went to Showbiz once - I was too much of a PTT kid at heart & loved Chuck E's + their arcade games were better.
I know I still have a PTT Chuck E's card & a puffy charm that came on a pencil I had a long time ago that I need to dig out & post up.

Anyways, I look forward to reading more info & sharing memories with others here :D

Welcome! I just joined not too long ago, and it's so cool to see a fellow old school PTT person on here:)

Yeah I have fond memories of 81-89' PTT/CEC, but I didn't get to go as much as I wish I could have to the balcony stage PTT/CEC. I grew up super poor in the 1980's, so I don't even think we ever got food or spent more than a couple dollars in tokens max per visit.

I did however go all the time from 1984 til 1989 to another local Pizza Time Theater which got converted to a Showbiz Pizza Place in 1984. So between 84 and 88 I had spent an unbelievable amount of time there. Loved the Rockafire Explosion show, got some cool Rockafire merchandise and had a blast.

Yet, despite being around the Rockafire and going there a lot, my true true love was always Pizza Time Theater and pre modern Chuck E Cheese.

By the way, this should jog your memory, regarding the characters:
http://www.showbizpizza.com/ptp/characters/index.html
and the stage show:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cWfz4EWFm0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V2iSd4Klxk

[darthripley]

Thanks for the welcome :)

We were pretty poor too growing up ... I can still remember the taste & smell of a giant block of govt. welfare cheddar cheese.

Unfortunately I didn't ever pay too much attention to the stage show - I remember the Warblettes pretty well although I couldn't remember the name until I visited here lol
I remember all the games in the arcade really really well b/c I would either not eat or barely eat & haul ass to get to the video games.
I do know my Dad really hated going there so I know that factored into us not going often even when things got better financially.
I never got that many tokens either, but I made the most of it ;)

[MechaCory]

Thanks for the welcome :)

We were pretty poor too growing up ... I can still remember the taste & smell of a giant block of govt. welfare cheddar cheese.

Unfortunately I didn't ever pay too much attention to the stage show - I remember the Warblettes pretty well although I couldn't remember the name until I visited here lol
I remember all the games in the arcade really really well b/c I would either not eat or barely eat & haul ass to get to the video games.
I do know my Dad really hated going there so I know that factored into us not going often even when things got better financially.
I never got that many tokens either, but I made the most of it ;)

Heh, oh boy did I learn to become really good at arcade games growing up
due to only being give a buck or two. While I loved arcade games in the early to mid 1980's...Galaga, Xevious, Congo Bongo, Sinistar, Pacman, Super Mario/Mario Bros, Mat Mania, etc...
BUT, it's the latter mid to late 80's games that I *truly* loved. Starting with the deluxe Outrun and After Burner, that whole period...Double Dragon 1 and 2, Bad Dudes, Robocop, Ninja Turtles, etc. So many fond memories of CEC and Showbiz arcade games from then.

Did government cheese really exist? whoah. Yeah we were just on foodstamps. And I remember if I ever got $5 at one time for a toy or something, that was like a big deal. Actually looking back Im glad I grew up so poor, as it really made me appreciate things...gave me a lot of time to be creative/imaginative with art, appreciate any time I got to play Atari or Nintendo at a friend's house or watch cable at a friend's house.

To me it's just so surreal(and darn cool!) that there's a number of people who not only have fond memories of Pizza Time Theater/CEC and Showbiz/Rockafire but celebrate both in the modern day. It's even more surreal to see the Rockafire explosion on MTV videos, late night NBC talk shows, and in their own theatrical documentary film with a big online buzz.
(and the fact Showbiz Pizza Place w/ Rockafire seems to still be going in the Middle East)

[darthripley]

My video game memories are all early 80s ... our CEC had the following:

BurgerTime
Centipede
Millipede
Pooyan
Joust
Turbo (stand-up)
Donkey Kong & DK Jr.
Star Wars (stand-up)
PacMan, Ms PacMan, and even Baby PacMan (it had a pinball + video screen)
Pole Position (sit down cockpit)
Defender
Galaga
Tron

My main faves were Joust & Turbo which were very close to each other.
I could really make a token last on both! When my parents were ready to leave they would say o.k. 1 more game & that's it. They would get impatient waiting on me while I played Joust b/c I could get up to 100,000 points on 1 token haha!

I also remember getting to play Skiball & remember the Air Hockey .... the table was chrome w/red trim & it had all these air holes ... when you put in the token the table came to life & you could hold your hand over the table and feel all the air. so much better than those neon monstrousties at places like Dave & Busters now.

I never was able to win many tickets, so I only had a few Chuck E things.

That's cool about the Rockafire movie. I'm interested to see it.

I just wish that there was 1 Chuck E Cheese that was setup like it was in the 80s PTT complete with the balcony stage, flag waivers & clapping animal hands.
The correct time period arcade games would be awesome too.

Kids nowadays just have no idea what they missed out on - sure isn't the same!

I'm just glad there's a place like this where we can come together & remember those good times at PTT & share pics etc. great stuff here!

and yes ... there was govt. cheese - it was stamped in purple ink on the side US GOVT.
I also remember my mom getting huge bags of flour & sugar too. There were plenty of nights I went to bed hungry, but like you I appreciated everything I had & it was a HUGE deal to get to pick out 1 Barbie outfit at Target for $2!

[MechaCory]

My video game memories are all early 80s ... our CEC had the following:

BurgerTime
Centipede
Millipede
Pooyan
Joust
Turbo (stand-up)
Donkey Kong & DK Jr.
Star Wars (stand-up)
PacMan, Ms PacMan, and even Baby PacMan (it had a pinball + video screen)
Pole Position (sit down cockpit)
Defender
Galaga
Tron

Mmm, I liked the 3d vector graphics of Star Wars/Empire Strikes Back. To this day I'd say that's a pretty faithful good game. Ha, I totally remember Baby Pacman. Probably one of the only old arcade games that can't be emulated due to the real world pinball component(Im so thankful virtually all arcade games can now be downloaded and played on emulators)
I think out of all those 80-83 games, Xevious wowed me the most with its
polygons and vertical scrolling.



My main faves were Joust & Turbo which were very close to each other.
I could really make a token last on both! When my parents were ready to leave they would say o.k. 1 more game & that's it. They would get impatient waiting on me while I played Joust b/c I could get up to 100,000 points on 1 token haha!

Oh I was never good at Joust. To this day I can barely get through the second level. I was good at the vertical shooters tho, like Galaga, Space Invaders and others. I was just happy with the advent of "continue" games.



I also remember getting to play Skiball & remember the Air Hockey .... the table was chrome w/red trim & it had all these air holes ... when you put in the token the table came to life & you could hold your hand over the table and feel all the air. so much better than those neon monstrousties at places like Dave & Busters now.

YES! I remember those...the big steel slab with industrial strength air. Hey remember the foozeball like hockey game, where you control little hockey guys? I LOVED that thing, tho it easily got broken.




I never was able to win many tickets, so I only had a few Chuck E things.


It took me awhile to realize this, but if an item was 500 tickets...that meant you could buy it for $5.00 since each ticket=a penny(still in place to this day) Now given the average tickets won per token these days is still about 4-5, that means you only win about 20 tickets per dollar...when in reality a dollar is worth 100 tickets:) But yeah I sadly have nothing from my days at 80's PTT or Showbiz...hence everything I have now from that time is through ebay.



That's cool about the Rockafire movie. I'm interested to see it.

Did you see the trailer? Its what lead me back here after 9 years:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yNitSBXzsA



I just wish that there was 1 Chuck E Cheese that was setup like it was in the 80s PTT complete with the balcony stage, flag waivers & clapping animal hands.
The correct time period arcade games would be awesome too.

Oh...OH!....you have *NO* idea how badly I wish for this. I was hoping to hear from this forum of at least one CEC in 2009 that still had a PTT look
(what we'd call a "rogue CEC franchise") but the closest was the Simi Valley
CEC franchise which closed a year ago. It had the 1989 Rocker Stage and the waving flags: http://www.showbizpizza.com/photos/cec/ca_simivalley/index.html

But oh gosh, to think back to a time of dimly lit/dark Pizza Time Theaters/Chuck E Cheese's, with The King in a corner, and the main 5 + Warblettes, applause clapper animals, waving flags and cabaret theater balcony(AND if you'll remember, being able to crawl under the stage)
*faints* I tried to capture some of that in this sketch I did the other week:
(with a slightly modern twist and addition of post PTT characters)
http://www.showbizpizzaforum.com/showpost.php?p=40758&postcount=782
If I ever had my own wacky animatronic pizza eatery, I'd have to have animatronic animals coming out of the walls.



Kids nowadays just have no idea what they missed out on - sure isn't the same!

I know...I know...especially with CEC Corporate's insistance on every last CEC looking all bright and void of any of the special magic of the pre 1993 era. (last time there was a true PTT looking CEC in my area was early 1993)



I'm just glad there's a place like this where we can come together & remember those good times at PTT & share pics etc. great stuff here!


Here here! While I've always been a big Muppets fan(as well as other family character based properties), the characters of
Pizza Time/CEC and Rockafire were always high on my character loves.
So it's quite a nice surprise seeing other "grownups" who have a similar underground passion.




and yes ... there was govt. cheese - it was stamped in purple ink on the side US GOVT.
I also remember my mom getting huge bags of flour & sugar too. There were plenty of nights I went to bed hungry, but like you I appreciated everything I had & it was a HUGE deal to get to pick out 1 Barbie outfit at Target for $2!

Well replace Barbie with generic/bootleg Transformers/Gobot and I completely agree. Though...did they have Targets back then? I think I remember a Target in 1988...

[NickRyder]

Hey Target's been around since like the 60s! Of course, certain areas outside of the midwest didn't get them until a bit later...

Yeah isn't it amazing how many of us 'grownups' are here? I hadn't really thought about CEC in years... then that Rockafire movie came along and someone posted info about it on another forum and now... lol... we're hooked and lookin' for old school PTT

[MechaCory]

Hey Target's been around since like the 60s! Of course, certain areas outside of the midwest didn't get them until a bit later...

Yeah isn't it amazing how many of us 'grownups' are here? I hadn't really thought about CEC in years... then that Rockafire movie came along and someone posted info about it on another forum and now... lol... we're hooked and lookin' for old school PTT

Yep, again I say thank goodness for the Rockafire film. I just thought I was kooky for having such an affinity for dimly lit cabaret old school CEC:)
Cool to see other "grownups" on here...though, it's hard to see myself as a grownup all the time.

[NickRyder]

Well heh... yeah I think our generation held onto our youth far longer than our folks. My parents were about my age now when they started taking me to PTT... yikes... where's my wife...my kids... oh that's right I'm still single...

[pasqually333]

welcome to the boards:)

[darthripley]

Well heh... yeah I think our generation held onto our youth far longer than our folks. My parents were about my age now when they started taking me to PTT... yikes... where's my wife...my kids... oh that's right I'm still single...

I think you're right about that lol

I also have a hard time thinking of myself as a grownup a lot of the time - sites like this sure help with that heh

Thanks again for the nice welcome - this is a great community FILLED with tons of info.
I want to contribute more, but between being busy with "life" stuff plus I've been reading through a bunch of old posts enjoying the pics others have shared - great stuff.