Pizza Time Parties...a brief history

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

When Pizza Time Theatre first opened it's doors in 1977, it was apparent right from the beginning that it would attract folks celebrating a special day...mainly Birthdays. From the start, Chuck E. always had something special in store for those lucky patrons who visited his Theatre. I thought it would make a interesting topic to talk about the various offerings made over the years at PTT/CEC when it comes to celebrating Brithdays.

In the beginning, as we all know, the character show was nothing more then a arrangement of various Cyberamic Pizza Time Players mounted in hanging wall frames. Every hour or so they would perform a short 3 min skit on a pre-designated time schedule, just like a real dinner theatre. However, during special events, the Management staff could program the show to execute a special skit themed for various special celebrations: Wedding Anniversary, Birthday, Engagement,or a General Acknowledgement ( often known as the "Cheer" skit). As with all the various Cyberamic Systems, each skit could be called up by mearly pressing a button on the Cyberamic Control Panel. Birthdays became the common request. In this early era, you would recieve this special show and some free tokens from the Management. That was the beginning of something much bigger down the road.

As PTT started to attract more guests and those that came were bringing their kids to see the "singing animals", the concept to have a Birthday Party at PTT was born. Soon the store started to attract business solely for the purpose of celebrating someones Birthday and PTT wanted to continue to attract this cash flow. It became a great novelty to the locals, and a unique place to have a gathering at so the stage was set for destiny. It was a win/win situation with everyone involved. By the late 70's/ early 80's a "official" birthday package was developed for this purpose....actually several different packages were availible. This brought greater flexibility for guests booking their event, and it also added a bit of variety to boost repeat business.

Originally there were 3 Party Packages: Chuck E's Party Package, Jasper T. Jowls' Party Package, and Mr. Munch's Party Package ( i beleive..i know there was a third option). Each had various offers and contents, decreasing in price and offerings as you went down the list. The typical cost for a "complete" package ( with everything availible) was about $4 to 5 dollars per person. Basically all the packages included table decor ( hats, balloon boquets, PTT themed Birthday table cloth, plates, cups, etc.) food, entertainment, and tokens as well as some nice plusses. For example, In 1981 the Chuck E.'s party Package included a free mini pizza for the Birthday person as well as a Large Pizza for every 4 guests and a pitcher of soda for every four guests. the Birthday person also recieved the lions share of the tokens ( 5 tokens...keep in mind this was 1981 when you could play REAL video games for HOURS on ONE COIN if you were GOOD at a game! 5 Tokens went a LONG WAY then!). Often the tokens were given in a neat mini derby hat like the rat's own trademark. It doubled as a bank, and it was one of the neatest PTT collectibles made. All the other guests recieved 3 tokens to play games. As far as entertainment goes, the Rat himself would appear after a special announcement and visit the table for photos, handshakes, and the like. After this, the PTPlayers on the Balcony would perform a Birthday skit exspecially for you....not a live show mind you, this was long before that concept!

Having a Party at Pizza Time Theatre became THE thing to do if you had a kid in the early 80's. It was THE place to be and be seen. I cannot convey in mere words here what it ment back then to go to PTT and to be seen there....it was like it was the hippest place to be, reminisent i guess of the disco craze/ lifestyle that swept the country in the 70's. The Arcade Craze was very similar, and spending most of your waking hours at night in a Game Arcade was THE thing to do back then. Pizza Time Theatre was booming with activity and sales went through the roof! Having the Birthday Packages availible certainly contributed to it's early success...

In the mid 80's, once Pizza Time as we knew it went under and the "Golden Era" was now over the resturants went thru many changes and the Party Packages were no different. In 1985 many new items and options were added to the party offerings, but this time the variety was toned down and the various themed Packages ( namely Jasper's and Munch's) were discontinued. All Party Packages were now simply called "Chuck E.s Party Package" and included all the previous features but with a increase in the tokens and the phasing out of other options ( such as the free mini pizza). Now Birthdays had Chuck E. Cakes, Birthday T-Shirts, and Photos of the Party availible for a additional fee. Free Ice Cream Sundaes were also added as at this time most locations had the Sundae Bar ( not a full Parlor, i.e CEC Ice Cream Emporium). Parties now were a huge part of CEC's business...providing 40% of yearly sales. having a party at Chuck E. Cheese's was now the popular pastime for families everywhere.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

To insure that the novelty would remain high in Guests' interest, the Company decided to introduce some new concepts to further enhance the appeal and experience of having a party at Chuck E. Cheese's. By 1988, CEC had many competitors and various knock-off resturants trying to steal away there little corner in the market. The CEC concept was no longer "new" and the Arcade Craze that so fueled it's early success had died out by 1983. CEC had to come up with new ways of luring guests in and attracting potential business. Once again, Birthday Parties were at the forefront of this focus.

In the mid-80's the Stage Characters performed special skits that were created specifically for being a part of the Birthday Party. In 1986, Stage Shows were making it more of a "experience" by involving Cast Members directly. The famous "Parade of Cakes" show is a good example of this. During this stage show run, at a particular time during the performance, Cast Members would appear from nowhere and parade around the Showroom with the cake(s) for the party/parties. Once the cakes were delivered, the cast both onstage and on the floor would sing "Happy Birthday" together for everyone after which the candles would be blown out ( again, both onstage and in the audience!) It was a very clever way of involving the Guests more, and set the stage for what was to come...the "Live Show" concept.

By 1987, The Company wanted to make the show more personal for the guests instead of the characters just appearing onstage and singing generically. The success of the "Parade of Cakes" idea inspired what has now become the hallmark of any good party experience at CEC..the Live Show. The first test of this new concept was performed in May of 1987 at the then test location in Arlington, Tx. With the Porch Stage behind him, a specially created costumed version of Chuck E. took the place of the robotic one ( literally!) and performed a 20 minute skit. He interacted not only with the audience, but also with the charcacters still remaining onstage which was great fun. It made a appearence by Chuck E. even more exciting for those in attendence. The test of this new concept was a success so by 1988 most locations were performing "Chuck E. Live". This single-handedly brought CEC to the forefront again as no other competiter was able to do this...let along have a show of any kind really! i do wish they realize today what they knew back then: the SHOW is what makes CEC UNIQUE...thus have the edge over all competitors. But of course now, there are no more competitors really!

Later on in 1991/2 when the Munch Band Stage was introduced, the concept was expanded to include a Birthday Live as well. Now instead of the characters singing solely on there own, a costumed Chuck E. would be on hand to sing and dance along with the show right at the party table. In later years this was then paired with a live show and we reach today....

Today's parties are familiar to everyone here so i won't go on about it. Just a note, is that party hats as well as many other features from previous years were phased out and replaced with other itmes..namely more tokens ( which is what the kids really seem to only be interested in these days...sigh). It's nice to see some variety return in recent years: CEC re-introduced the multiple Party Package concept again back in 2001 with add on features such as bonus tokens and tickets for the guests or party bags. The old standbys from the very beginning are still present though: pizza, singing robots, and a good time had by all!

Guess some things never change....

[ChuckEZone]

Bravo, Jenn! I really enjoyed that! :D

[captslappy]

Great history lesson! Things kept evolving tho til they went to far tho unfortunately...

From what I've seen these new "live" shows don't even use the characters at all. It's now just cast members singing to the table. Wow... that's amazing! I mean no else does that besides Bennigan's, Friday's and every other place you can name (insert your popular local restaurant here)... I think it should get back to its roots and use the robotic characters only... oh wait... that's right! We got rid of them all so all we have is one CEC robot. We can use him tho! No wait... we have the walk around out too. No matter the Studio C robot is still running in the background playing the regular show that is totally unrelated to the birthday...but wait that means there are 2 CECs out! Oh who cares, the kids don't know the difference...God CEC birthday parties have gone to hell...

[dheineCECfan]

According to the 1977 CECPTT first location San Jose menu program: The birthday shows had an "animal sing along", the other special events used "computer cheer".

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yes Darryl, i touched upon those things in my mini-history posts above. The "animal sing-along" is the 3 min birthday show the Portraits used to do. They would end the show of course with a rousing version of "Happy Birthday".

The Captian brings up a interesting point i had forgotten about...the true "modern CEC Birthday" experience. At a Studio C location, all you get is the costumed Chuck E. and if you are lucky, a GROUP of CM's to do a show routine. Unfortunately, the common "show" seems to be nothing more then the costumed character arriving once the show starts and the Party hostess clapping along (if even THAT..) until it's over. Very rarely do you find a store that even bothers to do any kind of routine.

And then of course you have to deal with the "two Chuck E.s" syndrome, as many Studio C discs will immediately jump to a show segment instead of a intermission so the "Garnie" Bot' arrives on the scene before the costumed version has had a chance to exit the Showroom! With the Cyberamic Stages, the show will not come back on and interupt the costumed charcters visit with the party unless the Party Hostess changes videotapes and starts it up manually. This is the beauty of the original system of things...you had a bit more control in your Live presentations and appearences then you do with a Studio C setup...at least in my experiences this has been the case.

The appeal today for most people to have a party at CEC is to:

1. Keep the kids ( and the mess they make) out of YOUR house

2. Give the child and their friends a good time out...

3. Tokens and more tokens...oh, and tokens to play games and more tokens to win tickets.


Okay, so the main interest to kids now is to get the tokens and win the tickets. This seems to be the major thing on the kids minds during the entire party. A shame really, as they miss out on the other fun things that could be happening, but sadly DON'T today in most locations. There are still those few Store's that make a effort to insure they wow the parties and get them more involved in the entertainment aspect of it. I salute them for doing this, as THIS is what CEC is about. The EXPERIENCE. Surprisingly, it is becoming more common among Guests to not have Chuck E. at the party at ALL now...

Yes, it's true. Quite a few parties request to not have the mascot involved at ALL...they don't want him around!! They don't even want to have him out for photos anymore in some cases....no show, no nothing!! It is sad really, as it would often make me wonder, WHY on Earth are these people even bothering to have a Party at CEC to begin with?? Basically they just want to come to place where the kids can make a big mess and the parents don't have to lift a finger. The kids like getting all the "free" tokens. Oh, and they have a quick slice of pizza for Lunch....oh yeah, and cake too later on. Whoopee doo. Is'nt really a Birthday at Chuck E.s now is it? Oh well, maybe it's just me...but i feel pity for these such parties as they really seem to be missing out on a lot.

But i digress....

The show may be taking a further back seat but at least the concept still exsisits. if it was'nt for all the changes, none of us would be here today. Down the road, we will see more changes, more then likely a increase in price, a decrease in goods, and a whole lot more tokens for the kids. Will Chuck still be as actively involved in performing/appearing for a party? Yeah, i think so. It's just a shame that CEC is so narrowly focused on targeting toddlers and smaller members of the family. What made PTT the sensation it was in it's day was the fact that it appealed and targeted to ALL of the family...just like Disney does.

But this is another topic!!

[Lilredridinghood]

The Party hostess clapping along

Yes, that would have been me in my last few years of working there....I have to admit that I enjoyed doing the Live Shows more when I first started...and of course, Jenn they where more fun when you started working with me....do you remember when we use to do the limbo?

And while where on the subject, I remember the parties back in the mid 80's. I have never had a birthday there (Probably because my mom couldn't stand the place) but I did go to a few friends birthdays there. I think all the parties I went to where during the "Family Album," era. I also remember that Chuck E would come out, and dance around the showroom with all the birthday kids following him, and I think they where playing "Celebration," during this but I could be wrong...

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yes , Kerry was famous in Danvers for her patened "Kerry Clap". She would clap her hands "outwards" instead of the usual clap "inwards". Easy to show, but hard to explain!

Live SHows were by far the highlight of the Party Experience, at least in these parts. Great Stores knew this, and exploited it fully. Entire staff's including a Manager (or two!) would trot out with Chuck E. to perform a routine for the Party Guests. It made the event seem much more exciting and special....and still does to this day. I could go on about how important a great Live Show and Costume Character performance is to a party experience...it determines a LOT as far as how the Guest perceives the events value. Not just a cash value, but that all important "personal" value. Far too many Stores now don't seem to give a hoot about this aspect of the CEC experience....but that's another topic for another thread! Ha Ha!!!

[Mr Munch88]

Kerry was right... the family album woud play celebration as the kids would march in a parade withthe star rat. They would then play stevie wonder's b-day or beatles b-day. Randy(lead robot) would then lead singing of the b-day song...which is why to this day I hate singing that stupid song! Id really like to know in the 4 years the family album was there how many thousands of times I sang that horrible song!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

J, you should tell them all about those lovely and yummy early Chuck E. Cakes...you know, the ones that had frosting made out of 100% Crisco Oil?

I forgot to mention that in the mid to late 90's, Birthday cakes were a bit more personal. Most locations had a red gel icing in a tube that could be used to write the child's name on the cake with. It was a pain to do sometimes, but it really made the cakes seem a bit more personal.

[captslappy]

I remember the candy on the cakes. It looked like Chuck in the case of Pizza Time or Billy Bob in the case of showbiz. I know at one of my parties we brought our own cake which looked like Darth Vader. I remember the costume character picking it up and trying to "sneak off" with it. My mom got a kick out of that. I can't remember if I had a Chuck E. cake there or not at the second party. I never did a party at Showbiz but did attend several for other people. Over all the PTT and Showbiz parties were pretty much the same. I don't remember much difference.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

In 1982 i had my 11th birthday at PTT in Brandon, Fl. I was pretty pumped...not about playing the games and such, i was pumped because CHUCK E himself was going to visit my table! I was equally pumped about the PTPlayers performing a special show JUST FOR ME!! Man, i was excited.

Everything goes pretty good, until the Classic Rat himself shows up at my table. My Mom had invited her friend and her small toddler Jessica to my party...which was fine....until Jessica saw the Big C!! She then totally freaked out in a wail that would not end so of course Chuck and the Cm beat it thinking they were scaring her too much. I was LIVID!!! Here i am, die-hard PTT fan that i was, having my party there and the star himself spends hardly any time with me since this toddler freaked out and scared him off!! I was so mad at my Mom after that....and that little brat who spoiled all the fun!!

Needless to say i got over it...but i never had another Birthday Party there. Oh sure, i've had a lot of "unofficial" ones but as of yet i have not had a "real" Party at a CEC. That may change this year....heh heh!!

[captslappy]

wow I remember the Irving "party" we had... that was pretty funny...

[pizzacam]

ditto! ;)

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yeah...it was fab.

We have to do that again...

Who's up for it???

[CEC3066]

Can it wait till May '06, that's when I'll be in the Dallas area next.

[captslappy]

Just let me know! I'll prolly be gone most of the summer after June starts so '06 may be better. From June til Nov. I'm usually busy.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Okay, sounds good guys.

We SO have to have another Irving TX hoo-hah!!

Maybe this time we can get Chuck to perform a REAL Live Show...you know, with the STAGE characters?

For those who don't know what we are talking about, in August of last year we had a get together at the flagship CEC Store in Irving TX...just down the road from Home Office! We all show up and have a great time and the GM and his staff treated us good.

While we are sitting in the Showroom, it's decided that we should lure Chuck E. out on the floor and get him to perform for us so we can evaluate his performance, and more importantly, join in with doing the routines we all pretty much knew! A plot is hatched, and the plan is to tell the GM it's my Birthday so Chuck E. will come out to visit and perform for us. Great!

Well, Chuck E. shows up with a Cm and wishes us well..bringing a candle topped ice cream sandwich for a birthday treat! We then hold our breath expectng him to now do a show for us, but instead he goes out to do a Road Show in front of Cash!! SHoot!!! No Birthday song...no live show with the stage...oh well. He did do a fine job with "Hokey Pokey" and "Limbo Rock" followed by a small Ticket Splash but it can't beat a "full show" experience.

Next time we go, we will have to ask for some Lives to be played and then when Chuck comes out, we can go mental and do all the shows with him! I bet the Irving crew will be mighty surprised to see THAT...

(freaks!) :lol

Seriously gang..i would love to get together again with ya'all. We will have to keep this in mind for the future!

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Just bumping this up for newer readers, and also in honor of the Rat's upcoming Birthday!

:)

[pasqually82]

It really is a shame that corporate CEC will not do anything big for Chuck's 30th! Wouldn't have been nice if they would have done something out of the ordinary with the show to honor this great occaision?:cec_smile:

[captslappy]

30th isn't really a big deal all things considered. Typically 5 year, 10 year, 20 year, 25 and then 50 years. Maybe celebrating 40 years but a 30th anniversery for a company is one of those that isn't typically celebrated.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Yeah well that's about to change in a few weeks methinks......


:devil:

[RAFE CEC Guy]

The Wayne CEC had an awesome type of party compared to today's coprate standard. They continued using the old PTT cake recipe. Plus, 1 or 2 parties gave out an old derby hat! The Road Stage would do the Cheer skit right before the party. Then, Chuck would come out and do flips and other crazy moves while Birthday Star was going on! The Birthday Wave format wasn't here yet, so there was one party at a time. The last thing which was so cool was if you reserved a party, you would be able to see the Eprom/DVD system after the party was over! Usually when there was a birthday going on, I'd go to the stage and start dancing with the CMs and Chuck. lol

I wonder if they still have that format. Since I haven't been there since 2002.

[Shiney Happy Jenn]

Now that i am able to post pictures from my own collection, here now is a related document covering the 81' PTT Party Packages.

Enjoy!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/deacy1/PTTHistoryGROUPSatPTT2jpeg.jpg