The 3-Stage that is featured at the Legacy Location in Charlotte, NC.
A Chuck E. Cheese "Legacy Location" , also known as a Retro Location or Hybrid Location, is a Chuck E. Cheese location that retains its animatronic show and other memorabilia from the company's history after getting the 2.0 remodel. There are a total of five Legacy Locations in operation, all in the United States: Northridge, CA, Nanuet, NY, Charlotte, NC, Hicksville, NY, and Springfield, IL.
History[]
In 2017, CEC Entertainment officially began the CEC 2.0 Remodel Program in its Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants. This involved removing and destroying all wall art, signage, and animatronics and replacing them with new, contemporary art and a Dance Floor and large video wall. Backlash from fans was strong, especially over the removal and destruction of the animatronic shows.
By 2023, over 300 Chuck E. Cheese restaurants had received the 2.0 remodel and there were only a few dozen Munch's Make Believe Band animatronic stages left. One of the locations set to receive the remodel in 2023 was the Northridge, CA location. Northridge was known by the fandom as the last fully 1990s Phase 3 decorated location. CEC Corporate heard that the fans were upset about Northridge being remodeled, so they scrapped the original plans and decided to keep the 2-Stage, shelf decor, and Pizza Time Theatre sign frame[1]. The rest of the location got the traditional 2.0 remodel with the Dance Floor, video screen, and contemporary art.
Northridge CA's 2-Stage post-remodel.
On November 10, 2023, CEC held a grand opening celebration for Northridge with CEO David McKillips and original founder Nolan Bushnell attending. The event received light news coverage and the location's maximum capacity was being hit throughout the night. Many articles covering the event claimed that Northridge's 2-Stage would be CEC's last animatronic stage in the world along with Munch’s Make Believe Band having a permanent residency there, and that every other location would get the traditional 2.0 remodel by the end of December 2024[2].
CEC Future Planning Survey[]
The Showroom at Hicksville, NY post-remodel.
After the Northridge 2-Stage was saved, Chuck E. Cheese fans began begging CEC to save more animatronic stages. Despite this, CEC continued to carry out the normal 2.0 remodel throughout the rest of 2023 into 2024. On social media, CEC deflected criticism by saying that Northridge was the "perfect place to keep the animatronic fun going strong." However, on March 25, 2024, Chuck E. Cheese would send out a Future Planning Survey to customers and fans, asking them questions about the animatronics display at Northridge, suggestions for more stages to save, and other ideas for ways the company could improve. The survey generated thousands of responses from the community. Following this, on May 24th, 2024, the New York Times reported that four other CEC locations (two in New York, one in Illinois, and one in North Carolina) would become Legacy Locations[3]. Renovations on the four locations took place from mid June to early July 2024.
Reopening Celebrations for the Legacy Locations[]
The first Chuck E. Cheese to reopen as an official Legacy Location was Nanuet, NY. They celebrated their reopening on Thursday, July 18, 2024. The event was also the debut of the new "Throwback Thursday" nights that are exclusive to the Nanuet location. The Avenger Chuck walk-around costume was used, and the event featured a showtape with original CEC songs from the 2000s. The live shows were also from the Avenger era, however the first live show the Avenger walk-around performed was "Me & My Friends" from the Rockstar era. The Throwback Thursday events also feature discounted prices on menu items. At the reopening, the 16M Studio C animatronic was on random movements, did not perform, and had the Avenger outfit minus the hat.
The second location to reopen was Hicksville, NY. They celebrated their reopening the day after Nanuet on Friday, July 19. Their event was mostly a standard 2.0 reopening celebration, with live shows and a balloon drop. However, the animatronics had many performances throughout the night, similar to Northridge's grand reopening. At the event, the lift curtains on the 1-Stage operated for the first time, and the Chuck E. animatronic received its Avenger hat back.
The third location to open was Springfield, IL, which held its grand opening on Thursday, July 25, 2024. The animatronics preformed the hour-long non-stop CEC song playlist, like Northridge and Hicksville. Three separate raffles were also held for a gift basket, another separate gift basket, and a wristband for All-You-Can-Play for one full year. The raffles were free to enter. The winners of each raffle were decided by the Chuck E. Cheese walk-around going into the Ticket Blaster and grabbing a slip of paper with the raffle winner’s information on it while the Ticket Blaster was blowing the slips upward.
The poster given out at the Pineville grand reopening celebration.
The fourth and final Legacy Location to reopen was Charlotte (Pineville), NC. They held their reopening on Friday, July 26, 2024, and it was the biggest celebration of the four. An official invitation was sent out by CEC Corporate, in which the reopening was marketed as an event to "Celebrate the fans of Pineville". The invitation also advertised a collectible pin and poster that was available at the event only. The only other event to offer this was Northridge's. The event did reintroduce curtains on the 3-Stage, however they were deactivated for the entire event. The animatronics played the same show as the other 3 MMBB locations. CEC Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Randy Forsythe and Chief Insights and Marketing Officer Mark Kupferman were in attendance as well.
"Retro" Elements at the Legacy Locations[]
Northridge, CA[]
Northridge was the first legacy location. In addition to the 2-Stage animatronic show, their location also contains the following nostalgic elements:
- Phase 3 Hollywood and Wild West Shelves.
- PTT exterior sign frame with the 2.0 logo.
Nanuet, NY[]
Nanuet was the second legacy location. In addition to the Studio C Beta, their location also contains the following nostalgic elements:
- Phase 3 & 4 wall art (no 2.0 art other than the pick up window sign). Old art includes:
- Phase 3 Must C TV frames.
- Phase 3 drive in movie photo
- Phase 3 Elvis photo.
The Showbiz and Me clapboard at Nanuet, NY.
- Phase 3 "Showbiz and Me" clapboard for Nanuet.
- Phase 4 gradient headshots (Chuck E. & Helen).
- Phase 4 postcards (All except Pasqually).
- Phase 3/4 Warhol tribute pieces.
- Phase 4 soccer & hockey pictures.
- Phase 4 Men in Black parody picture.
- Phase 4 Super Chuck/Wonder Helen parody picture.
- Phase 3 wall pencil.
- Phase 3 restroom, beverage, and "Gifts and Prizes" signs.
- 2014 Rockstar exterior signage.
- Old carpet.
- Red and green booths.
- The location will offer unique items in the redemption area. Details unknown.
Nanuet also hosts "Throwback Thursday Nights", which includes Avenger-era music videos being played. There are also discounted prices on menu items. The Avenger Chuck walk-around was used during the Grand Re-Opening Event and has since been returned to corporate.
Charlotte (Pineville), NC[]
In addition to the 3-Stage animatronic show, Pineville also contains the following nostalgic elements:
- Pizza Time Theatre/ShowBiz Pizza Time/CEC Entertainment memorabilia exhibit adjacent to the showroom. This exhibit includes, but is not limited to, the following pieces:
- PTT guest star posters.
- Phase 3 art, including the Elvis, Mount Chuckmore, and wooden Thumb Chuck pieces.
- Phase 3 framed sports magazine covers.
- Phase 4 art, including "Rub Token for Good Luck", Munch Scuba Diving, and Kids with Chuck E. "Friends" photo.
- Avenger exterior sign.
- "Tokens Over Time" collection.
- "Chuck E. Cheese Throughout the Years" timeline poster.
- Starsearch, Obstotron, and Toddler Town signs.
- Chuck E. Cheese's Coloring Book cover.
- 500th Store poster.
- Chuck E. Cheese's Trolley Car Ride.
- Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Delivery Car Ride.
- Avenger Chuck statue from Chuck E. Cheese's Photo Ride (UNIS)
- Showcase with old collectibles such as plush, statues, cups, knick knacks, posters, watches, toys, and more (one of these collectibles prominently shows Billy Bob from The Rock-afire Explosion).
Hicksville, NY[]
In addition to the 1-Stage animatronic show, Hicksville also contains the following nostalgic elements:
"Men in Black" parody picture on the wall at Hicksville.
- Phase 4 art mixed with 2.0 Art. Old art includes:
- Titan of Tokens.
- King of Cool.
- Ambassador of Fun.
- Grand Marshal of Games.
- Travel postcards.
- Freshly Made Pizza sign.
- Men in Black parody.
- Warhol tribute pieces.
- Red and blue booths.
- Phase 4 Avenger exterior signage.
Springfield, IL[]
In addition to the CU-1 Stage animatronic show, Springfield also contains the following nostalgic elements:
- Phase 4 Art, including but not limited to:
- Kids with Chuck E. photos.
- Warhol tribute pieces.
- Travel postcards.
- Ambassador of Fun.
- King of Cool.
- Wooden Avenger Chuck sign (Present at Re-Opening, destroyed July 2024).
- Old carpet.
- Red and green booths.
- Phase 4 Avenger exterior signage.
List of Legacy Locations[]
| Location | Stage Type | Animatronic Stage Modifications | Dance Floor | Video Wall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northridge, California | 2-Stage |
|
2021 Model | Yes |
| Nanuet, New York | Studio C Beta |
|
2019 Model[4] | No |
| Charlotte (Pineville), North Carolina | 3-Stage |
|
2021 Model | Yes |
| Hicksville, New York | 1-Stage |
|
2019 Model | No |
| Springfield, Illinois | CU 1-Stage |
|
2019 Model | No |
Gallery of the Charlotte, NC Memorabilia Exhibit[]
Links[]
Original Northridge 2.0 Remodel Plans
References[]
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIZ1NQFd2lg&t=1470s
- ^ https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/bye-bye-band-chuck-e-cheese-removes-animatronics-from-all-locations-except-one/3387969/
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/24/business/chuck-e-cheese-band-animatronic.html
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/C8IlSFLJgOa/?img_index=4