Concept Unification 1-Stage
Whitehall, PA 2013
The Concept Unification 1-Stage, known commonly as the "CU 1-Stage", is a stage setup found at three Chuck E. Cheese locations that had the Concept Unification Stage moved from a side wall or had to be moved due to the store expanding.
History
In September 2010 with the remodel of the Whitehall, PA (1000 Lehigh Valley Mall) location CEC Entertainment introduced a brand-new stage that would be introduced for stores with the Concept Unification Stage which had to be moved due to store expansion / remodel. This stage would then be installed at two other stores once in 2011 in Springfield, IL (2369 McArthur Ave) and lastly with Columbus, GA (3201 Macon Rd) in late 2011.
Between the installation of Whitehall and Springfield the backdrop had minor backdrop design changes. Such as changing from night to daytime, changing the designs of various buildings and replacing some with trees, changing the scale of the imagery shown to be much smaller making the backdrop seem bigger. The Wink, Moon, Building, and Munch Jr. animatronics were also scrapped during this process. Pasquallys drum base was removed as well.
In 2015 CEC Entertainment moved to its current offices installing a combination of the CU 1-Stage and Concept Unification Stage. It would reuse the neon sign, TV light, star, MMBB sign, buildings, planters, valence and all the animatronics being put onto one stage to fit the downsized space.
On April 23, 2023, the "CU 1-Stage" in Columbus, GA (3201 Macon Rd) would be removed during a 2.0 remodel, with the Whitehall location later being removed the same year on July 12th.
On May 24, 2024 it was announced that the CU 1-Stage in Springfield, IL would be kept in-store throughout the 2.0 remodel and preserved as the company's official CU-1 Stage[1].
Nomenclature
Despite having "Chuck E.'s Make Believe Band" written on the valence, the CEC community created a name for this stage: the "CU 1-Stage".
In 2011, the community referred to this stage as "Chuck E.'s Make Believe Band"; the new name put directly above the characters that was formerly "Munch's Make Believe Band".[2][3]
The "CU 1-Stage handle comes from when the YouTube user Biffer1995 frequented the Springfield, IL location. The stage was first referred to in the descriptions of some videos as "The new CU stage with 3-bots on a 1 stage"[4] then evolved into the "CU 1-Stage", first seen in a video titled "Chuck E Cheese CU 1 stage walk through".[5]
Design:
The CU 1-Stage at Whitehall, PA featured the text "Chuck E.'s Make Believe Band" on top and a backdrop featuring a cityscape and park at night with three flat-screen TVs in front of it. The backdrop features Chuck, Helen, Munch, Jasper & Pasqually at various positions around the banner. Helen & Munch bouncing on the ground, Chucks face being on top of a building, Jasper flying around on an airplane, and Pasqually on a billboard for his pizza. On the floor towards the backdrop was a small black wall which would hide the floor floods, with the ceiling floods and Jasper’s guitar spotlight hidden behind the "Chuck E.'s Make Believe Band" valance.
The differences between Whitehall, PA, Springfield, IL and Columbus, GA is the backdrop was redone slightly with the night setting at Whitehall becoming day at Springfield and Columbus and all the assets being shuffled around to fit better with the size of the stage. Whitehall also kept the Wink’s spotlight, and had it angled at the valance.
CU 1-Stages Installed
| Place | Address | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Whitehall, PA | 1000 Lehigh Valley Mall | Was in decent shape, had Chuck's platform, original backdrop was been covered by a giant rainbow banner (Rainbow banner removed in Early 2023). Jasper sat on a glittery silver can. Removed July 12, 2023. |
| Springfield, IL | 2369 McArthur Ave | Operational, in decent shape, still has Beach Bear's guitar, original CU Drum front, and rare "Cool Chuck" outfit. Will not be removed when the store gets the 2.0 remodel. |
| Columbus, GA | 3201 Macon Rd | Was in very poor condition. Pasqually’s drum set featured Rolfe’s cymbal in addition to the standard crash cymbal. Jasper sat on a black can. The legs on Munch’s keyboard were covered in glitter. Removed April 23, 2023. |
| Irving, TX | 1707 Market Pl Blvd #200 | Operational, in perfect shape, is used for programming shows at CEC Entertainment. Only CU-1 stage to retain all prop characters (besides Munch Jr.) and 3-Stage background props. Removed original TV but has it's top in front of Chuck E. |
