Costa Mesa, CA (2300 Harbor Blvd)

Costa Mesa, CA (2300 Harbor Blvd), Store #421 is a Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre/Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza/Chuck E. Cheese's that opened in 1981 (month and day unknown) and closed in 1984 (month and day unknown) with a Balcony Stage. A new store would open in a different part of the plaza on January 12, 1993, with a 2-Stage. It then closed in 1999 and then relocated, reopening sometime in September of 1999 due to the plaza it was in being redeveloped and is still open today with the 2.0 Remodel. It also had a very unique exterior, which included a backwards facing Thumb Chuck facing a forward one. The store is located in the Harbor Shopping Center.

Stages

Costa Mesa opened for the first time in 1981 with a Balcony Stage, and then closed in 1984. Chuck E. Cheese would be absent from Costa Mesa until 1993, when it opened in a new spot with a 2-Stage. In 1999, the 2nd location would close when the new store opened, removing the 2-Stage and tearing down the building for Home Depot and other stores. The new store would open with a Studio C Alpha, which would be removed around February 2024 during the store's 2.0 Remodel.


Stage	Installed	Removed	Notes
Balcony Stage	1981	1984	One of many installed in California. Building Demolished in 2000.
2-Stage	January 1993	1999	One of many installed in California. Building Demolished in 2000.
Studio C Alpha	September 1999	February 2024	Moved to a new building in in 1999 due to plaza redevelopment.
Dance Floor + Video Wall	February 2024	Still In Use	2021 Model.

History

Costa Mesa opened for the first time in 1981 (month and day unknown) with a Balcony Stage. Unfortunately, information on Costa Mesa as a PTT is scarce, but we do know they opened with Harmony Howlette as the guest star. They would later have Madame Oink and later Helen Henny. In 1984 (month and day unknown), it closed due to the March bankruptcy. Chuck E. Cheese would then make a return to the city under the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza banner on January 12, 1993, with a 2-Stage. They would later receive Phase 1 in the mid 90s and would later receive the Phase 2 game package a couple years later. Then they would close and relocate sometime around 1999, reopening the same year in September with the Phase 3 game package with a Studio C Alpha. In 2006/2007, they would receive the 2005 update to the 2003 "Cool Chuck" Reconfiguration / Major Remodel Initiative, involving the removal of 90s decor, showroom walls, balcony seating, dim lighting, and replaced it with modern decor. Around February of 2024, the store would undergo the CEC 2018 2.0 Remodel Program, removing the show for a Video Wall and Dance Floor, and also replaced the blue texture of the booths to a wooden texture, which is how the store remains to this day.

Animatronics

TODO

Videos


Video Link	Filming Date	Publish Date
[1] Dancing and Marching with Chuck E. Cheese for my 4th Birthday (July 24, 1999) \| Home Video - YouTube	July 24, 1999	Oct 20, 2021
[2] 4th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's 🐭 (July 24, 1999) [2 days after my bday] \| Home Video - YouTube	July 24, 1999	July 24, 2021
[3]5th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's (July 22, 2000) \| Home Video - YouTube	July 22, 2000	July 22, 2020