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Welcome to the Wiki!
Welcome to Cheese-E-Pedia! This unofficial wiki is the archive for all things animatronics! We cover most popular restaurant animatronic bands, and plan to expand to include all animatronic attractions within the coming years! Our Discord Server is the main residence of all animatronic fans and wiki editors, with over 1300 members.
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For all news regarding Cheese-E-Pedia, check the Site News Page. The Discord server also has live updates on any animatronic, lost media, or wiki news. Up to date daily news on companies can be found on their respective articles:
Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre (1977-1984) was a pizza chain created by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell. After a successful first two locations, it would be the first to mass produce standardized animatronics, called "Cyberamics", for its stores. After competing with ShowBiz Pizza Place into the 80's, it would file for bankrupcy and be merged into their competitor, completely upending the company.
Jungle Jim's International Market (1971-Present) is a grocery store created by Jim Bonaminio, after successfully running the food stand for 4 years he purchased a plot of land in Fairfield Ohio thus creating Jungle Jim’s International Market. From 1988 - 2004 various animatronics from both Pizza Time Theatre, ShowBiz Pizza, and more would be installed.
The Burger Farm Pumpkin Festival (1904-Present) is an annual event held in October at the Burger Farm & Garden Center, featuring a set of retrofitted animatronics on display.
ShowBiz Pizza Place (1980-1992) was a pizza chain founded by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering, home to the Rock-afire Explosion animatronic band. It rivaled with Pizza Time Theatre until eventually buying them out in 1984. After running both chains into the late 80's, merging of the two brands would commence. After Creative Engineering declined however to sell the rights to the Rock-afire, ShowBiz would begin "Concept Unification" and rebrand the company to Chuck E. Cheese's.
Proper cleaning and preservation for costume character pieces, fur, clothes, and other suit parts.
Showtapes
A collection of every single showtape, which are physical media depicting the audio and programming signals for animatronic performances.
Showtape Formats
The variety of physical media formats showtapes came in.
Family Vision
A collection of tape media providing video entertainment between animatronic performances from 1984-1989.
ShowBiz Pizza Programs
A collection of cassette media providing audio entertainment between animatronic performances from 1986-1988.
Showtape Preservation & Archival
Proper techniques and procedures for keeping showtapes well maintained, and proper ways of digitally archiving it.
Video & Audio Media
Video & Audio Media sent to stores for training employees, informing on policy, and giving updates to the company and its connection to the stores themselves.
Commercials
Video commercials found on TV.
Documents
Documents used by employees and managers to run the store.
News Footage
Video news about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
News Articles
News articles about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
Store List
A list of all locations opened and closed.
Arcade Games
Arcade machines exclusive to the restaurants they're found in, usually with the brand's characters on it.
Store Fixtures
Signs, posters, and other fixtures found in the store, usually kept until a remodel.
Promotional Material
Advertising and promotional material temporarily placed in the store.
Employee Wear
Standard clothing all employees were required to wear, alongside additional accessories won during tenure.
Merchandise
Merchandise and ticket redemption items found at the prize corner/ gift shop.
Menu Items
Food items offered at locations.
Tickets
Tickets that could be won by playing arcade games.
Tokens
Tokens that were purchasable and used for playing arcade games.
Company History
The history of the restaurants and the company behind them.
Characters
Characters used by the companies, whether linked to the animatronics, or only seen in merchandise and branding.
Events
Events made by the company, whether featured at specific places, or set up in-store for a certain time.
This category of Family Entertainment Centers are locations that held a PTT, SPP, CEC, or CEI animatronic band, either through official licensing, or unofficially.
This category of Locations with Retrofits are stores that retrofitted animatronic characters into other brands and mascots for their locations.
Chuck E. Cheese (1985-Present) was the continuation of PTT post-merger with ShowBiz Pizza Place. After its loss of the Rock-afire Explosion license, SPP and PTT stores would rebrand to Chuck E Cheese's from 1989-1992. CEC would partner with other third party animatronic manufacturers for future shows, alongside surviving as the only FEC brand into the 2000's. CEC would shift from animatronics to live performers in the late 2010's, and is still around to present day.
Proper cleaning and preservation for costume character pieces, fur, clothes, and other suit parts.
Showtapes
A collection of every single showtape, which are physical media depicting the audio and programming signals for animatronic performances.
Showtape Formats
The variety of physical media formats showtapes came in.
Live Shows
Special Chuck E. Cheese's shows that feature a performance by a live performer in a Chuck E. Cheese costume, with other cast members joining in to dance.
Showtape Puppets
Puppets used in Showtapes to represent characters. Used in CEC from the early 90's to modern day.
Showtape Preservation & Archival
Proper techniques and procedures for keeping showtapes well maintained, and proper ways of digitally archiving it.
Video & Audio Media
Video & Audio Media sent to stores for training employees, informing on policy, and giving updates to the company and its connection to the stores themselves.
Commercials
Video commercials found on TV.
Websites & Social Media
Official websites and social media platforms.
YouTube Videos
Official YouTube videos.
Documents
Documents used by employees and managers to run the store.
News Footage
Video news about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
News Articles
News articles about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
Store List
A list of all locations opened and closed.
Arcade Games
Arcade machines exclusive to the restaurants they're found in, usually with the brand's characters on it.
Store Fixtures
Signs, posters, and other fixtures found in the store, usually kept until a remodel.
Phases & Remodels
New game packages, major additions, and company-wire rebrands.
Promotional Material
Advertising and promotional material temporarily placed in the store.
Employee Wear
Standard clothing all employees were required to wear, alongside additional accessories won during tenure.
Merchandise
Merchandise and ticket redemption items found at the prize corner/ gift shop.
Menu Items
Food items offered at locations.
Tickets
Tickets that could be won by playing arcade games.
Tokens
Tokens that were purchasable and used for playing arcade games.
Video Games
Licensed Chuck E. Cheese's video games.
Company History
The history of the restaurants and the company behind them.
Characters
Characters used by the companies, whether linked to the animatronics, or only seen in merchandise and branding.
Events
Events made by the company, whether featured at specific places, or set up in-store for a certain time.
Creative Engineering (1976-Present) was an animatronic manufacturer and showtape producer founded by Aaron Fechter. After creating various animatronic shows for amusement parks, it would land a deal with ShowBiz Pizza Place in 1980 to produce Rock-afire Explosion shows for their locations. Into the late 80's, with ShowBiz not purchasing any more batches of robots, CEI would pivot to selling Rock-afire shows to competitors. This break in SPP's exclusivity over the RAE would cause a falling out between the companies. After the FEC industry pivoted away from animatronics by the late 90's, CEI would lay off all of its staff. The company would see a revitalization in the 2000's by its fandom, pivoting to private tours of its warehouse. The late 2010's would also see the company selling its old stock of parts, alongside a paid subscription video series of behind the scenes work.
Looney Bird's (1997-???) was a chain of animatronic restaurants run by Creative Engineering in the late 90's. The first location in Orlando, FL was solely owned and operated by CEI, while a Jackson, TN, and a Covington, LA location were franchised out. A variety of previously unused and spare animatronic shows were held at the locations. All stores would close by the mid-2000's.
Billy Bob's Wonderland (1989-Present) was a FEC that first opened from a former ShowBiz Pizza Place location. The chain would expand to two more locations by the 90's. By 2003 the company decided to merge all stores into a new larger space, which is still around to present day. The location was infamous for the condition of its animatronics, but they would see a proper restoration in 2022 by fans.
Proper cleaning and preservation for costume character pieces, fur, clothes, and other suit parts.
Showtapes
A collection of every single showtape, which are physical media depicting the audio and programming signals for animatronic performances.
Showtape Formats
The variety of physical media formats showtapes came in.
Rock-afire 90's Segments
Segments found in Rock-afire Explosion showtapes throughout the 90's. Showtapes at the time were simply monthly compilations of random segments, with no cohesion.
Showtape Preservation & Archival
Proper techniques and procedures for keeping showtapes well maintained, and proper ways of digitally archiving it.
Video & Audio Media
Video & Audio Media sent to stores for training employees, informing on policy, and giving updates to the company and its connection to the stores themselves.
Commercials
Video commercials found on TV.
Documents
Documents used by employees and managers to run the store.
Websites & Social Media
Official websites and social media platforms.
YouTube Videos
Official YouTube videos.
Premium Service Videos
A list of videos under the Creative Engineering Premium Video Service.
Billy Bob's Newsblasts
News reports made by the Rock-afire Characters about real life events.
Promotional Material
Advertising and promotional material temporarily placed in the store.
News Footage
Video news about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
News Articles
News articles about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
Company History
The history of the restaurants and the company behind them.
Characters
Characters used by the companies, whether linked to the animatronics, or only seen in merchandise and branding.
Events
Events made by the company, whether featured at specific places, or set up in-store for a certain time.
Employee Wear
Standard clothing all employees were required to wear, alongside additional accessories won during tenure.
Arcade Games
Arcade machines exclusive to the restaurants they're found in, usually with the brand's characters on it.
This category of Family Entertainment Centers are locations that held a PTT, SPP, CEC, or CEI animatronic band, either through official licensing, or unofficially.
Looney Bird's (1997-???) was a chain of animatronic restaurants run by Creative Engineering in the late 90's. The first location in Orlando, FL was solely owned and operated by CEI, while a Jackson, TN, and a Covington, LA location were franchised out. A variety of previously unused and spare animatronic shows were held at the locations. All stores would close by the mid-2000's.
Merchandise
Merchandise and ticket redemption items found at the prize corner/ gift shop.
Menu Items
Food items offered at locations.
Employee Items
Employee wear, alongside other items given to workers.
Video & Audio Media
Video & Audio Media sent to stores for training employees, informing on policy, and giving updates to the company and its connection to the stores themselves.
Promotional Material
Advertising and promotional material temporarily placed in the store.
News Footage
Video news about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
News Articles
News articles about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
Billy Bob's Wonderland (1989-Present) was a FEC that first opened from a former ShowBiz Pizza Place location. The chain would expand to two more locations by the 90's. By 2003 the company decided to merge all stores into a new larger space, which is still around to present day. The location was infamous for the condition of its animatronics, but they would see a proper restoration in 2022 by fans.
Merchandise
Merchandise and ticket redemption items found at the prize corner/ gift shop.
Menu Items
Food items offered at locations.
Employee Items
Employee wear, alongside other items given to workers.
Video & Audio Media
Video & Audio Media sent to stores for training employees, informing on policy, and giving updates to the company and its connection to the stores themselves.
Promotional Material
Advertising and promotional material temporarily placed in the store.
News Footage
Video news about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
News Articles
News articles about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
Sally Corperation (1977-Present) is an animatronics manufacturer that was started by John Rob Holland and John Fox to focus on humanoid figures that could be programmed by the buyer themselves. By 1978 they would begin producing animatronic bands, and in 1981 they would create their first dark ride. By the late 90's they would pivot away from animated shows and exclusively work on rides and attractions, where they continue that to present day.
Proper maintenance and preservation of animatronics, along with tips to keep them running longer.
Showtapes
A collection of every single showtape, which are physical media depicting the audio and programming signals for animatronic performances.
Showtape Formats
The variety of physical media formats showtapes came in.
Showtape Preservation & Archival
Proper techniques and procedures for keeping showtapes well maintained, and proper ways of digitally archiving it.
Video & Audio Media
Video & Audio Media sent to stores for training employees, informing on policy, and giving updates to the company and its connection to the stores themselves.
Websites & Social Media
Official websites and social media platforms.
Documents
Documents used by employees and managers to run the store.
News Footage
Video news about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
News Articles
News articles about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
Company History
The history of the restaurants and the company behind them.
Characters
Characters used by the companies, whether linked to the animatronics, or only seen in merchandise and branding.
Events
Events made by the company, whether featured at specific places, or set up in-store for a certain time.
Creative Presentations (1968-2002) was an animatronics manufacturer that was founded by Gene Bullard originally as a theater production company. John March would join in 1975, which would begin their work in animatronics. They would do contract work for animated shows up until December of 2002, where the company would go under.
Proper maintenance and preservation of animatronics, along with tips to keep them running longer.
Showtapes
A collection of every single showtape, which are physical media depicting the audio and programming signals for animatronic performances.
Showtape Formats
The variety of physical media formats showtapes came in.
Showtape Preservation & Archival
Proper techniques and procedures for keeping showtapes well maintained, and proper ways of digitally archiving it.
Video & Audio Media
Video & Audio Media sent to stores for training employees, informing on policy, and giving updates to the company and its connection to the stores themselves.
Websites & Social Media
Official websites and social media platforms.
Documents
Documents used by employees and managers to run the store.
News Footage
Video news about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
News Articles
News articles about the companies, their animatronics, or the individual stores and events surrounding them.
Company History
The history of the restaurants and the company behind them.
Characters
Characters used by the companies, whether linked to the animatronics, or only seen in merchandise and branding.
Events
Events made by the company, whether featured at specific places, or set up in-store for a certain time.