Chuck E. Cheese Play-N-Place

Chuck E. Cheese Play-N-Place was an attraction build into multiple Pizza Time Theatre locations in 1982. The attraction was a collection of multiple play sets that fit into a large space. It required a coin or token to pass through the turnstile outside. In advertising it stated there was 12. Though in the opening day attraction, there were only 8.

History

Play-N-Place was developed by Bill Caldwell, a special projects construction worker, and Steve Lippert, an architect. Together they designed the units to fit into Pizza Time Theatres. The designers of the project, Paul Mestemacher, Bill Stephenson, Tom Rogers, and Carl Wesenberg drew up plans for individual stores. In 1983, the concept was only a year old. Though, several changes had been made to the design to hold the line on cost and maintenance. Newer units were structured around use of high-density foam rather than wood at the time. It made cost 30% lower. They became prefabricated so it reduced construction time. Centers that contained a Play-N-Place said that it had become one of their most popular attractions. Lawton, Oklahoma stated that in their first 30 weeks of operations they had made $50,840 in Play-N-Place revenue. ptt_pizzatimes3-2.pdf (showbizpizza.com)

Attraction

Attraction pieces

Each store could choose out of 12 attractions. Though in the Games Examiner feature, there were only 8 of the 12 listed⁽⁰⁾. The 8 listed were:

• Jasper's Jump Around - Kids can bounce around on a king-sized air mattress bounce floor.
• Pasqually's Punch Bags - Allows kids to punch, bump, and tackle foam filled punch bags.
• Beagles Ballroom - Ball Crawl filled with 20,000 plastic balls.
• Chuck E's Challenge - Kids can climb around on a cargo net, walk around on a suspension bridge, and go down an S-Shaped slide.
• Munch's Maddening Maze - Kids enter through a turning barrel, and wind through corridors until they reach the exit.
• Dolli's Descent - Kids hang on to a rope and slide down by means of a pulley.
• Harmony's Round-Up Hill - Large air pillow mountain where kids can play King of the Mountain.
• Madame Oink's Magic Mirrors - Allows kids to see themselves wide, thin, skinny, and tall.

Other features included a shadow room, a small gravity powered roller coaster, and various slides.

Safety pieces

Various pieces were placed into the room for surveillance, and safety.

• Padded walls and flooring.
• No sharp corners wherever possible.
• An attendant is present at all times.
• Large platforms were available for viewing of parents.

Access

Requirements included being under 54 inches tall. (4 1/2 feet.) You had to have tokens in order to enter as well. ptt_gamesexaminer1-2.pdf (showbizpizza.com)

Dimensions

A store had to be at least 10,000 square feet in order to contain a Play-N-Place. The dimensions of the set were either 32 by 50 feet or 40 by 60 feet. ⁽¹⁾

Known Installations

According to the debut article in 1983, there were 53 placed into locations. The listed ones are the ones we know of.

Location	Opening / Installation Date	Removal Date
Las Vegas, NV (4750 Vegas Dr)	May 16, 1982	1985
Abilene, TX (4220 N 1st St)	1982	1984
Lawton, OK (1048 NW 38th St)	1982	1984
Shreveport, LA (1724 E 70th St)	August 2, 1982	May 3, 1987
Tallahassee, FL (1155 Apalachee Pkwy)	August 8, 1982	November 18, 1984
Phoenix, AZ (4310 W Thomas Rd)	1983	1985